a conversation with…
Sally Casto and Daniel Casto
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Passing the Levy: One Family’s Story
In 2006, the Principal’s Office Editor had the privilege of interviewing the co-chair of a levy campaign that passed in 1996 and also her son, who was in Kindergarten in 1996, and then went on to become student co-chair of another successful levy in 2006 as a sophomore in high school. The editor wishes to underscore the fact that when planning for levies, family involvement is one of the most valuable resources available. The insights offered by our two contributors will be invaluable as your district plans for the school levy.
By Sally Casto, active and concerned parent and
Daniel Casto, currently a high school junior
Sally: In the spring of 1996, my husband and I were asked by the Delaware City Schools School Board to be one of three couples to co-chair a second attempt to pass an 8.9 mill school levy. We agreed, and we did so because we had a commitment to both preserve and improve the quality of the education that our sons had experienced and would continue to experience. Our two boys are 12 years apart; at the time our older son was a senior, and our younger son was in kindergarten. Our partner couples were a retired couple well known in the community and a young couple with three boys, aged 8, 5, and 3, who shared our passion for the quality of schooling their boys would experience.
One of our first strategies was to involve teachers in every way possible. Staff morale was very low because it was felt that not enough had been done to try to pass this levy in the previous election in November. Threatened programs included band and orchestra, elementary librarians, advanced placement courses, and elementary music and art. We involved all school staff, both certified and classified, in a kick-off after school pep rally. We pledged to them our relentless effort to pass this levy. We identified 10 areas where they could all help and volunteer. With huge sheets of newsprint posted around the gym, they made their way to various lists and signed up to help.
We decided that at least one of our committee of six would attend every school system event from February to May. We had the school system calendar of events and marked off every sports banquet, PTO meeting, elementary music program, and open house. For each occasion we asked for a table where we could display our information. We took a bold table covering (I believe it was royal blue with gold stars) and arranged for distribution buttons, handouts, budget charts, etc. We carried huge baskets of blue ribbons that were cut by a crew of stay at home moms. “Blue Ribbon Schools for Blue Ribbon Kids” became our mantra. In a very short time, the entire school community was wearing blue ribbons as a part of their daily dress-with no words on the ribbons, there was no restriction for school staff to wear them (there is a law that prohibits campaigning on school time). Soon our parents and eventually much of the city were wearing blue ribbons.
For the 6 weeks preceding the election there were community events every Saturday. One event was a read-in in a downtown storefront where elementary teachers read a favorite book to children. Teachers signed up for the entire day, and we posted a chart indicating when each teacher was to read. Since the possibility of elementary librarians being eliminated was an issue, this was an opportunity for each teacher to stress the importance of reading and maintaining the libraries with the help of librarians.
Another event was the free showing of Mr. Holland’s Opus at a local theater. The band came and played as folks entered and left the theater, reminding folks of the threatened elimination of this program.
Our final event was a Sunday afternoon parade from the center of town to the high school football field, where a pep rally took place. Organizers for the parade were our two high school campaign co-chairmen who enlisted the help of many student groups to march. The band led the parade and townspeople were asked to join as the parade passed their neighborhood.
To maintain the high pitch of excitement and the sense of urgency, we surrounded each school building with luminaries on Monday evening before Election Day. The candlelight burned through the night, and local TV stations covered the issue.
Throughout the campaign we were challenged to keep our wits about us. There was active opposition led by a city councilman and a local businessman who not only were opposed, but who also distributed faulty information and spread untrue rumors about school personnel. The urge to make spiteful statements against was strong…we had to continually rebut their inaccuracies. There were also a number of businesses who would not take a stand on the levy for fear of alienating their customer base. We had to be “in their face” to counter the business opposition and apathy. We did this with large-scale events and community-wide events. These were easier to do and more effective than smaller presentations and coffee gatherings. We built a lot of energy around this campaign and did not overlook opportunities to involve everyone.
Daniel: 2006 was another levy year for our school district. By this time I was a sophomore in high school. A wonderful history teacher at the high school who was working on the levy committee began involving students in discussions about the levy. I asked if I could help out. She asked another classmate and me to become student representatives to help out with the levy.
This was going to be a replacement levy for 22% of the operating budget. The first vote had been taken in March and had failed. I was terrified about what was going to happen with the rest of my education. There is complicated language about school funding. I just wanted it broken down to basic language such as “There would be no more art classes, music, AP classes, sports, or bussing for after school activities.” In short, it seemed that everything except Ohio Graduation Testing staff positions would be cut. This would have wiped out my high school program. Peers and adults alike did not seem to care.
So what did the students do? For the last levy, there had been a phone bank calling all registered voters. This time, our job was to call all high school graduates from the past 4 years. We had about 1,000 names. I organized a group of about 25 friends. Everyone brought a cell phone with free minutes left for Sunday afternoons. We ordered pizza (another important strategizing tool) and called the list of cross-referenced high school graduates from the last 4 years. We called everyone who wasn’'t registered to vote and asked him or her to register and vote. We asked those who were registered to please vote, and we called college students who were home from college in the summer to ask them to vote absentee ballots. Their vote was a deciding factor to help us win the election.
The lesson learned from this involvement is not to underestimate the power of student participation. Even if one or two students care passionately, they can involve their friends. Together they can make a difference.
