PIQUA — Taxpayers voted on Tuesday to approve a new 1.5-mill operating levy proposed by the Upper Valley Career Center.
“On behalf of the board and staff, we deeply appreciate the strong support of our communities,” UVCC Superintendent Dr. Nancy Luce said following the release of election results. “The passage of the operating levy will enable us to continue to expand and evolve our programs and services in order to better meet the needs of area students and employers for skill-based workforce training.”
At press time, the unofficial total of Miami County votes in support of the levy was 5,019, or 55.94 percent, and votes against totaled 3,953, or 44.06 percent. In Auglaize County, there were 22 votes for the levy and 21 against. In Shelby County, there were 5,099 votes for the levy and 4,806 against. The results are unofficial.
According to UVCC treasurer Anthony Fraley, the levy will generate just under $3.8 million per year at a monthly cost to tax payers of $4.38 per $100,000 of assessed value on their property.
Luce said the money generated from the levy will be go toward maintaining programs, facilities, equipment and all the software on the main campus, as well as in satellite schools. She said an expansion of programs will also be implemented in order to offset waiting lists for certain courses.
She said this expansion would be in the form of new programs in order to service more students rather than physical expansion of the campus.
“It is not our intention to put a lot of money into infrastructure on the main campus,” Luce said in an interview prior to Election Day. “We can continue to utilize and restructure or renovate the space that we have to grow, but in order to really do that most efficiently, we want to be able to add programs in the associate schools and satellite areas so that more students can have access.”
UVCC is associated with school districts throughout Miami and Shelby counties, meaning students from these districts attend classes on UVCC’s campus. Along with this, these districts have “satellite” programs, which are funded by UVCC — this includes teachers, equipment, software, textbooks, etc. — and are housed in most of the middle schools and high schools.
