Dear Mentor Schools Community,
We are writing to inform you that our Board of Education voted this week to place a five-year 4.9-mill levy on the May 2026 Primary Election ballot. This levy would generate $13.5 million annually and would provide funding to support the district’s general operating budget and the day-to-day costs associated with operating the school system at its current level of services. Our team remains focused on providing the high-quality education the children of our community need, while exercising prudent fiscal management practices and maintaining a safe learning environment.
As you know, district leadership has been working diligently over the years to stretch our funding as costs naturally continue to go up, while our revenue essentially stays flat. We have implemented major cost-saving initiatives including reducing staff proportionately with student enrollment, closing and selling school buildings, redistricting, changing benefits plans for employees, cutting budgets, pursuing alternative revenue sources, securing grant monies and more.
In Mentor Schools, the majority of our funding comes from local property taxes. We are grateful to our residents, along with a large business community, for contributing to providing well-rounded educational experiences for our students. Because of our thoughtful planning over the years, Mentor Schools has only added one new-money operating levy in the last 20 years, which passed in 2016. This results in Mentor Schools having the 2nd lowest class one effective tax rate in Lake County.
The proposed new levy would cost property owners approximately $172 per year per $100,000 valuation. Based on current data from the Lake County Auditor, the average home value in Mentor is approximately $242,000, which would result in an estimated annual cost of approximately $415 per year.
Decisions related to school funding affect our entire community and are not made lightly. The Board of Education and our leadership team considered this action carefully as part of its responsibility to plan for the district’s long-term financial stability.
We are committed to continuing to be great stewards of our community’s tax dollars while providing a safe learning environment where the children of our community can learn and grow. More information will be forthcoming, but we wanted to make sure you were all aware of this important news regarding our district today.
Sincerely,
Craig Heath Bill Wade
Superintendent Chief Financial Officer