CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cleveland school levy was passing Tuesday night, winning support from about 55 percent of voters with almost all of the ballots counted.

Mayor Frank Jackson told supporters at the district's election-night gathering at Tower City that the levy's apparent win gave the district the second of three steps to success. The first came this summer when the state legislature passed law changes the district sought, and the next step will be carrying out the plan to transform the schools.

District Chief Executive Officer Eric Gordon said he had confidence that voters would step up to support the schools and the city's children if they were shown a plan to improve the district.

"I recognize the enormous responsibility voters placed on me and my colleagues and we're ready to go to work on it in the morning," Gordon said Tuesday night. "Starting tomorrow, we've got four years to get it done."

The 15-mill tax, the largest in recent memory in Northeast Ohio, expires in four years and Gordon and Jackson have told voters not to renew it if they do not make enough gains.

Cleveland Teachers Union President David Quolke said the coalition of business leaders, charitable foundations, the union and the district that led the push for law changes and the levy must continue cooperating to improve the district.

"Cleveland's citizens stood up for Cleveland's students, now we must work together to carry out plans that will focus on improving low-performing schools, updating our technology, increasing graduation rates and helping all of Cleveland's children to be college and career ready," Quolke said in a written statement.

School officials and Jackson campaigned hard for the levy over the last two months, hoping to avoid more teacher layoffs and program cuts and to win extra money to improve academic programs.

The levy could bring in a maximum of $85 million annually. About $5.7 million will be shared with the high-performing charter schools that partner with the district.

Estimates of what the levy will actually collect after delinquencies have varied. At the city's current 79 percent collection rate, the levy would bring the district a little under $63 million a year.

The levy will cost property owners $459 more per $100,000 in home value. With the average value of a home in Cleveland now below $58,000, the levy will cost a typical homeowner $264 more a year.

Voters interviewed at two East Side polling places on Tuesday showed overwhelming support for the levy, while voters interviewed on the far West Side were less enthusiastic.

"It's worth putting money in to help the kids," said Jeff Wolfert after voting at St. Mel Hall, a polling place for the West Park neighborhood.

"I just think education is a part of a new beginning," said John Kowalski as he and Wolfert left the hall.

West Park has some of the highest home values in the city -- close to $100,000 on average -- and residents there could see a tax hit of more than $450 if the 15-mill tax passes.

"It's too much money," said Dave Gnandt after he and his wife Debbie each voted against the levy. "I've got too much taxes as it is. I would have voted for a smaller levy. This is gargantuan."

Other West Side residents said they voted against the levy for a variety of reasons including because they wanted any new taxes to go to police instead, and because they think the district has mismanaged money and hurt students by closing schools, laying off teachers and putting too many kids in each classroom.

"The school system is just jacked up," Lavennea Sanders said after voting against the levy at Riverside Elementary School near Warren Road. "No matter what we do, they're still piling kids on top of each other."

Suzanne Zupan, who has three children in that school, voted for the tax and said she thought that neighborhood would support it because of the new building and special programs there.

At the East Side's John F. Kennedy High School and at the new E Prep charter school on Union Avenue, support for the levy seemed strong.

"It's time," said Al Guly after voting for the tax at JFK. He said 16 years between new school taxes – the last operating tax was passed in 1996 – is too long. He said the district has been cutting things it already has too little of and he wants the cuts to stop.

Shay Lane said she took her son, age 7, out of the Cleveland schools and put him in a charter school after teachers were laid off and class sizes rose. But she voted for the tax to stop more teacher cuts.

"I don't think they should lay the teachers off," Lane said after voting at the E Prep site.

Janelle Forest was also bothered by growing class sizes and voted for the tax to help reduce them for her four children, two of whom are now in district schools.

"I think it's important for their future to pay a little extra money to give them what they deserve," Forest said.

Cleveland school officials have not been specific about how they would spend levy money. Officials have discussed several possibilities, including expanding the school year for struggling schools, but have not committed to any schedule.

The campaign focused on general goals such as increasing graduation rates, replacing failing schools with successful ones and updating textbooks and technology.

'As part of what became known as the Cleveland Plan for Transforming Schools, the district and Jackson set a goal this spring of tripling the number of students in quality schools, whether those are district schools or charter schools – schools that are publicly funded, but privately run.

They also fought for several changes to state law governing teacher layoffs and recalls. and switching to a different teacher pay system. After the current teacher contract expires in June, the new contract will pay teachers based on special skills and performance, not the traditional pay schedule that gives raises on the basis of experience and a teacher's education level.

In addition, seniority and tenure will become only secondary factors in decisions about teacher layoffs, allowing the district the flexibility to keep high-performing and specialized teachers.

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