River View levy renewal sparks taxpayer debate

I am glad the River View Board of Education is interested in saving taxpayer money. But I do question the way they are attempting to do it. They are asking us taxpayers to make the renewal operating levy continuous from now on, supposedly to save us taxpayers money every five years by not having to pay the board of elections to put the levy on the ballot.

They want us to take it for granted that just because we have renewed the levy six different times since 1991 that they no longer need to ask us for this money every five years. But in the future, we may not want to renew this levy if we feel the school district is not being run the way we want.

According to the district treasurer, the savings of passing this levy every five years could amount to $1,043.26-$6,682.64, based on the costs from the past two elections. The final cost for this May 2026 election will not be available until after the election.

Again, I am glad the board of education is interested in saving taxpayer money, but not at the expense of us taxpayers losing control of the school district purse strings. But since they have shown an interest in saving taxpayer money, I have two suggestions of how to save some real money.

According to the River View Local School District “Paw Print” in the Feb. 5, 2026 edition of The Beacon, around 80% of the district budget is spent on the staff. This is where some serious money can be saved.

First, why are there seven members on the board of education? After all, our county is run by only three commissioners. If we would eliminate three board members, according to the district treasurer, that would save $7,792.89 per year if the board members attended all 18 meetings like they could have in calendar year 2025. Over five years this would amount to $38,964.45. This would more than cover the cost of an election every five years.

Second, why does the district have four assistant principals? If the principals can’t do their jobs by themselves, they need to be replaced. According to the district treasurer, the total cost for their salaries and fringe benefits for the 2025-26 school year is $500,041.62. That’s more than a half-million dollars every year. Over five years that’s more than $2,500,000. That’s serious money!

Let’s save some serious money every year rather than just small change every five years.

We, the taxpayers, want to retain our right to approve any renewal levies. Not a continuous levy!

Ronald M. Redella

Warsaw