Mantua – At the last School Board meeting, Crestwood High School Principal Dave McMahon recognized two impressive students for their excellent achievements. He shared that CHS senior Allison Sabol had been recognized as a National Merit Commended Scholar and CHS senior Zoe Simmons had been selected as a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist. The board and superintendent joined McMahon in congratulating both young women for their hard work and impressive achievements.
These two young women joined over 1.5 million juniors in about 21,000 high schools to the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2019 Preliminary SAT (PSAT), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. McMahon noted that the nationwide pool of Semifinalists includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state; those winners represent less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors. He was proud to recognize Ms. Simmons as a part of this prestigious group.
According to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, to become a Finalist, each Semifinalist and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application, in which they provide information about the Semifinalist’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received. The organization stipulates that a Semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, and write an essay. From the approximately 16,000 Semifinalists, about 15,000 are expected to advance to the Finalist level, and in February they will be notified of this designation. All National Merit Scholarship winners will be selected from this group of Finalists. This pool of Finalists will be considered for a variety of awards, including $2,500 National Merit Scholarships, corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards, and college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards.
Later, Superintendent Toth reiterated information regarding Issue 23, the district’s levy on the November 3rd ballot. Toth noted that since 1992, the Crestwood Schools have only received new operating money twice, in 1992 and 2012. Further, he noted that the district receives the second-lowest tax amount among Portage County School School Districts. He reminded the group that in 2022, the elementary schools will be paid off, reducing property taxes by 2.29 mills for everyone. Toth also noted that If the Earned Income Levy on November 3, 2020, is approved, the Board intends to cease collection on the Emergency Renewal Levy, effective January 1, 2021, which would further reduce property taxes for the Crestwood community. With passage of the levy, retirees on social security or receiving pensions would see a tax decrease on their property and not be taxed on their retirement benefits. Lastly, he noted that if the levy passes, the revenue generated can be used for general operating expenses and facilities, supplies, equipment upgrades, and building repairs.
The School Board will meet on Tuesday, October 13th at the Crestwood Primary School at 7 pm. Residents are encouraged to attend in-person following social distancing protocol, or virtually via live stream. Visit crestwoodschools.org for details.
