Cleveland Levy Campaign Spending Tops $1 Million

401(K) 2012 / Flickr

A school levy campaign takes “hours of fundraising, door knocking and rallying,” WCPN’s Michelle Kanu reports.

Also, money:

Regardless of the strategy, levy campaigns come with a price tag – sometimes a hefty one.  State law prohibits using public dollars for campaign activities so district leaders often spend months fundraising. The latest campaign finance reports show Akron’s team has spent just under $140,000 while Cleveland’s team has spent $1.1 million.

To put that figure in perspective, $1.1 million would pay for about 14 teachers in Cleveland for one year. (That’s based on an average teacher salary of about $66,000 plus about 20 percent for employee benefits.)

The levy is supposed to raise $70 million in four years. That could pay for a lot more than 14 teachers.