Superintendent Message

Hello!

I wanted to take a moment to say thank you for your support of the Northwest School District. The income tax renewal passed last night will help our students for years to come.

The best part of my job is when I have the opportunity to go out into the community to talk about all of the amazing things happening here. During our levy campaign, I enjoyed pointing out all of things that make Northwest a special place like our Blue-Ribbon middle school or our speech and debate team or winter sports teams, etc, etc. I am positive that I never did our school justice. Even still, I loved talking about the possibilities of making Northwest better and stronger with the passing of our income tax renewal. 

I really wanted to thank all of you and all of the community people we have met while discussing our school system. No matter the topics, I always felt the love and support for our students. And to me, that has been everything!

We here are blessed to be a small part of an amazing school district and supportive community. We value the trust you have given us. I promise you we will do everything we can to deserve your faith. We will also do all we can to continue to ensure our students are better prepared than most. We look forward to growing together for years to come.

Thank you again!
 
Shawn Braman

March 3, 2024
 
Northwest Parents Update
 
Good morning!
 
This is a very brief update this week. Last Monday on February 26, our School Board agreed to a calamity day due the eclipse that will arrive here on April 8, 2024.

Northwest Local Schools will have a calamity day on this date to ensure that all of our students are safe. Early reports from Stark County have determined that there will be an influx of hundreds of thousands of people in our area to witness the eclipse. Like all of the school districts in Stark County, we are using a calamity day on April 8 to ensure that all of our children are safe on that particular day. 

We will be busy and focused on the eclipse leading up to the April date within our school district. Many teachers will be discussing this on the days leading up to the unusual event. In fact, we are using federal monies to purchase protective eye wear for our students so they can view the eclipse when it happens on their own.

I wanted to take a moment to make sure all of our parents were aware of the calamity day. As always, if you have questions, contact your child’s school or call me on my cell at 330-573-9024 anytime.

Respectfully,
 
Shawn Braman

February 26, 2024

Hello to the Northwest Community!
 
A few messages for all of you!
 

• Congrats to Mr. Busby and all of the students involved in Something Rotten this past weekend! I was in awe of the performance and I am thankful for everyone who worked so hard to make this production special! Bravo!

 

• I wanted to make sure all of you know that the eclipse is happening on April 8. We are discussing a calamity day on that day but no decision has been made yet. This will be discussed and decided upon tonight at our board meeting! As a side note, we will be providing vision protection in preparation for April 8 for our students courtesy of Massouh Printing Company.

 

• As another reminder for all of you: We are asking the community to renew our 1% income tax on earned income. This will be a renewal and not a new tax. Just so you know, the income tax collected supports operating expenditures paid for through the school district’s general fund which includes the following items:

 

1. Salaries and benefits for all staff
2. Transportation costs
3. Utilities
4. Technology
5. Textbooks
6. Consumable materials
7. Contracted services including special education 
8. Mandated costs including testing and inspections
9. Supplies including custodial and maintenance costs
10. Most important: Expanding programming and continued excellent learning opportunities for our students

 

• As a reminder, please remember to vote on March 19th on Issue 20! If you need more information, check out the school district website for additional answers and graphics on our school’s finances.

If you have questions on anything with the school district, call me anytime at 330-573-9024.

Thank you and have an excellent day!

Shawn Braman

February 12, 2024
 
Hello to All in the Northwest Community!

This is a reminder that we are asking all to make sure you vote on March 19 on Issue 20 which is for the renewal of the 1% Income Tax on Earned Income (NOT A NEW TAX).
​
Here are a few facts to consider:

The reasons for the renewal of the income tax on earned income:
 

1. Maintaining and possibly expanding the programming opportunities for all students
2. Attracting and retaining the best teachers available for all of Northwest
3. Maintaining and possibly expanding the facilities around the Northwest Campus

On our website, we attempt to answer all of the questions on the renewal that we have received since the beginning of the school year. All of our Q & A speaks directly to the reasons listed above.

Another important fact of the renewal request to consider: 

THIS IS NOT A NEW TAX. An earned income tax will only tax W-2 compensation or self-employment income that is subject to the self-employment tax. INCOME that is NOT TAXED would include the following:
 

1. Retirement income
2. Social Security income
3. IRA distributions previously taxed
4. Pensions
5. Unemployment compensation
6. Workers compensation
7. Interest and dividends
8. Capital gains
9. Royalties
10. Profit from rental activities
11. Lottery winnings
12. Distributive shares of profit from corporations
13. Alimony received
14. Distributions from trusts and estates

 
We have a lot of great things happening throughout our school district every single day! Your support will allow our students to keep moving forward as one of the best districts in all of Stark County!

If you have questions on any part of the 1% income tax on earned income, call me anytime at 330-573-9024.

Thank you and have an excellent day!

Shawn Braman