The campaign kick-off was held at Lincoln Elementary School in a basement classroom that features extremely low ceilings, exposed heating ducts, pipes, and electrical conduits. "This classroom and this building serve as perfect examples of why this community needs Issue 10," Dr. Small said. "Our students and our teachers are trying hard to do their best work everyday, and they deserve to have safe, modern buildings while pursuing academic excellence. Issue 10 will give our kids the tools they need to achieve and succeed."

Mayor Plusquellic and other attendees were greeted by Lincoln principal Linda Green and the school’s choir. Plusquellic said that Akron cannot afford to lose the opportunity to rebuild and improve its schools because they are "the very heart of every neighborhood in the city. We have a choice to make - do we invest in the long-term viability of our children, our schools, our neighborhoods, and our city, or do we allow this chance to slip away and then pay for our failure to act for decades to come? I believe the choice is clear. We need Issue 10," Mayor Plusquellic said.

According to Mayor Plusquellic and Dr. Small, Akron will lose the state funds now set aside to rebuild and renovate the schools if Issue 10 does not pass. "Cities across the state, including Canton, Cleveland, Toledo, and Youngstown, have already raised their local match and are now receiving millions from the OSFC," the mayor commented. "If Issue 10 does not pass, we will lose our $409 million along with the prospect of substantially improving our neighborhoods and ensuring that our citizens have the education they need to compete in the 21^st Century."

During the event, the mayor and the superintendent introduced the four co-chairs who will head what they described as an aggressive and innovative grassroots and paid media campaign to pass the issue. The co-chairs are Reverend Ronald J. Fowler, Senior Pastor, Arlington Church of God; William Considine, President and CEO, Children’s Hospital Medical Center; Beth Curley, AFL-CIO Community Services Liaison, United Way of Summit County; Dorothy O. Jackson, Deputy Mayor for Intergovernmental Relations, the City of Akron.

"Our co-chairs are symbolic of the broad-based support we must generate for Issue 10 in every part of the city," Mayor Plusquellic said. "With their help and guidance and the hard work of the hundreds of volunteers who have already signed up to do lit drops, make phone calls, pound in yard signs, and work the polls on election day, I’m confident we’ll get our message out and convince voters of the need for Issue 10."

Dr. Small praised the spirit of cooperation between the city and the schools that led to the development of the income tax proposal. "Everyone at the city and at the school district understood that we had to find a way to generate the necessary matching funds to make our school facilities plan a reality without increasing property taxes," Dr. Small said. "Issue 10 accomplishes that goal."

Dr. Small also noted that he and city officials are excited about exploring the possibilities for partnership created by the Community Learning Center concept encompassed in Issue 10. "The community learning centers will be the great schools our kids need during the day. After school, at night, and on the weekends, many will be used for after-school academic programs and tutoring for our students, adult education and job training programs for residents, as well as a variety of recreational and other activities. That means that every neighborhood in the city will benefit in a number of ways from Issue 10," Dr. Small concluded.

Also speaking at the event was Linda Omobien, President of the Akron Board of Education.

Following the press conference, members of the media toured Lincoln Elementary to view first-hand the daily challenges that teachers, students, and administrators must cope with in buildings that average 70 years of age.