The-News-Leader.com - Operating levy fails by 4-to-1 margin

Poll workers reported a relatively low turnout Feb. 2 in Macedonia for Issue 1. According to the Summit County Board of Elections, turnout was 24 percent.

by Eric Marotta

Editor

Voters rejected a Nordonia Hills City School levy by a landslide 4-to-1 margin Feb. 2, but school officials say that doesn’t mean the levy is dead.

Superintendent Wayne Blankenship said the Board of Education has no choice but to put some kind of operating levy before voters again.

“It might not be in May, but they’re going to have to come back. I just don’t know when,” he said.

Issue 1, a 6.5-mill continuous operating levy, was defeated 4,433 votes (80 percent) to 1,135 votes (20 percent), according to final but unofficial results from the Summit County Board of Elections.

School Board President Doug Masteller said he agreed another operating levy will have to be put before voters, but added the margin of defeat for Issue 1 took levy supporters by surprise.

“We didn’t know what to expect, but certainly the margin was surprising,” he said. “What we’re going to have to do is regroup. We’re going to have to show the voters that we’re frugal with their money.

“We’re going to have to offer them a choice as far as what they want their school district to be and therefore, what programs and what aspects of the school district will be at risk if a school levy is not passed in the future,” he added.

Masteller said that without more operating money, the district will be forced to consider cuts in busing, increasing class sizes, and cuts to elective classes and extracurricular activities.

He said the School Board has also fielded questions regarding employee wages, particularly in light of upcoming contract talks with the teachers union.

“That’s certainly going to have an impact on the negotiations,” he said.

Masteller said that the School Board plans to discuss the election results at its Feb. 8 meeting, including when another issue would be put before voters.

“If we do try for another levy in May, I would hope that there would be clear evidence that the district has made attempts to cut costs,” he said.

Issue 1 was expected to generate about $6.5 million in annual revenue, beginning in 2011. It would have cost homeowners about $199 annually per $100,000 in market value.

Voters last approved an operating levy in August 2004, and voters approved a bond issue to renovate the high school athletic fields last November.

Blankenship said he sees the wide margin of defeat Feb. 2 as a sign of the current poor economy.

“With the economy right now, people are hurting,” he said. “I feel badly for the people if they truly can’t afford it, but I feel worse for the kids and the school community.”

Blankenship said the schools are hamstrung by the current system of funding public education in Ohio — which he says requires the schools to continually return to voters as costs increase.

“Until the state changes, you can’t just fold up the tent,” he said. “They’re good schools. If they want to keep good schools, they’re going to have to see it as an investment.”

E-mail: emarotta@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3171