Thursday, November 04, 1999
Ohio's voters back schools
Two-thirds of issues on ballot passed Tuesday
The Associated Press
COLUMBUS — Voters supported the highest number of school issues in five years Tuesday and showed they're willing to provide matching money for a record amount of state money available for school buildings.
Voters approved 146 of 218 school issues statewide, or 67 percent, the Ohio Department of Education said. Last year, 61 percent were approved.
The five-year average for November elections is 63 percent. The five-year average for all elections is 56 percent.
Roger Howard, assistant director in the department's division of school finance, said it was a successful election.
“The support for schools was very gratifying,” he said.
Voters also approved 41 of 45 building assistance and special needs issues. The levies were necessary to receive money from the Ohio Schools Facilities Commission. In July, the commission agreed to allocate a record $1.03 billion to 45 districts for 1999.
“Many more districts are going to be able to repair their buildings at a much faster rate,” Randy Fisher, the commission's executive director, said Wednesday.
The average state share of the construction for the 41 issues passed Wednesday is 84 percent, Mr. Fisher said.
In Vermillion, voters saved the 2,800-student district from possible consolidation with another district. They passed a 7.99-mill levy that will raise $2.45 million a year for three years, after rejecting the levy nine previous times.
Superintendent Burt Schoffman attributed the passage to an accumulation of factors, including a campaign re-energized by new volunteers, support from state legislators and ministers, and media coverage.
Passage of the levy means the district will eliminate a $1.8 million debt after three years. The district, which is in fiscal emergency, has struggled since 1997 when Ford Motor Co. eliminated 1,600 jobs by closing part of the Lorain plant.
In Parma, voters defeated an 8-mill levy that would have raised $12.2 million annually and pushed the district's budget out of a deficit. In a report issued last month, state Auditor Jim Petro identified “significant financial problems” in the district traced to inadequate long-term planning.
In Allen County, a 4.9-mill levy for Bluffton schools failed by one vote, 1,054 to 1,053. A recount was expected.
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