Cincinnati school officials made their case Monday why voters should support a $480 million bond issue for school construction in November, but only about two dozen residents showed up to listen.

        School board member Florence Newell said she was sorry so few people turned out for the board's public hearing to consider the timing of the bond issue for the district's $1 billion school construction plan. The board is expected to decide Monday whether to put the bond issue on the ballot in November or later.

        District Treasurer Michael Geoghegan presented a chart showing interest rates on long-term bonds are 5 percent, about as low as they've been in two decades.

        The bonds would help pay to build 35 new schools and renovate 31 more over the next decade. The state will contribute more than $200 million toward the unprecedented building project if the district can raise the rest.

        Of the $1 billion needed, district officials say they have identified about $300 million. One source for that money will be payments from the city and the county instead of property tax revenue from Paul Brown Stadium and Great American Ball Park.

        The district will need to ask voters to approve a 4.89 mill bond issue to finance the project's four phases. The cost would be an additional $143 annually on a home with a market value of $100,000.

        Most of the seven residents who spoke favored placing the issue on the ballot in November, including the Rev. Duane Holm, executive director of the Metropolitan Area Religious Coalition of Cincinnati.

        “We believe this bond issue is right because it will provide a good learning environment for our children,” the Rev. Mr. Holm said. “It will visibly show our children that they matter in this district.”

        Replacing schools will revitalize the city's neighborhoods, provide additional jobs and contracts, and bring the city together around a common concern, he said.

        Anti-tax crusader State Rep. Tom Brinkman Jr., R-Mount Lookout, called the plan “extremely flawed” and urged the board to seek more public input.

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