By Karen Vance
Enquirer contributor

Some Southwest Ohio school districts are going against the odds by putting funding levies on the ballot in August - traditionally a difficult time to win voter approval.

Doing so means paying tens of thousands of dollars in election costs, but the districts are so desperate for cash they're willing to roll the dice.

The filing deadline for the August ballot is May 20. So far, officials in two districts are going ahead with August levies, and at least a half dozen others are considering it.

Officials in Williamsburg in Clermont County voted this month to put a $651,116 operating levy on the Aug. 3 ballot. It's the same levy request that was rejected by voters 53 percent to 46 percent on March 2, when Southwest Ohio voters defeated 11 of 19 tax issues.

"We hope we can pass a levy before the school year begins so that potential cuts can be avoided," said Williamsburg School Board member Terry Frost, explaining why his board voted unanimously to return to the ballot so soon.

Winton Woods in Hamilton County also will be back on the ballot in August, after losing a levy this month. Although the school board hasn't officially voted on it, the board tentatively chose August over November so it has two more chances this year, said board President John Pennycuff.

"If you don't pass in November, you don't have a prayer of any money until the spring of 2006," he said. That's because tax levies approved during one calendar year do not generate revenue until the following year.

Among other districts exploring August ballot issues: Mount Healthy, Sycamore, Fairfield, Edgewood, Lakota, Clermont Northeastern and Franklin.

Scott Ebright, deputy director of communications for the Ohio School Boards Association, predicts a higher-than-average number of districts statewide will seek tax increases. In part, the increases are being sought because of increasing operating expenses and unexpected cuts in state funding.

Historically, August has not been friendly to school districts, he said.

From 1994 to 2002, just 39.6 percent of August school issues passed, the lowest success rate of the year. School issues passed 60 percent of the time during May primaries and November general elections over the same six-year period.

Some districts have already made cuts to extracurricular activities and busing for 2004-'05. They see a successful August levy as an opportunity to reverse those cuts.

But it doesn't come without a price. In general elections, political parties pick up the costs, but school districts pay the entire bill for special election issues.

Lakota, a district of more than 16,000 students, could face a bill of $31,000 to go on the ballot, said Bob Mosketti, director of the Butler County Board of Elections.

In Williamsburg, where the levy expense is estimated between $5,000 and $8,000, officials see it as the cost of doing business.

E-mail kvance@fuse.net