MARYSVILLE, Ohio — Voters struck down a levy proposed by the Marysville Exempted Village School District Tuesday night.
More than 55% of people voted against the levy. Had the five-year, 8.4 mill operating levy passed, it would have cost taxpayers $294 per $100,000 of their property value. Todd Johnson, treasurer for Marysville schools, said it would have helped the school avoid a more than $9.6 million operating deficit.
Johnson said this was the first operating levy proposed by the district in more than a decade.
"Over the last 15 years the average central Ohio school district has increased their millage close to 12-mills, we've increased ours by zero,” Johnson said.
Johnson said the levy would make up for the more than $5.6 million in state funding they’ve lost over the last several years. It would have supported additional costs that come with increased enrollment.
"The school enrollment this year is larger than its been in the history of the district,” Johnson said.
James and Kelly Queen said they moved to Marysville for the schools in the district. Their son starts kindergarten this fall, and they said they support the levy to continue to provide schools with the resources they need.
"You don't take funding away from a school and expect it to get better,” Kelly said.
If voters decide against the levy, Johnson said there would be a hiring freeze for the district as well as program cuts.
"Currently we have all day everyday kindergarten, we would then end up going back to what they call part time or half day kindergarten,” Johnson said.
"That's a lot of childcare that now needs to happen and a lot of individuals who will either be forced to make, you know, have to stay home, or look elsewhere,” Kelly said.
But other residents in the community, like Joel Haynes, said they think the funding should be found elsewhere.
"There's always boosters, there's always things that you can do for fundraisers, the kids do it all the time for sporting events and stuff like that,” Haynes said.
Haynes said he voted against the levy because he’s already struggling to keep up with other rising costs, and the levy would increase his taxes by about $1,000 more a year.
"That's something I have to budget out that I can't pay for the gas that keeps going up and the food prices keep going up and I don't see any end in sight right now the way the situation is, and why burden more people with the tax,” Haynes said.
Polling locations closed Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m.