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2 school bond issues: 1 passed, 1 rejected

Districts sought school construction funds

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By Megan Gildow, Staff Writer 6:51 PM Saturday, November 21, 2009

SPRINGFIELD — On Nov. 3, Northwestern and Northeastern local schools both sought funds for the construction of new schools in a partnership with the Ohio Schools Facilities Commission.

Northwestern voters approved the request; Northeastern voters rejected it.

Northwestern plans to construct two buildings — one for kindergarten to sixth grade, the other for seventh through 12th grades — on one campus.

Northeastern’s plan called for two campuses with three buildings — elementary, middle and high school — on each.

Both issues included an earned income tax portion as well.

Northeastern’s 0.25 percent would have paid for locally funded initiatives like larger gyms and auditoriums not covered by the OSFC and would have cost $100 for a $40,000 income.

That’s only a fourth the cost of Northwestern’s 1 percent earned income tax for operating expenses that would cost $400 a year for a $40,000 income.

And yet with the looming threat of a poor economy hanging over the ballot box Election Day, it was Northwestern’s levy — which was more expensive for the individual taxpayer — that voters approved.

In fact, the total amount of votes cast in Northwestern — 2,317 for and 1,950 against — is only about 300 more than the 3,965 voters who cast ballots for Northeastern’s issue, according to final, unofficial results from the Clark County Board of Elections.

But even with nearly 4,000 votes in support of the bond issue, it wasn’t enough to overcome the 4,931 voters opposed to the issue.

So why would two similar tax issues in districts with comparable student populations and demographics turn out with one passing and one failing?

“Why does one pass? Why does one fail? That’s really a good question,” said Scott Ebright of the Ohio School Boards Association. “If I knew how to guarantee the passage of a bond issue, I could be a very wealthy man.”

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