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Analysis shows east-west split in Northeastern vote

Kenton Ridge area voters were more likely to favor the bond issue.

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By Megan Gildow, Staff Writer 6:39 PM Saturday, November 21, 2009

Voters in the area around Kenton Ridge High School were more likely to support Northeastern Local Schools’ Nov. 3 bond issue than those around Northeastern High School, according to an analysis of the precinct voting trends.

The only four precincts to pass the issue were on the western side of the district, closer to Kenton Ridge High School, while the precincts that voted against it at the highest rates — voting against it at rates of 61 percent to 73 percent — were on the eastern side of the district, according to data from the Clark County Board of Elections.

“It seems like that’s traditionally so,” said Linda Wallace, the district’s communications consultant. “Over in Pleasant Twp. and Harmony (Twp.), they just don’t seem to pass on schools as often.”

Having a district with two distinct sides can create challenges, she acknowledged. At 118 square miles, Northeastern is the largest district in the county in terms of land area, according to the Ohio Department of Education.

“That does present a lot of challenges,” Wallace said. “I think that there are people over in the Kenton Ridge side and the Northeastern side that, they just don’t know one another.

“(The levy committee) really want to unify the district but that gets confusing,” she said. “There are some people who don’t want two campuses and then there are people who don’t want one campus.”

Districts with a homogeneous population, such as rural or residential areas for instance, are typically significantly more successful at the ballot than those with varying populations like Northeastern, according to guidance from Bowling Green State University called “Try, try, again — How to turn levy defeat into success.”

That research also indicates that putting an emphasis on identifying and mobilizing those voters most likely to vote “yes” is a critical piece of election success.

According to a survey of superintendents who had at least one levy on the ballot in November 2007, 100 percent of those who were successful at the ballot said they emphasized the importance of contacting likely supporters in their campaign strategy.

Seventy percent of those who were unsuccessful said they had not emphasized “yes” voters as part of the campaign.

Both the Northwestern and Northeastern campaigns say they placed their primary emphasis on educating and reaching the entire community, but reaching those voters who were likely to support the issue was also part of the campaign.

Northeastern’s levy committee, with the help of the Ohio Education Association, set up a phone bank to call the likely “yes” voters and also sent postcards to those voters.

Northwestern also focused some extra attention on voters who are more likely to support tax issues, like alumni and parents, said 2009 graduate and the campaign’s director of alumni relations Ricky Birt, who was also elected to the board in November.

“We put a lot of emphasis on (alumni) because obviously alumni have a lot of interest in securing the values of education that they received for future generations,” he said.

As Northwestern begins the design process for new buildings, the Northeastern building advisory committee will begin meeting to prepare to return to the ballot Feb. 2, said Wallace.

Board members have approved an identical tax issue for the ballot in February to generate the $65 million in local money they must secure before July to finalize the Ohio Schools Facilities Commission funding partnership. The OSFC has offered 41 percent of the project, compared to 45 percent in Northwestern.

“Right now the immediate focus is to be being at the events, making sure people are aware,” said Wallace.

The committee is already considering efforts like Northwestern’s DVD sent home to parents about the issue, she said.

And based on the levy’s failure Nov. 3, it appears their numbers have already swollen.

“We have grown a little because people after it did not pass wanted to get involved,” she said.

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0373 or mgildow@coxohio.com.

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