School levies and bond issues received mixed support in Franklin County on Tuesday.
Franklin County voters approved levies and bond issues for Bexley, Grandview Heights, Hilliard and New Albany-Plain Local Schools, but said no to school issues in the Groveport-Madison, Madison-Plains and Reynoldsburg school districts.
SCHOOL ISSUES THAT PASSED
Grandview Heights City Schools
Grandview Heights earned the most voter support, with unofficial results from the Franklin County Board of Elections showing that about 61% of voters approved the district’s bond issue.
The bond will allow the district to build a new Stevenson Elementary School and update the existing K-12 athletic complex, according to the district. It’s set to cost the owner of a property valued at $100,000 about $243 per year.
New Albany-Plain Local Schools
Results from Franklin County show about 61% of voters supported New Albany-Plain Local Schools’ $135 million bond. No votes were cast for or against the bond in Licking County, where only a handful of people live in school district boundaries.
The bond is set be used to build a new elementary school, renovate an existing high school building and the middle school stadium, and expand the district’s transportation facility, among other projects.
Bexley City Schools
The Bexley City School district passed its operating levy with about 57% of the vote. The five-year levy will begin as a 5-mill tax in 2025, followed by annual increases of 2.5 mills until 2029.
Hilliard City Schools
Hilliard’s levy and bond issue passed with 53% of voters supporting it. The 6.9 mill levy is set to cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $242 a year and will be used to help construct and improve district facilities. That includes replacing Brown, Beacon and Ridgewood Elementary schools and renovating some playgrounds.
"We're just we're really grateful to this community," Hilliard Superintendent David Stewart said Wednesday. "And we we will start literally today making sure that we do everything we can to make sure that the community is satisfied with the investment that they have made."
Stewart said levies can be hard to pass because people think when property values go up, schools automatically get more money. He said that isn’t the case.
“It’s just really hard to educate the community on how schools are funded," Stewart said.
He said, however, that a number of components of the district's asks resonated with voters, including the fact that they hadn't been on the ballot in eight years. He said voters also saw the district's good academic track record and understood the need to update aging buildings.
SCHOOL ISSUES THAT FAILED
Groveport-Madison Local Schools
About 55% of voters said no to the Groveport-Madison Local Schools' District bond issue. It would have allowed the district to collect $78.3 million in bonds to build or improve three middle schools and build an addition to Groveport-Madison High School.
Reynoldsburg City School District
Reynoldsburg City School district’s emergency levy was also shot down by about 55% of voters. The levy was meant to raise $8.5 million annually for district operating costs. It would have cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $233 a year.
Reynoldsburg Superintendent Tracy Reed said in a statement that the district will be “exploring alternative funding sources and strategies,” in light of the levy’s failure.
“As of today, no decisions have been made, nor will they be made without approval from the Board of Education,” Reed wrote.
Westerville City School District
While voters in Franklin County split nearly 50-50 in a race too close to call for Westerville City Schools’ bond and levy, voters in Delaware County securely rejected the issue. Combining results from the two counties, about 52% of voters turned down the levy and bond.
The 4.9-mill levy was meant to be for daily operations, according to the district. The 1.66-mills bond would have brought in $140 million for renovations to four schools that opened in the 1960s, new technology in school buildings, and improvements to performing arts spaces, parking lots and playgrounds, among other projects.
The levy would have cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $172 a year, which the district equated to about $14 a month.
Madison-Plains Local Schools
In Franklin County, about 67% of voters shot down the Madison-Plains Local Schools bond. In Madison County, about 63% of voters said no to the school issue.
The $38 million bond issue would have been used to build a new K-8 building that would have replaced an existing building for grades 4 to 6 and a spattering of trailers that house other grades. It would have cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $151, according to the school district.
An additional .5 mill levy would have raised another $233,000 annually for construction and renovation. That would have cost about $18 per year for a property valued at $100,000.
