Votes say ‘no’ to requests for additional tax money

There were some exceptions in the election results Tuesday night to what has become the informal rule of levies in recent years, but not many.

The evolving rule has become, renewal levies will most likely pass and requests for additional money will fail.

One dramatic exception to the rule was the approval of a new .25 percent sales tax in Mahoning County to support the Western Reserve Transit Authority, which was addressed here Thursday. Another was the passage of a long-sought additional levy for Youngstown schools, which will be addressed on a future day. There were special circumstances in both those cases.

Some Mahoning Valley voters may have been feeling a little more generous on Tuesday — perhaps they were caught up in the excitement of the presidential election, which boosted turnout.

In Niles, the third time was the charm as voters approved a bond issue that will finance the construction of three new buildings. In Boardman, voters approved a 0.2 mill police and fire levy that will allow the reopening of a closed fire station and the hiring of patrolmen to fill spots that have become open due to resignations or retirements.

But in Austintown, voters rejected a new 4.9-mill levy that school board members said was vital to maintain operations at current levels. In response, the board will once again study the possibility of boosting revenues by going to open enrollment and reducing cost through various cutbacks.

Elsewhere in Mahoning County, renewal levies were approved, and a bond issue for new construction was approved in the Western Reserve School District.

Trumbull County

In Trumbull County, Howland voters rejected a bond issue for new construction, Lakeview voters said no to an additional operating levy for their schools and Southington voters rejected an additional 1-mill for schools and a 3.15-mill renewal. Other renewals in a half dozen districts were approved, including a vital 8.5-mill issue in Warren.

Once again, Election Day results reinforce something that has been evident for years. Ohio property owners are increasingly uncomfortable with carrying the cost of education on their backs.

In these hard economic times, that is not difficult to understand, but even in good times it is a flawed system. Indeed, the Ohio Supreme Court said so four separate times, and then dropped the issue after a recalcitrant General Assembly shrugged its shoulders.

Education and its funding is an issue that Gov. Ted Strickland announced as a priority of his administration. It must be, for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the impending loss of personal property tax income for school districts due to tax reform passed during the Taft administration. School districts (and other government entities) were to be made whole for those losses, but so far there has been no indication of how the state intends to do that.

In addition to Strickland taking the initiative on education, the lay of the land is changing in Columbus. While Republicans still maintain control of the Senate, the House will fall to a Democratic majority with the new year.

Tuesday’s results — as have election results in past years — send a message to Columbus that it is time for Democrats and Republicans to work together to reform educational funding in a way that provides necessary support within a framework that is easier for taxpayers to bear.