Area school districts are settling into their next chapter. Tuesday, voters let them know whether or not they were willing to support proposed levies.
Although voters did not support Jefferson Township Local Schools' request, the superintendent says it's part of the process.
Superintendent Rusty Clifford said he's feeling good in the wake of his district’s levy failing for a second time.
"Sun comes up, kids show up, and we have another great day at school, just like we did the day before the levy," Clifford said. "So it's all good."
Tuesday, voters rejected a 1% earned income tax. It was for three years and would have generated just under $1 million per year. The money would have gone to salaries and other operating expenses. Last May, they rejected a 1.5% income tax.
"There are two precincts that heavily vote no. And we have two that heavily voted yes. Here's the issue. The vote no group turns out almost twice the number of voters as the yes precinct," Clifford said. "While there's close to equal numbers of voters in each of those precincts the huge difference is the turnout."
Final unofficial results from Montgomery County Board of Election show 629 voters rejected the levy while 369 supported it.
Clifford said his district is at risk of the state taking over.
He’s now in meetings with the district’s levy committee and board members to decide if they'll put another levy on next May’s ballot. All the while, he’s optimistic.
"It's not a rejection. It's just to say, 'Hey, we need more information. We need more time,' said Clifford. "The next levy campaign will be in May, so that's six, seven months from now. A whole lot can happen between now and in six, seven months. We can change people's perception of their perception."
In Montgomery County, voters also rejected school levies for the Preble Shawnee school district.
