MANSFIELD — Residents of the Madison Local school district have voted down a request for additional operating funds.
The 8-mill continuous operating levy failed 1,333 to 1,821, according to final, unofficial vote tallies from the Richland County Board of Elections.
The levy was the district’s first attempt at new operating funds since 1997. It would have generated $3,136,272 per year.
“I’m a little disappointed,” Supt. Rob Peterson. “It’s been 26 years since we’ve asked for additional operating funds in the district and we feel we’ve been pretty prudent in that time.
“If we want to continue to offer the things we’re offering at this time, we’re going to need to increase revenue.”
Peterson said the district will likely put a levy on the ballot again in November, though it might be a slightly different request.
“The board and the administration will have to take a look at what we put on the ballot this time and consider some changes,” he said.
“The other thing we’ll need to be doing is taking a look at our expenditures and start developing a plan for cuts, if in fact the levy doesn’t pass in November.”
Money from the levy would have been used to address the district’s current operating deficit and cover rising day-to-day expenses like salaries, benefits, curriculum, technology and facilities maintenance, Peterson said.
If the district can’t secure additional funds, it will need to cut spending by $2.5 to $3 million before the 2024-2025 school year.
The district’s overall operating expenditures for the 2023-2024 school year are projected to be $37,317,142, according to the district’s most recent five year forecast.
Peterson said administrators and the school board haven’t discussed specific information about what could be cut.
“We wanted to keep things positive going into this election,” he said.
Peterson thanked the members of the district levy committee and those who voted to support the measure.
“For the people who voted yes, we appreciate the support,” he said. “We’ll keep grinding and working as a school district to educate our kids.”
As a community development group committed to growing Mansfield, NECIC sees civic engagement as vital for a healthy community. Rooted in the North End, their efforts benefit North Central Ohio and beyond. They promote informed voter turnout for a thriving society. Explore at www.necic-ohio.org.
The new levy of 7.5 is it for assessed value or appraised value. I go to auditor page under levies and it says my new tax would be 279.03 and my assessed value was 47.080 dollars. My tax should be be at least half of what they say if we are taxed on assessd value.
Properties are taxed on the assessed value. The best way to determine how much a levy will cost you is to search for your property on the Richland County Auditor’s site, then click ‘levies’ from the red menu banner on the top. If you have questions on your individual property, it’s best to contact the county auditor.