Community, school leaders ponder next steps after tax failures at the ballot

Disappointed by May’s primary election results, school and city officials across Portage County know they have work to do before November.

Ravenna voters rejected a proposed income tax increase, Streetsboro voters said no to a school levy, and voters across the county blocked a bid for public assistance funds. Voters in Garrettsville, Nelson and Freedom townships defeated Community Emergency Medical Services’ plea for funding.

Even Tallmadge schools, where about 100 Portage County students are enrolled, got a ballot box rebuff.

The question, leaders at the helm of the other organizations say, is what to do next.

(CEMS Chief Chris Sanchez did not respond to The Portager’s request for comment.)

Ravenna

By a vote of 699 for to 1,120 against, Ravenna voters rejected a proposed .25% income tax hike to fund new police and fire stations and a new city hall. That doesn’t surprise City Council President Rob Kairis, who said the city’s last two income tax issues also failed on their first attempts.

Calling the voters’ rejection of the proposed income tax hike “definitive,” Kairis said city officials will have to do a better job of educating voters before the next election. Canvassing city residents days before the election, he said he found some who did not know a proposed income tax hike was on the ballot.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if some seniors who it wouldn’t impact still voted against it just because of the general climate of costs across the board going up. There’s the general feeling that people can’t afford anything else. I get that,” he said.

Though Ravenna’s leaders have spent the better part of a decade determining what is needed, the final say is up to city voters, Kairis acknowledged.

“And if they choose not to increase the income tax for this purpose, that’s their right, and we’ll just have to figure out what to do in the end,” he said.

Council members had initially considered asking voters for a property tax increase but knew such a request would be “suicide” when the most recent round of revaluations came through, he said.

That left proposing an income tax hike because, “we knew all along from the beginning, we didn't have the money to build these any other way than to increase taxes. I mean, cities like Ravenna don't just have $25 million sitting around to spend,” he said.

What city officials will do next is yet to be decided. An identical proposal may appear on the November ballot, or voters may see a pared down approach: perhaps a request to fund new police and fire stations, but not a city hall, Kairis said. Or the amount of the proposed income tax hike will decrease, he said.

Meanwhile, it’s business as usual, with maintenance being deferred until repairs are absolutely necessary, he said. The police station needs a new roof and will get it. Other fixes, including improving ADA access to the police station and adding accommodations for female firefighter/EMTs to the fire station, will have to wait.

Portage County Job & Family Services

Portage County Job and Family Services floated a 0.4-mill levy to fund public assistance for children and adults, but it failed by a vote of 12,753 for to 14,779 against.

Issue 6 would not have resulted in a new tax, but instead would have replaced a current 0.5-mill Child Protective Services levy that is set to expire at the end of this year, JFS Executive Director Kellijo Jeffries said.

Knowing the funds are needed, Jeffries said she will ask the county commissioners to place a second bid on the November ballot. Should the measure fail then, she said she anticipates program cuts.

“This levy was really important, especially to provide additional supports and services to senior citizens. We’re seeing such an increase in adult protective services cases and in needs in the community. We have to try again,” she said.

Supportive funds for Axess Family Services, the Portage County Senior Center, the guardianship services board, transportation that Medicaid doesn’t cover and transportation to help people access work and training are all on the potential chopping block, she said.

“We know public transportation doesn’t run to the four corners of the county. We would primarily support senior citizens, adult protective services cases and other supportive services,” she said.

Jeffries said she sympathizes with voters’ “competing priorities,” including the high price of gasoline and other financial challenges. Besides asking voters for approval in November, she said she will continue to advocate state legislators for community support.

Streetsboro

A 7-mill operating levy bid for Streetsboro schools also failed. School Superintendent Cynthia Deevers did not communicate directly with The Portager, but provided a prepared statement:

“With the failure of this operating levy, Streetsboro City Schools now faces even more difficult financial decisions in the months ahead,” she wrote. “While we are disappointed by [the] outcome, we respect the voice of our community and remain committed to transparency as we work through the challenges this creates for our district.”

The district’s website points to cuts of “at least $1 million per year to maintain a positive cash flow through 2030.” The money was meant for “essential operating costs,” including salaries and benefits for teachers and staff, curriculum materials, classroom technology, academic resources, school resource officer and safety costs, utilities, transportation and maintenance.

The website points to potential cuts in middle and high school sports, or increasing “pay to participate” fees. Also on the potential chopping block are field trips, the district’s annual overnight trip to Washington, D.C., arts and gifted programming, full-day kindergarten and elective (non-required) classes at the high school and middle school.

Teachers, administrators and aides may lose their jobs. Busing may be reduced to state minimums: Ohio law mandates buses for K-8 students who live more than two miles from the school they attend, but the district’s website stipulates that transportation may be cut for students who live in a “one or two mile walk distance.” Busing for high school students may be eliminated altogether.

Tallmadge

About 100 Portage County students attend Tallmadge City Schools. Their families rejected a proposed 5.6-mill levy by a vote of 27 for to 60 against. (The levy bid also failed in Summit County.)

The levy bid – the district’s second one – places the district in pre-fiscal caution, the first in a four-category continuum that ends with the state taking over school districts in financial straits.

Tallmadge Superintendent Steve Wood said all cost-saving measures are on the table, including reducing busing to state minimums, increasing class sizes, letting some teachers and staff go, not replacing teachers and staff who leave or retire, and increasing “pay to play.”

Though the schools suffer, Wood said he understands the voters’ choice. He lays the blame squarely at the feet of state legislators.

“I understand where the pushback is coming from and, unfortunately, with this model of funding schools, the one tax that people have the ability to say no to is one that has a negative impact on kids. And I think that's embarrassing for the state of Ohio. What's happening right now is taxpayers are revolting against taxes, and this is the one they have the chance to say no to,” he said. 

District officials will determine whether to cast their next ask as another property tax or an earned income tax increase, but Wood said the district has no choice. Voters will see another bid for funds in November.

Yes votes

It wasn’t all bad news. Voters in Kent, Franklin Township, Sugar Bush Knolls and a small portion  of southern Streetsboro approved a large levy bid from Kent City Schools, and Ravenna voters gave the nod to Reed Memorial Library’s ask for continued funding. Residents in Palmyra and Randolph townships said yes to continued funds for fire and emergency medical services.

Careful to thank district voters for approving the district’s 9.8-mill levy, Kent Superintendent Tom Larkin said the state’s funding mechanism must change. Relying so heavily on property owners is simply not fair, he said.

He said he shares concerns community members have about property taxes. The levy adds about $700 a year to most property owners’ annual bills, prompting some people who have always supported Kent school levies to cast no votes at the polls.

“We must make our concerns heard in Columbus,” he said. “We need our legislators to work together to find solutions that both support our schools and remain mindful of taxpayers’ economic realities. We're hoping that there's some reforms coming from Columbus that are going to provide some of those reliefs.”