JEROMESVILLE — Local voters renewed a 10-year 1.25% income tax levy for Hillsdale Local Schools on Tuesday, a reversal from when voters rejected it last November.
Last fall, the levy failed by just 47 votes. This time around it passed by an even smaller margin, 19 votes.
Final unofficial vote tallies from Ashland and Wayne County boards of election show 624 votes for the levy and 605 against it.
Official vote totals will not be available until all absentee and provisional ballots, which could come in up to four days after the election, are counted and the boards of elections certify the results.
Superintendent Steve Dickerson said he was pleased and excited with the results but he had some concerns about how close the vote was.
“Close votes don’t mean necessarily that you’re doing things wrong or right. And (it’s) not really a true reflection of the school. I mean, you’re dealing with people’s finances,” he said.
Voters first approved the levy back in 2013 and it took effect in 2014. When it came time to renew the levy for another 10 years last fall, 1,416 voters cast their ballots against it and 1,368 voted for it.
More than 21 percent of registered Ashland County voters took to the polls on Tuesday compared to 54 percent last fall.
The district decided to try the levy again on May’s ballot, this time buoyed by a community levy committee that superintendent Steve Dickerson said was “the big difference” this time.
The committee created a levy webpage, put up signs and created videos to bolster the levy, he said.
The levy will generate around $2.1 million for the district annually, money that will go toward its day-to-day operations.
It will also allow the district to move forward with its plans to offer associate degrees and College Credit Plus courses at the high school, Dickerson said.
“That was one thing that has been waiting on (the levy) because when you’re not certain on your revenue, the last thing you wanna do is give ’em a carrot and then turn around, take it away from them,” he said.
Another Ashland county school district, Mapleton Local Schools in Orange Township, failed to pass its levy on Tuesday by 172 votes.
