New Philadelphia voters defeat school income tax
NEW PHILADELPHIA – Schools Superintendent Amy Wentworth was at a loss following the failure of the district’s income tax issue on Tuesday’s ballot.
Issue 1, a 1.5 percent income tax to fund new schools, failed by about 1,200 votes.
Wentworth says she is disappointed that once again around 60 percent of voters said no, about the same percentage that opposed previous property tax levy attempts in the past year.
“The need is still there, and we remain committed to providing safe, high quality learning environments for our students with the resources that we have available. And I’m not sure exactly what that’s going to look like, but we’re going to continue to listen and reflect and work together with the community to try and figure out how to meet our district facility needs, which are numerous.”
Wentworth says the district could try again, but the state’s offer to provide 80 million dollars in matching funds expires at the end of this year.
“So it would still be an option if we were to pass local funding in November. The board of education may decide that that’s the path they want to take. They may decide that’s not the path they want to take. And I know we’re going to be meeting later this month to start those conversations. I’m really not sure what direction the board will choose to go at this point.”
She says Issue 1’s failure means the district won’t buy 77 acres on the east side; the owners will now sell that land privately.
“Quite simply our buildings have outlived their useful life. We have identified about $5.8 million of critical needs, things that need fixed right now, including roofs, modulars. That’s not improving anything. That is just fixing the old buildings that we have to continue to make them functional for our students. We don’t have $5.8 million. And even if we did, we would still have the challenges with buildings, in some cases built before World War II, that were not designed for today’s learner. They don’t have the infrastructure, they don’t have the ADA accessibility.”
Wentworth is leaving the district at the end of the school year to lead her alma mater, Indian Valley. She says it will be up to the School Board to decide what to do next.