School Levies Struggled in August 7 Summer Election

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A sign directing voters hangs on a chair at a polling station setup at a elementary school as Ohio heads to the polls on March 6, 2012 in Bowling Green, Ohio.

School levies around the state did not fair well in Tuesday’s election.

Twenty-five failed, 10 passed, and one was pulled from the ballot. If you’re keeping score, that means more than 70 percent of school levies failed.

Schools have struggled to get levies passed in the last few elections, and there’s a pretty easy explanation for that: when the economy is slow, folks object to anything that will raise their taxes.

But, at least this year, there may be another reason.

• School Levies Struggle in Summer ElectionsExperts say a consistently weak economy and heightened political rhetoric are to blame.Download

[Find district-by-district results here.]

Part of the reason districts had trouble passing levies is “the political rhetoric that is much larger beyond the specific school district,” says Stephen Brooks, a political scientist at the University of Akron’s Bliss Institute.

Brooks says that is “a national discussion about whether the more government or more taxes or we if can end up cutting taxes and being successful.”

This being a presidential election year, voters are being inundated with messages about big versus small government. And Brooks says even fears around the economy are usually just that – fears. It’s not necessarily that people literally can’t afford higher taxes, it’s that they’re not confident enough that the economy will bounce back.

Brooks says voters may be surprised at just how much schools are hurting these days. Given deeper than expected budget cuts from the state, schools may have a harder time bouncing back from failed levies than in the past. He predicts the schools that saw their levies fail will likely return to voters next year, since taxes are one of their few sources of revenue.

Many of Ohio’s more than 600 school districts, including Cleveland, Toledo, and Akron, have decided to wait until the big election day in November to try their chances, hoping a presidential election will draw out a bigger, more school-friendly voter turnout.

Others, like Columbus City Schools, are putting their levies off even further.

Aug. 7 School Issue Unofficial Results

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Source: County Boards of Election | Download Data

Note: A table in an earlier version of this post incorrectly described the Groveport Madison levy. It is a substitute levy.