PAINESVILLE, Ohio — For two Lake County school districts, the second time was the charm for funding.
Painesville City Schools was one of the districts where voters said yes. The district was one of three in Lake County that banked on earned income instead of a levy tied to property taxes.
"We had a funding issue before our voters, continuing income tax of 1.25%," said Josh Englehart, superintendent of Painesville City Schools.
The continuing income tax will pump $3.4 million into the school district.
"I, we are extraordinarily grateful. Of our voters and of our community," Englehart said.
Englehart said cuts in state funding already caused the district to cut $4.5 million. He said the approved levy stops deeper cuts.
"We don't have to collapse an elementary building and consolidate, um, buildings. It means that we won't have to eliminate, uh, courses, eliminate programs for our kids. So we're going to be able to, with this additional revenue, we're gonna be able to continue the programs and services that we offer today into the future," Englehart said.
Painesville City Schools was the only district in Lake County to pass a levy tied to income tax on Tuesday.
Riverside and Willoughby-Eastlake both failed.
Willoughby-Eastlake turned down an interview and instead responded in a statement:
“Thank you to everyone in our community who took the time to ask questions, learn more, and vote on Issue 8. With Issue 8's failure, we face important decisions about the future of Willoughby-Eastlake City Schools. Throughout this process, our students will remain at the center of our decisions. We are committed to communicating clearly as we navigate the future together. Willoughby-Eastlake's Shared Vision will continue to guide us as we continue to create meaningful experiences for students, build strong relationships, support student growth, and prepare every student for the future.”
Riverside Local Schools did not return calls for an interview.
This year, there were more school districts asking for a tax on earned income as a different approach amid rising property taxes.
In Mentor, voters narrowly approved a school levy tied to property taxes.
"160-vote difference between the for and against the levy that currently does not fall within the margin of an automatic recount of the 0.1%," said Dante Lewis, director of the Lake County Board of Elections.
Mentor declined to go on camera but sent a statement:
Dear Mentor Schools Community,
Good evening. We are pleased to share that, according to the unofficial results from the Lake County Board of Elections Issue 5, the operating levy request for Mentor Public Schools is currently passing by a margin of 171 votes. We are hopeful and optimistic these results will stand.
As of this evening, we know additional ballots, including eligible provisional ballots, have yet to be counted. We expect to learn more about the number of outstanding ballots tomorrow. The Board of Elections will certify the final results later this month.
We are sincerely grateful to our community for its support of Mentor Public Schools. We recognize that this represents an investment from our residents, and we do not take that responsibility lightly.
As we have shared throughout this process, the district will continue making necessary adjustments to align our operations with available resources. The passage of Issue 5 would provide important financial support to help maintain the high quality educational programming and student services our community values. We remain committed to thoughtful financial planning, responsible stewardship of public funds and transparency as we move forward.
Most importantly, this support helps us continue our mission of providing students with a well-rounded, high-quality education in a safe and supportive environment. We are proud of our students, staff and community, and grateful to everyone who took the time to stay informed and participate in the election.
Thank you for your continued involvement in Mentor Public Schools and for the trust you place in our district.
The day after Election Day, workers at the Board of Elections were emptying supplies, packing up and getting ready to certify the results.
"We had 107,000 total voters in this election, 65,000 on Election Day alone, another 42,000 people voted before Election Day between the two categories, early in person and absentee by mail," Lewis said.
Lewis said in-person voting compared to 2022 more than doubled for this election.
"We had really great weather the month of October, so that could have driven turnout. We had a beautiful day on Election Day yesterday. Um, I think that, you know, there was a lot of interest in, in a lot of those races at the top of the ticket as well as a lot of interest in some of the local questions and issues throughout Lake County," Lewis said.
