Fairbanks officials said they are strongly considering going back on the ballot next year, but whatever decision is made, will have to come quickly.
Board of education members met on Monday in a special session ahead of the regular board meeting next week to discuss where the district stands given the failure of one of the levies after the Nov. 7 election.
While the .25% renewal tax passed, the new combination levy, asking for a .25% income tax and 1.85-mill property tax, was defeated.
The new money would go to one portion of a two-part approach to expanding and renovating all three-school buildings in the district.
Officials said they would like to return to the ballot next spring but have a short amount of time to file with the state and county.
“The reason we’re having this discussion now before going out and doing some listening and trying to talk with other stakeholders within our community, is there’s really short order in this,” said Superintendent Adham Schirg. “Because the spring election is moved up to March for primaries, we have to have a resolution on the regular agenda next week.”
If the district goes on the ballot in March, it would have to file with the Ohio Department of Taxation and the Union County Board of Elections by the middle of December.
He said this week’s special meeting was “kind of a primer” for next week and allows him and the district’s treasurer to see where the board stands.
The majority of the members voiced support for going on the March ballot but recognized discussion with the community as being an important step.
Board member Mark Lippencott said he wants to go again in March but also was curious if the district could withdraw the ballot measure if the community voiced opposition.
“I feel very strongly for going back on in March for multiple reasons,” he said. “Number one, it’s close. If we wait until November, it’ll almost be like we’re starting over. It really does. Number two, there’s still more we could tell in this story.”
He said while he understands that asking for more taxes is a tough sell, the district is in a unique position to plan for growth before the majority of it has arrived. And before it’s too expensive.
“The growth is coming and eventually (the public is) going to have to pay for new schools and they’re never going to get a deal like this again. It’s going to cost them more money,” he said. “So, let’s go ahead and get that done.”
Schirg said while the perception may be that Fairbanks isn’t seeing the growth at the expected rate, it is happening and will likely ramp up in the coming years.
“Right now, from just in Jerome Township, there are 618 units that are going to be constructed. These are not ‘hey, it may come, we think it’s coming,’” he said, noting the planned 230 apartments, 177 homes and 211 condos. “So, when we talk about growth coming, I think it’s important that we don’t just say, ‘hey, it’s coming.’ There are 618 housing units that are being planned to be built right now.”
Board member Angie Bouic agreed, saying while she too understands the increase in taxes, growth will contribute to that either way.
“That’s something that (residents) don’t realize, that the value of the school does maintain their property value,” she said. “And if they don’t vote for something less and, unfortunately, if you move to Union County because of lower taxes, because of the progress and growth they’re trying to push here, property values are going to go up regardless and it’s going to cost more to live here.”
Board members said the levy defeat was a surprise given that much of the sentiment they heard across the county going into the election was positive.
Schirg said the plan ahead of next week’s regular session is to draft a resolution and research what it might take to remove a measure from the ballot. Additionally, he said, the district would work on reaching out to more residents.
“The big piece is where are we going to find the pockets to start to talk to people and circle back and really get feedback from people of what the concerns were,” he said. “We need to think about how we can do that and how we can do it together.”