Voters in the Jonathan Alder School District have renewed the district’s income tax.
According to unofficial results from the Union and Madison County boards of elections, the levy passed with 823 votes for and 468 votes against. The levy passed in both counties, garnering about 60% of the vote in Union County and about 68% in Madison County.
“Overall, it is just wonderful to live in a district that values our students and education,” said Jonathan Alder Superintendent Gary Chapman.
The levy will cost $250 per year for a resident making $50,000. According to the Ohio Department of Taxation, the 0.50% tax generates about $1.5 million annually for the district.
The vote renews the district’s 0.50% tax on earned income for 10 years. The levy was originally passed in 2014 for seven years.
Chapman said the levy is “a significant source of revenue in providing long-term financial stability and maintaining our outstanding programs and services for our students.”
He said the income tax accounts fort between 6.5% and 7% of the district revenue.
“This gives us some financial stability to where we can provide outstanding programs and services to our students and take care of the overall needs of our kids,” Chapman said.
Chapman said there will not be new programs or any major program overhauls – at least immediately.
“We will evaluate these programs and services, as we always do, and look at our goals for the 2021-2022 school year and make some decisions at that time,” Chapman said. “But we needed to get this behind us and know where we were as we provide for our students.”
Until then, the superintendent said the money will be used to “fill in the gaps to continue to provide these necessary programs and services.”
Income tax dollars can be used for instructional supplies, classroom resources, computers, extracurricular activities, technology, school buses, insurance, salaries, utility costs and facility maintenance.
Chapman said the margin of victory is a testament to the work of the levy committee and the value the community puts on education.
Officials have said the earned income tax is the best way to balance the tax effort between those with high property value and those with high income, noting that an earned income tax offsets the district’s reliance on property taxes.