It now looks unlikely that the Marysville School District will appear on the ballot in November.
At a work session Monday afternoon, a majority of the board members appeared resigned to limping through on cash reserves until next year, believing the disconnect between voters and the district is too vast to repair in just a couple of months.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do and between now and November would not be sufficient time,” board member Dick Smith said.
An 8.4-mill operating levy failed by more than 900 votes in May. District expenses are currently outpacing revenue by nearly $4 million per year and as the gap continues to grow, the district should burn through cash reserves in three years.
At a work session following the levy defeat, board members appeared ready to try again in November. That idea seems to have been scrapped in the last month.
“To be honest the appetite for any type of levy does not appear to be good,” board member Nan Savidge said.
Several factors appear to have played a factor in the reversal. Board members mentioned the overwhelming number of “no” voters that turned out for the election, coupled with results of a voter survey after the defeat that showed no clear path for a levy that voters would support.
“We got a large turnout and the largest number of people that turned out were the ‘no’s,’” Smith said. “We didn’t get the ‘yes’ voters to show up.”
Board members also mentioned a litany of reasons voters have given them for not supporting the levy, including:
-The TIF situation involving the city.
-The fractured relationship between the city and schools.
-Inflation and rising tax bills.
-An anti-growth sentiment in the area.
-A lack of trust in the district.
-Wasting money on things like the East, board office and stadium renovations.
-A lack of need for additional money.
“I think we need to level the chaos a little bit and work on our long-term strategy,” Savidge said.
Board President Sue Devine said if members of the community still do not understand the financial needs of the district, it shows that officials have not gotten the message out.
“If the our community feels we’ve got room to tighten our belts, we’ve got more talking to do,” Devine said.
But one member was adamant that skipping opportunities to pass a levy does not paint a picture of dire financial straits.
Member Jermaine Ferguson noted that if the district skips levy attempts it gives credence to the idea that the district has enough money to operate, allowing people to say, “I thought you guys were in desperate need of funds?”
Ferguson said that each issue raised by ‘no’ does not get solved by allowing months to pass.
“Time doesn’t dissolve the challenges,” he said.
Superintendent Diane Allen said at some point the district has to respect what it is being told by the voter, either in the form of vote tallies or surveys.
“Right now, those people are saying it’s not the right time,” Allen said.
Ferguson countered that people will never offer to raise taxes willingly and will likely feel the same way in 2024 or even 2025. He said the district has to work harder to show the need for voters to make a personal sacrifice of their own finances.
“Our job is to mold consensus,” Ferguson said.
Devine pointed out that in November a referendum will be on the ballot to overturn an approved city annexation. Board members noted that the issue will bring out a number of voters who are against development and see taxes of any kind as a product of that growth.
Ferguson said the anti-growth sentiment in the area is not going to change any time soon.
“If I was a betting man there are more referendums in the pipeline,” he said.
Board members in support of waiting noted that the district’s contingency plan had already trimmed $2 million from expenses and the recent state budget added another unexpected $3 million to district coffers. These factors gave the district a bit of a cushion in the timing of its next move.
Ferguson noted that delaying levy attempts only extends the impact of increased class sizes and other cuts that the district has instituted.
“Right now the path forward is prolonged pain,” Ferguson said.
Savidge said those who oppose the levy aren’t the only problem factoring into the decision. She said even levy supporters have lost enthusiasm for an immediate re-try.
For the levy to have a chance, its collection of volunteers would have to be excited for another chance to go back in front of voters.
“I’ve literally heard it from no one,” Savidge said.
The board agreed to put a resolution about a November try for an income tax on the Thursday Board of Education agenda, though the outcome of that vote is all but a foregone conclusion. Devine, Smith, Savidge and board member Bill Keck all made statements at the work session in support of delaying the levy try.
“We’re selecting to go down a hard, tough road that is just getting closer to the cliff,” Ferguson said.