Voters in the Springboro and Lebanon school districts approved school levies in the May special election with 100% of the precincts reporting.
According to final, unofficial results from the Warren County Board of Elections, the Springboro levy was approved with a vote of nearly 70% to 30%.
The early result for the Lebanon schools renewal levy was also ahead by a vote of 62% to 38%.
In Springboro, voters were being asked to approve a new additional 2-mill continuing permanent improvement levy that will pick up where another 2-mill levy expires at the end of 2021.
The new levy would create a continuing permanent improvement fund to keep up the maintenance and other capital purchases and repairs to the district’s buildings. Superintendent Larry Hook said the proposed 2-mill levy would generate about $3 million a year that can only be used for permanent improvements lasting five years or more to school facilities as well as for capital purchases such as school buses.
The proposed levy would cost property owners about $70 per $100,000 of valuation, according to the Warren County Auditor’s Office. County Auditor Matt Nolan said taxpayers won’t feel the impact of an increase as one (2-mill) levy is coming off and replaced by a new 2-mill levy.
Lebanon voters considered the renewal of a 2.83-mill emergency operating levy for another five years.
This was the third time that this levy has been considered by voters. According to the Warren County Board of Election, this levy was first approved in 2011 and renewed in 2016.
The proposed levy would cost a property owner about $86.67 per $100,000 of valuation, according to Warren County Auditor Matt Nolan.
Interim Superintendent Robert Buskirk said the levy will not raise taxes on property owners and will maintain school operations at current levels.
He said the Lebanon school board opted to leave it as an emergency levy renewal because if it was changed to a continuing levy, the new levy would actually increase taxes.
Brian Sleeth, Warren County elections director, said more than 4,600 votes were cast Tuesday.
He predicted an election turnout of no higher than 15% as turnout was reported at 14.5%. There are 51,671 registered voters in the 65 precincts voting in this election, with five precincts considering overlapping school levies in Xenia and Bellbrook-Sugarcreek school districts, Sleeth said.
“It was very slow today,” he said.
Sleeth said 1,005 people participated in early voting, with 664 casting their votes at the elections board office. Of the 664 people casting early ballots at the election board, 112 people voted on Monday.
Nearly 7,500 out of 59,671 registered voters cast ballots for the special election, according to final unofficial results from the Warren County Board of Election.
One glitch was reported earlier in the day when voting machines went down in 16 precincts around the county, he said.
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