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Some Counties Holding Special Elections Today

A third of Ohio's 88 counties are holding special elections today. 19 of the 28 measures on the ballots are school money issues. M.L. Schultze of member station WKSU in Kent reports.

This election features 28 issues in 23 counties. And as is usually the case, those issues are dominated by schools. School levy consultant Jerry Rampelt says those making a run in August are often districts like Cloverleaf Local in Medina County, which have run out of options.
“The difficult thing is that in August, the passage rate is extremely low. And so it’s more difficult to pass a levy in August than it is in November. That is an indication of how desperate some of these districts are; they’ve made significant cuts and they’re trying to pass some millage to keep essential programs in place.”
Cloverleaf is in fiscal emergency, and is asking voters to approve an 8.3-mill additional levy and to renew a 6.3 mill levy. Together, they’re worth about $6.5 million dollars to a district that has cut back on kindergarten, busing and building use.
But as with many districts on this ballot, Cloverleaf is making plans in case the levies fail. The filing deadline for the November election is Wednesday, so many boards of education have voted to go to the voters then.

Jim has been with WCBE since 1996. Before that he worked as a reporter at another Columbus radio station, and for three newspapers in Southwest Florida.