ATHENS, Ohio — Voters renewed a 1% income tax levy Tuesday night to indefinitely fund the Athens City School District. The levy, which had been scheduled to expire at the end of 2028, will help mend a projected budget shortfall in the district.
The levy passed by more than 1,000 votes. It received 5,675 votes in favor of the tax measure and 4,034 votes against it, per unofficial election night results from the Athens County Board of Elections. In November 2017, the 1% levy was renewed for a decade by nearly two-thirds of voters. But that levy was eventually set to end, and it will now benefit area schools continuously.
Last month, Jared Bunting, the school district’s treasurer and chief financial officer, told the Independent that the levy comprises nearly 14% of the district budget. Both Bunting and Chad Springer, the district’s superintendent since last year, noted that area schools face declining enrollment and financial woes ahead as revenue growth slows. Earlier this year, the district predicted that it could run through cash reserves by 2030.
Springer told the Independent in October that renewing the levy would help keep the district “more stable” for a few years, but that schools “are facing financial hardship no matter what.”
