Last fall, 51.2% of voters were against the levy while 48.8% were in favor of the levy, according to the Montgomery County Board of Elections.
Jerry Ellender, Mad River Schools treasurer, said the new money would pay for repairs for buildings, such as HVAC equipment, roofs, asphalt for parking lots and equipment like buses, and items for athletics and band. Permanent improvement levies cannot be spent on items meant for the general fund, like teachers’ salaries.
In a November statement on the district’s website, Ellender listed some specific needs, including an air conditioning chiller at Spinning Hills Middle School and new roofing shingles on all four elementary school buildings — Beverly Gardens, Brantwood, Saville and Stevenson.
While the new levy, if passed, would be a tax-increase levy, Ellender said residents are currently seeing their school taxes drop. He said that’s because the 5.22-mill school bond issue that was passed back in 2001 was paid off in 2024, meaning taxpayers no longer have to pay those taxes.
An additional 0.5-mill facilities maintenance levy the district used for building upkeep also expired at the end of 2024, according to Ellender.
Ellender said if the levy doesn’t pass in May, needed repairs will be delayed again and the treasurer would recommend running the ballot initiative again in November. No budget cuts have been made yet as a result of November’s levy rejection, but repairs have been delayed, he said.
Riverside opinion of the school levy remains divided. Facebook discussions of the levy have indicated that some people are in favor of the school levy because they want to support the school district. But others have objected to the tax, saying property taxes are already too high and a burden on the public.
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