MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — Every vote matters.
The Madison Local School District ended Election Day in an even split of votes in its pursuit of a voter-approved tax levy.
Exactly half of the voters (620) said “yes” and “no” (620) to a 10-year renewal request of Madison School District’s 4-mill property tax levy.
This was the first tax issue the district has sought since 2022, when voters said “no” to an earned income tax on that year’s spring ballot.
Since that rejection, Madison school officials have made operating budget cuts to balance the books. With the cuts, the district raised pay-to-participate fees by $200 per activity with no family maximum. Madison also cut some teaching positions, and 30 supplemental teaching and coaching positions were defunded.
The matter will likely be decided when Election Day provisional votes and late-arriving mailed-in ballots are counted during the official run of the election. Butler County Board of Elections reported three provisional votes were cast on Election Day in the Madison voting area, and the official run of the election is scheduled for May 22.
A failure means more cuts and pay-to-participate fees doubling to $400 per activity with no family maximum.
Madison Schools Superintendent Jeff Staggs declined to comment until the election results are finalized.
In an extremely low turnout for Tuesday’s election, only 7.6% of registered voters participated in the weeks during early voting and on Election Day.
The Journal-News is a media partner of WCPO.com.
