West Geauga Schools Superintendent Nancy Benincasa addressed the recent failure of the 4.82-mill continuing substitute levy Nov. 10, emphasizing there will be no immediate budget cuts.
West Geauga Schools Superintendent Nancy Benincasa addressed the recent failure of the 4.82-mill continuing substitute levy Nov. 10, emphasizing there will be no immediate budget cuts.
Out of 6,659 ballots cast, 4,063 opposed the levy and 2,596 supported it Nov. 4, according to the final official results of the Geauga County Board of Elections.
If the levy had passed, it would have yielded $6.05 million per year and cost homeowners $169 per year per $100,000 property valuation, according to the Geauga County Auditor’s Office.
Prior to the election, Treasurer Karen Pavlat had warned the levy’s failure would result in funding cuts in all areas.
“The board would need to consider all available options for cutting costs to account for the loss of revenue resulting from the expiration of the two existing emergency levies,” Pavlat had said, adding the loss of state reimbursement would eliminate about $750,000 as well.
“I just wanted to make sure that everybody understood that we have time, that it doesn’t mean that there are immediate, knee-jerk-reaction cuts that will be happening,” Benincasa said Nov. 10. “I want people to understand that this levy was never about protecting our recent budget, this was about long-term stability. Even with a fund balance, we know that relying on a fund balance alone won’t be sustainable,and so we have to think about the future and our aging facilities and our current programming needs, and we have to plan accordingly.”
This levy was the district’s last opportunity to use the state homestead rollback program, said board member Kathy Leavenworth.
“Property tax rollback payments are made from the state to school districts to reimburse revenue lost due to property tax relief programs granted by the state to taxpayers under the 10% and 2.5% property tax rollback programs and under the Homestead Exemption program,” according to the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce.
“It was our last opportunity to take advantage of the homestead rollback and we can no longer do that,” Leavenworth said. “I’m sorry that it didn’t pass at this time because we can no longer take advantage of that and I’m sorry that a lot of people didn’t realize that.”
The district must now evaluate its options, including potentially returning to the ballot in May 2026, Benincasa said Nov. 4.
“I just hope that we can continue pushing on our message that voting for the levy is voting for our kids and making sure they have everything that they need, and understanding that, yes, there’s $25 million in the bank, but it costs us $3 million a month to run this district,” said board President Christina Sherwood.
Sherwood noted the district is the largest employer in the county, which requires significant funding.
Benincasa also thanked the school board for its dedication in understanding the levy’s importance ahead of School Board Appreciation Month, she said.
“(There is an) enormous time commitment and responsibility of service on a board of education (and) people really don’t understand what that looks like and how much we depend upon the due diligence of our board members because what the community sees is these two hours once a month,” Sherwood said. “But, what we see behind the scenes are the hours of reading and understanding and conversation and decisions that we make and weighing options on behalf of kids. And I will tell you, I have a deep and profound respect for people willing to stand up and serve in this public manner.”
