Solon School Levy Passes With Ease In Primary Election

SOLON, OH — Residents voted overwhelmingly to approve an 8.5-mill levy for the Solon City Schools on Tuesday. Slightly more than 69 percent of voters cast their ballot in favor of the levy, according to not-yet-verified results from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.

Solon City Schools spent months lobbying Governor John Kasich for help stemming the steady loss of state funding. Their please fell on deaf ears and the district was forced to turn to residents for help in the form 8.5-mill levy.

And residents were eager to help the award-winning school district.

The levy will add no additional costs to residents in 2019, but will cause a spike in taxes in 2020. This is the district's first levy since 2010.

District officials have said they hope residents view the levy positively, noting the Solon Schools consistently strong performance and rankings on both state report cards and in national publications. "I hope residents view the levy positively," Regano told Patch in December 2017, when news of the levy first broke. "We're the highest performing district in the state, and in one publication we're the highest in the nation. It's really tough to go eight or nine years without an operating levy."

And residents apparently did view the levy positively. Take a look at the unverified results from Tuesday night.

Much of the district's lost funding can be attributed to the loss of the Tangible Personal Property (TPP) tax. More information on that tax can be viewed below the results.

Regano and Tim Pickana, the district treasurer, both said the loss of Tangible Personal Property tax revenue accelerated the need for the levy. Since 2011, the district has lost 8.49 percent of its operating revenue, Pickana told Patch. From 2017 to 2018, the cliff will be dramatic. Revenues from TPP fell from $8.3 million annually to $4.8 million annually. And TPP revenues are continuing to drop as the state phases out the tax.

Primary Day Notes

Polls opened at 6:30 a.m. and closed at 7:30 p.m. Voters had a sunny, clear election day. Temperatures topped out at about 67 degrees during the day and dipped toward 53 degrees in the evening, according to the National Weather Service.

Voter turnout in Cuyahoga County was at about 23.4 percent at the time of the polls closing, according to unofficial numbers from the county Board of Elections. Mike West, a spokesperson for the Cuyahoga BOE, said he was hoping for turnout to get closer to 26 percent, slightly above average for a primary.

Photo from Ashley Ludwig, Patch