MANSFIELD – Elementary students in the Clear Fork Valley Local School District will get new schools thanks to the renewal of a 1 percent income tax levy on Tuesday night.
According to unofficial election results from the Richland County Board of Elections, the levy passed by a 61 percent margin with 2,338 votes for the levy and 1,476 against. The measure will last for the next 20 years and generate $1.9 million per year to go towards current operating expenses.
“Talk about historic,” said Clear Fork Superintendent Janice Wyckoff. “This is historic in the Valley.”
The renewal of the levy will pay for the replacement of Clear Fork’s two elementary schools, Butler Elementary and Bellville Elementary. According to Wyckoff, the two schools are 101 years old and 121 years old, respectively.
“Our old buildings have been phenomenal to us, they turned out doctors and lawyers and they’ve done great things,” Wyckoff said. “This is just an opportunity to move our kids forward.”
Wyckoff celebrated the successful levy renewal at Fast Eddie’s Pizza in Bellville with the majority of the Clear Fork Pride levy committee. The committee was made up of a myriad of Clear Fork parents and community members, and co-chaired by Clear Fork parents Mindy Sansom and Nicole Blakley.
“We had business owners, retired teachers, and community members who all cared about getting our kids out of those old buildings,” Sansom said. “We all worked really hard.”
Sansom said the group was “extremely nervous” during the early returns, though the results showed the levy was ahead by a slim margin. It turned out they needn’t worry.
“When eight out of nine precincts were reporting and we were ahead, we all just went crazy hugging and clapping and screaming,” she said.
Wyckoff said decisions about what to do with the current Butler and Bellville elementary schools are yet to be made. She noted parts and pieces of the old buildings will surely be included in the new buildings, as a way to honor their legacy.
However, Wyckoff was mostly excited about the future for her elementary students in the Clear Fork Valley.
“This will give our kids an opportunity to be in educational spaces that are modern, that will be able to use technology in all of our classrooms at the same time,” Wyckoff said. “We will be able to have healthy, safe places for kids to learn, which we do right now but we’ll have places that are bright and exciting for kids.
“It’s amazing, it’s just amazing. I am in awe by this.”
Elsewhere in Richland County, the Lexington Local School District passed a 7.9 mil renewal levy for 10 years to go towards emergency requirements. According to unofficial results from the Board of Elections, the levy passed by a 68-percent margin with 4,184 votes for the levy and 1,911 votes against the levy.
According to Superintendent Mike Ziegelhofer, the renewal will continue the original dollar amount of $2.7 million annually that was approved in 2011.
“That’s about 13 percent of our operating budget,” he said. “We’re going to be able to continue to provide the kinds of programs and opportunities that we’ve been providing for our kids.”
Ziegelhofer was especially appreciative of the support of the constituents in the Lexington Local School District. He noted Lexington residents have been supportive of the schools in a variety of ways over the years.
“They value the kind of education that young people need and deserve,” Ziegelhofer said. “They’re not only supportive at the polls in terms of providing us with the resources to provide that education, they are supportive in terms of volunteering at our buildings and attending our events.
“We have a great community and we appreciate the support they provide us on an ongoing basis.”
Unfortunately, the night was not a success for all schools appearing on the ballot. A five-year, 4.5 mil tax levy renewal for emergency requirements for the Shelby City School District failed.
Unofficial results showed the levy failed by a 52-percent margin, with 2,013 voting against the levy and 1,819 voting for the levy. Superintendent Tim Tarvin declined comment on Tuesday evening.
