OTTAWA HILLS, Ohio — Ottawa Hills Local Schools' student population has grown at an unprecedented rate, and the district has said it needs more teachers, resources and supplies, just to stay afloat, according to Superintendent Adam Fineske.
"Due to the makeup of our district and the state funding formula, we don't get additional funds from the state level when we get more students," Fineske said. "That's very unique for Ohio, so the only way to be able to bring in more funds to support our staff at the levels we have is to have an operating levy."
So, the district submitted a 12.9-mill operating levy request to the Lucas County Board of Elections three weeks before the due date. However, the BOE rejected it due to an error.
"There was an error, a typo when we filed to be on the ballot. The number was from a different millage," Fineske said.
It was a simple mistake, Fineske said. But the levy request's rejection means the district could be placed under the state's watch.
"The Lucas County Board of Elections voted 3-1 against the placement of the Ottawa Hills School levy on the ballot, based on advice from our legal counsel. While the Board never likes having to keep issues or candidates off the ballot, the Lucas County Board of Elections must follow all state laws and directives," wrote Tim Monaco, assistant director of the Lucas County BOE.
Fineske said the district would have fixed the mistake if given the opportunity.
"We turned that in three weeks in advance, it wasn't until a week after the deadline that the BOE informed us of that. If we had known, we would have corrected it," he said.
So, Ottawa Hills decided to take the issue to the Ohio Supreme Court by submitting a "Writ of Mandamus," a form essentially asking the court to override the Lucas County BOE's decision and put the corrected levy on the November ballot.
"The voters of Ottawa Hills deserve the right to say yes or no and define the future of their school district," Fineske said.
He said he expects to hear back about the state Supreme Court's decision within the next two weeks.