By Kristin Bednarski
Sun staff

Voters again rejected an operational levy for West Clermont Local School District Nov. 6.

The 7.9 mill levy failed with 60.29 percent of voters against the levy and 39.71 percent of voters for the levy.

This is the second year in a row voters have rejected an operational levy.

Last year the 7.9 mill levy failed with 60.42 percent of voters opposed to the levy and 39.58 percent of voters in favor of the levy

West Clermont Superintendent Dr. Gary Brooks previously warned that without additional funds from the levy this year, the district will have to continue to make tough financial decisions.

“We will continue to look for reductions but it will be difficult to come up with the type of reductions necessary should it fail another year,” Brooks said prior to the election.

In the past seven years, the district has made more than $50 million in cuts to services including staff, classes and transportation, according to Brooks. The district has also been forced to increase revenue with pay-to-play fees for sports and other clubs.

West Clermont Local School District Board of Education members hosted several listening sessions this year, where they received feedback from members of the community, not limited to families with children in the district.

“The board member made a concerted effort to reach out to the community in many ways,” Brooks said prior to the election.

Despite the effort to reach out to community members and inform them about the financial state of the district, voters rejected the 7.9 mill levy that would have brought in approximately $9.8 million to the district.