Mike Wainscott, left, shows identification to Greg Harrison, before receiving his ballot in Milford for the May 7 special election.

Mike Wainscott, left, shows identification to Greg Harrison, before receiving his ballot in Milford for the May 7 special election.
By Kristin Bednarski
Sun staff

Milford Exempted Village School District passed a 4.5 mill operating levy in the May 7 special election.

The levy passed with 59.79 percent, or 6,420 voters in favor of the levy and 40.21 percent, or 4,318 voters opposed to the levy.

“We are just so thankful for the support of our community,” Superintendent Dr. Robert Farrell said after the votes were counted. “And we are just overwhelmed with the positive response.”

The district failed to pass a levy in November of 2012, with 50.69 percent of voters opposed to the levy and 49.31 percent of voters in favor of the levy.

In January, board members voted to put the levy on the special election ballot in order to maintain services in the district.

“I know that this is a hardship on a lot of people, but we do feel like it is the right thing for the school district,” Andrea Brady, board member, said after the levy passed.

Brady said the district has been working for the past five years to reduce expenses and find creative ways to deliver a high quality of education, but with an additional $4 million in cuts from the state it became difficult to make cuts without impacting students.

“We did make cuts after the last levy failure,” Brady said. “I think people started to realize we were going to lose things that make our district great.”

Brady said the levy will allow the district to continue on and not have to make further reductions.

“If this levy had failed, we would have seen a lot more changes in what we were able to offer,” Brady said.

Farrell said they wanted to place the levy on the May special election ballot so they would have time to prepare for the coming year.

“I think the special election was important for us because it does allow us to plan for the 2013-2014 academic year,” Farrell said. “We have momentum built up and we are just so happy we can continue to have the kind of program that will help our students be successful in college and in their careers.”

Farrell said he feels the difference between the levy failing in November and passing in May was getting all of the information out to community members.

He said he is thankful to all of those involved in making that happen.

“It really took a community to get the word out,” Farrell said. “People talking to people, parents, students, the whole community spread the word about Milford Schools. We are thankful for the whole community and what a great system we have.”

Election results are unofficial until they are certified by the Clermont County Board of Elections. For more information visit www.clermontelections.org.