After three straight defeats at the ballot box, Mount Healthy schools finally squeezed out a win. Voters narrowly approved a new income tax levy in the May 5 primary, making Mount Healthy the only one of seven Greater Cincinnati school districts to pass a funding measure that night.
What voters approved
The measure asks residents to pay a 0.75% earned-income tax to cover the district's current operating expenses. The levy is scheduled to kick in on Jan. 1, 2027, according to certified ballot language from the Hamilton County Board of Elections. As noted by The Cincinnati Enquirer, the district had already struck out three times with voters before this latest push.
How tight the margin was
This was no landslide. The levy cleared the bar with about 51.7% of the vote, according to FOX19. That outlet's roundup shows most other school tax questions around the region went down to defeat on May 5, leaving Mount Healthy as the lone local district to snag new money.
Why the stakes were high
The district was asking voters for help while already under a state-declared fiscal emergency, as WVXU has reported. In meetings leading up to the vote, board members publicly wrestled with whether to put a property tax or an income tax on the ballot, and district leaders warned that athletics and fine-arts programs could be on the chopping block without fresh revenue, according to WLWT.
What comes next
First, county officials have to formally certify the outcome. If the tight count holds, the 0.75% income tax will begin collection on Jan. 1, 2027, under the terms laid out by the Hamilton County Board of Elections. District leaders have cast the levy as a way to shore up day-to-day operations, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported, and the school board now has to hammer out a spending plan aimed at stabilizing budgets and avoiding deeper cuts.
For Mount Healthy, the yes vote is a narrow lifeline after a year of testing taxpayers' patience, not a full rescue. The real drama moves to the boardroom, where families and staff will be watching to see whether this razor-thin win can be turned into lasting stability for classrooms, sports, and the arts.
