WESTERVILLE, Ohio (WCMH) — Residents in Westerville will not have to vote on another bond issue in May, after the school board voted to not move forward with its approval.

This comes after their first levy attempt failed in November. Though many community members did not want to see another levy on the ballot so soon, Westerville school’s treasurer Nicole Marshall notes the consequences of not having this funding are inevitable.

“We have planned to lose over 30 jobs in our school district as a result of the November levy failure,” Marshall said. “I think we’re going to continue to look at things as vacancies occur, what opportunities do we have? I mean, this means we’ll probably be offering fewer sections of some classes at our high school level.”

The bond issue that voters rejected in November was expected to bring in 20 million dollars and help with deficit spending for the school district. OThe board unanimously voted against the option Monday night to put another levy on the ballot in May at the recommendation of superintendent Angela Hamberg.

Now the district will have to continue making harsh cuts. The board’s plan moving forward is to advocate for more state funding. “I tell everyone my, my soapbox is that the state continues to rely on public school systems to solve all of the world’s problems, but they don’t fund for it,” Marshall said. “So, I’d really like for them to start funding appropriately for it.”

Though these cuts will have impacts on many students, some parents like Lindsay Bobb are still glad the board did not vote to bring the levy back, saying many people just don’t have the money to support it and that it would have been disingenuous.

“I think it’s a really big misconception that if you’re against the levy, that you’re somehow against the schools and that’s just not the case,” Bobb said. “Everyone has felt the cost of inflation. You know, grocery trips are just more expensive. The cost of everything is more expensive right now.”  

The board says they hope residents will join them in advocating for more funding from the state before the state budget is set in June.