Early Results: Overwhelming disapproval on ZCS levy
November 6, 2018
Initial polling results indicate that the Zanesville City Schools renewal levy and addition is not getting past the voters.
Election day results show the levy being shot down by a large margin with 4,101 votes (58.57 percent) in disapproval of the levy and 2,901 votes (41.43 percent) in its favor.
While the schools wouldn’t have seen any of the money from the levy until 2020, as the current levy in place runs through 2019, the approval of the levy would have increased the levy by $500,000 for school safety and security.
The increase plus the renewal would have cost Zanesville City property owners who own a home valued at $100,000 about $45.50 per year, annually. A price that many Zanesville residents were clearly not willing to pay.
The levy hasn’t been increased since its origination in 1989. It has appeared on the ballot every five years since it first passed. With the 2018 disapproval, the ZCS levy is likely to be on the ballot again in May, potentially with some modifications.
These results reflect the initial tallies turned into the Muskingum County Board of Elections and only reflect unofficial polling results from Muskingum County. Final results will be announced by the end of the month.
Doug Elson • Nov 11, 2018 at 7:03 am
Most people in the Zanesville district aren’t rich like the people who push these levies. Zanesville has turned into a welfare town since ALL the good jobs left the area and all that comes in are min wage jobs. Also when a school district scores so low and the academic scales why would people vote for a new tax . people are tired of throwing money at the district and seeing no improvement. Zanesville is and has been for along time the lowest rated district in the area and the question is why? If the other districts in the area can score so much better than Zanesville it tell me that the leadership of the school isn’t doing something right. Maybe it’s time to shake up the school board and other positions in the school system and get some NEW BLOOD in power. Zanesville City Schools have gone by the wayside just like downtown such a sad situation . When I went there Zanesville was a school that was respected state wide now it is in a sad state of affair. New buildings are nice but if you don’t have educators worthy of that building it was a waste to build . Maybe it’s time to talk to the other districts in the area and see what they are doing right as ALL districts are scored higher than Zanesville