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Home > Blogs > Get on the Bus > Archives > 2007 > October > 09 > Entry
New levy tactics emerging
(Voters casts ballots at Kettering’s Southdale Elementary School in May.)
Last week, I got a letter in the mail from Kettering school Superintendent Bob Mengerink on school district letterhead, like probably all Kettering residents, reminding me to vote on the district’s 4.9-mill school levy this November.
We all get these letters when a levy is on the ballot. But this was different.
The letter told me about a change in voting laws “that will make it much easier for you to cast a ballot on the Kettering Schools levy” and promised this change could help me avoid “bad weather, long lines or driving to your polling place.”
Mengerink says voters are no longer required give a reason to request an absentee ballot, that anyone can now request to vote absentee at any time for any reason and cast their ballots by mail. Enclosed with the letter were two copies of an application for an absentee voter’s ballot.
This, it seems to me, is pretty smart politics. It is an attempt to eliminate the most common excuses for why people who are supportive of schools don’t vote — that they didn’t have time or they forgot to vote on election day. If you vote ahead of time, there is no chance you will miss your chance to go to the polls.
It’s perhaps especially smart for Kettering, where Mengerink told me recently that lots of parents didn’t vote when a similar levy was on the ballot in May.
We saw something similar in Dayton in May. That district tracked down parents who were not registered to vote, gave them the papers to get registered and then gave them the application for absentee ballots. In Dayton, they credited this effort with a significant gain the number of absentee ballots cast in favor of the district’s levy compared to prior elections.
Smart politics, maybe, but some might see this as getting closer to crossing the line into overtly campaigning for the levy. School districs are supposed to leave campaign activities to their levy committees.
What do you think of this new levy tactic to sign people up for absentee ballots?
Permalink | Comments (6) | Categories: Schools and Politics
Comments
By Karl
October 18, 2007 6:08 PM | Link to this
Districts like Kettering, Oakwood and Centerville should be appreciated by voters because they provide a great return for tax $$ invested. One example, is the Career Tech programs that students in these districts can select. The list of career tech options is long. Career Tech students get college credit and many qualify for a $3000 scholarship at Sinclair. A few of the career tech programs are Biotechnology, Engineering,Allied Health, Interactive Media,and Automotive. There are 15 more programs. These are not shop classes of the 1950’s. They are high tech to help students prepare for post secondary training and in demand careersBy Buford
October 10, 2007 10:17 AM | Link to this
As with the Oakwood proposed school/property tax levy - I am not a resident of Kettering and therefore do not figure into the picture except to remain concerned that one more school district is reaching into the pockets of property owners for a disparatate source of school funding revenue. Even though Kettering schools are apparently being fiscally responsible and though their schools are basically good - still when the voters approve property tax levies for school funding, the Legislature and the Governnor are given another pass from facing up to the school funding issue and making the fixing of it a priority in their political careers.By should be doing something more contrustive - but this hit a nerve
October 10, 2007 8:49 AM | Link to this
This is not a “new” tactic. Making sure that the people who support your cause get out and vote is as old as elections. The levies in Kettering and Oakwood will (most likely) pass because the school administration has done a good job of educating the voting public on the issue. Which leads to the real reason that most levies fail - i.e. (public perception of) a lack of return on the investment. If the public thinks that the school board/administrators are doing a great job - then they will get out and vote for the levy. If the public thinks that the school board/administrators are incompetent/untrustworthy (which is certain to happen if the only time they hear from the school system is when the school needs more money) - then they will vote against the levy (or simply not vote).By Mary
October 10, 2007 7:40 AM | Link to this
Well, they have just about exhausted all other tactics to get yes votes, such as booster groups providing absentee ballots to former athletes away at college who do not pay property taxes. These tactics might work for awhile until larger groups of aware, fed up, overtaxed voters reach critical mass and just vote no anyway. I figure no matter how many levies are passed in my community, there will be no significant improvements in academics. But we will have teacher pay nd benefits increases, many gyms, maybe a football stadium with astroturf, and another rarely used auditorium for plays. All of our elementary schools will have gyms so we can host basketball tournaments for the Chamber of Commerce. It will be less likely we will have a foreign language or gifted program. The two board candidates the Dayton Daily News endorsed out of only three running for two slots in my community appear to be from booster clubs, and I have no doubt that is the main reason they ran and why they want to serve. Of course, the Dayton Daily News ignores these types of issues in the democratic process and works its multiple choice test for political endorsements. Sometimes it does not even know it was supposed to pick two answers. What a joke.By Oldprof
October 9, 2007 11:12 PM | Link to this
It’s more of the same. John Husted is a scofflaw; he and his cronies in the state house continue to violate Ohio’s constitution, which requires them to provide a system of education. School districts either have to seek levies continally or they are stuck trying to provide a 2007 education at 1994 prices. Superintendents and teachers should be able to focus on the job of providing education, not on politicking for a decent budget.By Laura
October 9, 2007 9:06 PM | Link to this
Whatever it takes! I just think it is sad that the schools have to go so far to get people to vote.