The difference this time is the tax would expire after 10 years.
In November, voters said no to a 1% income tax expected to generate about $6.4 million annually, with 60.4% voting against the measure, according to final results from the Warren County Board of Elections.
“The biggest negative comment I got (after the November levy defeat) is we’re not giving you continuous money to spend,” said John Wheeler. who was elected in November and took office on January.
The board is unanimous in its thinking that the district needs more revenue to stave off a fiscal emergency designation from the state. What type became an area of disagreement Tuesday night.
Board members debated whether to opt for a traditional or earned income tax, and whether to put a limitation on it.
Ultimately it passed, with board members Lori Raleigh and Ashley Blevins casting the dissenting votes.
Both members, however, said they would champion the levy now that a decision has been reached.
The school district will now try to sway an electorate that has said no to both income tax and property tax levies multiple times in the last two years.
In May, a five-year, 6.301-mill property was defeated at the ballot, with 64.8% voting against the levy and 34.2% voting for it.
The levy would have raised $4.5 million a year and cost homeowners $220.54 for each $100,000 of appraised home value.
The district cut $1.2 million from its budget after the May levy failed, reducing busing to state minimums, increasing classroom sizes and participation fees, and eliminating all-day kindergarten.
About $3 million in programming and staffing cuts have been made over the past two years, while the district has been in Fiscal Precaution with the state.
The last time Franklin Schools passed a levy was 2013. At the time, school officials promised it would last at least eight years.
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