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Board refuses to allow bond issue reduction on ballot

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By Ryan Gauthier, Staff Writer 9:05 PM Tuesday, August 25, 2009

A reported 1,600-plus signatures aimed at stopping the construction of a new Talawanda High School were laid to rest today, Aug. 25, as the Butler County Board of Elections finalized November ballots.

The petition to decrease the 4.7 mill bond issue passed last November to build a new Talawanda High School will not make November ballots, with the Board of Elections unanimously voting against it. The petitioners were seeking a reduction for 4.69 mills in total, which would have taken the bond issue down to 0.01 mills.

Nancy Piper, an administrative assistant with the Board of Elections, said it was expected the board members would go along with the legal opinion provided by the Butler County Prosecutor’s Office.

“We received an opinion from the prosecutor’s office that the petition was not sufficient,” Piper said. “It was voted down unanimously and will not be recommended to go on the ballot.”

Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Mary Anne Nardiello provided the opinion, ruling that a bond issue can not be reduced using the type of petition the Stop Talawanda School District PAC elected to file. Nardiello informed the Board of Elections that her office’s research “has not revealed any statute in Ohio public securities law or tax levy law which authorized the reduction of a bond levy.”

“By now, the school district has undoubtedly acted in reliance upon the November 2008 election results and is likely to have not only issued securities (thereby incurring debt), but to have entered into contracts in furtherance of the improvements described in the ballot question,” Nardiello wrote. “A reduction in the tax (...) creates an environment which can lead to a series of financial complications for the school district and to the unconstitutional impairment of contracts made by the school district.”

Talawanda Treasurer Mike Davis said he walked into the Board’s certification hearing with a “knot in his stomach,” fairly confident in his attorney’s interpretation of the law but with a tinge of apprehension that the County Prosecutor might have ruled differently.

“The law is the law, but sometimes you’re surprised,” Davis said. “I’m very pleased that the law prevailed in this case, as it really underscores the advice and counsel we had from our attorneys all along and really puts this thing to rest.”

Davis said he hopes the lengthy and at times ugly battle regarding the bond issue at least resolves any lingering concerns over its validity.

“Hopefully, as far as the community is concerned, we can put all of that behind us and continue down the road of putting this building in place,” Davis said.

Contact this reporter at (513) 523-4139, ext. 86102, or at rgauthier@coxohio.com.

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