Voters say ‘no’ to R’dale

MOUNT BLANCHARD — Voters in the Riverdale school district turned down a request to increase their income tax rates in Tuesday’s election.
A .5 percent increase was rejected for the third time. It would have been collected for three years to cover operating expenses.
The increase failed at the polls in Hardin and Wyandot counties and only passed by a single vote in Hancock County. The three-county total showed it failing  939 to 1,176.
In Hardin County, results showed 312 were in favor of the increase, while 391 rejected it. Wyandot County voters opposed the increase by a vote of 193-352. Hancock County voters passed the tax raise by 434-433.
Superintendent Eric Hoffman said the board of education will be studying the finances to determine what it will do in the spring primary election. The hard decisions have been made, Hoffman said. The board already has cut $1 million from its budget.
“It’s going to be tough to cut much more,” he said when the results came in Tuesday night. “But, we will still have school (today). We will look at things in the spring and see where we are and just keep going.”