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Kenwood voters renew school parcel tax

 

Kenwood and Oakmont voters approved renewing a $52 a year parcel tax for the Kenwood School by an overwhelming majority.

In a mail-in ballot, the results of which were announced Wednesday, 1,388 voters, 81 percent, voted to approve the measure while 326 voters, or 19 percent, voted against the measure.

The $52 a year parcel tax will raise $105,000 a year – about 5 percent of the district’s budget.

This is the fourth time voters in the small school district have approved the parcel tax.

Bob Bales, Kenwood superintendent, said he was ecstatic. “I’m extremely grateful for the ongoing support we receive from Kenwood and Oakmont,” he said.

Calling the parcel tax campaign “low key,” Bales said the overwhelming support speaks loudly about how much the residents of Kenwood and Oakmont support public education.

The parcel tax will run from July 1, 2012, to June 30, 2017.

“We wanted to go out early with this,” Bales said, in order to start working on the budget for the coming fiscal year.

In past elections, the parcel tax, which needed 66.7 percent to pass, has received in the high-60s to mid-70 percent.

“We have widespread support and we don’t take it for granted,” he added.