Approval rates of local school bond and tax questions in 2011, January-June
This page lists the statistics for school bond, tax and budget votes held in the first half of 2011 in the states of California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin.
The states of Arizona and Colorado did not have any measures during the first half of the year that dealt with school issues.
The overall approval rate, counting both school bond and tax votes in the selected 9 states was 63.9%.
The average approval rating for school bond elections was the lowest with approval only at 44.3% in the 9 states that had school bond votes on their ballots. The average approval rating for school tax votes was higher than the overall average with 73.4% in the 9 states with school tax votes.
| Type of school finance measure | # of elections 2011 (2010) | # of approvals 2011 (2010) | % approved 2011 (2010) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bonds | 65 (283) | 83 (171) | 43.9% (60.4%) |
| Taxes, tax levies | 227 (467) | 81 (356) | 73.7% (76.2%) |
| Totals: | 292 (728) | 164 (519) | 63.9% (71.3%) |
Notes: In 2010 a total of 14 states were evaluated, whereas the 2011 study includes only 11 states.
School Bond Votes
Michigan and Washington had the most school bond measures on their ballots during the first half of the year. Michigan had 35 school bond measures voted on and 20 got approved. Washington had 32 bond measures but only 5 were approved by voters. Washington had the lowest approval rating of the states with bond measures, only 16 percent approval. Missouri had the next largest amount with 19 measures, 17 of them were approved; Wisconsin had 16 bond measures voted on and only 5 were approved.
Only 3 of the 8 states with school bond measures had approval ratings above 50 percent for the half year time.
Winning percentage above 70% Winning percentage below 50%
| State | Approved | Defeated | % approved |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 1 | 1 | 50% |
| Illinois | 7 | 9 | 44% |
| Michigan | 20 | 15 | 57% |
| Missouri | 17 | 2 | 89% |
| Ohio | 4 | 9 | 31% |
| Oregon | 5 | 9 | 36% |
| Washington | 5 | 27 | 16% |
| Wisconsin | 4 | 11 | 27% |
| Totals: | 65 | 83 | 43.9% |
School Property Tax Votes
Ohio had the most school property tax votes held in the first half of the year, with 127 total measures being voted on and 77 of them getting approval. Michigan had the next largest amount of school property taxes with 75 total and 67 of those getting approved. Washington had the third largest number of school tax votes with a total of 56 measures, 54 off them gained approval. The other four states, Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin and Florida did not have a large amount of school tax votes but three of the four states had more measures approved than defeated, Illinois being the state with the lowest approval rating.
California school property taxes are called parcel taxes. There were 20 school parcel taxes throughout the state in the first half of the year with 12 of them getting approved by voters.
Winning percentage above 70% Winning percentage below 50%
| State | Approved | Defeated | % approved |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 12 | 7 | 63% |
| Florida | 1 | 0 | 100% |
| Illinois | 4 | 10 | 29% |
| Michigan | 67 | 8 | 89% |
| Missouri | 7 | 4 | 63% |
| Ohio | 77 | 50 | 61% |
| Washington | 54 | 2 | 98% |
| Wisconsin | 5 | 0 | 100% |
| Totals: | 227 | 81 | 73.7% |
School Budget
Wisconsin was the only state to have votes on their school budgets in the first half of the year. There were 25 measures total voted on and 15 of them got approved.
| State | Approved | Defeated | % approved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin | 15 | 10 | 60% |
School Income Tax
Ohio was the only state to have school income tax issues voted on, 21 measures were on local ballots and 12 of them got approved.
| State | Approved | Defeated | % approved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio | 12 | 9 | 57% |
School Redistricting
Three states had school redistricting measures on their ballots, Missouri had the most with 5 issues, though only 2 were approved. Illinois had 4 issues voted on and 3 were approved. Washington had 2 measures and both were approved by voters.
Winning percentage above 70% Winning percentage below 50%
| State | Approved | Defeated | % approved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | 3 | 1 | 75% |
| Missouri | 2 | 3 | 40% |
| Washington | 2 | 0 | 100% |
| Totals: | 7 | 4 | 63.6% |
Totals
The table below sums up all the school issues in the 8 states listed in the above tables.
Winning percentage above 70% Winning percentage below 50%
| State | Approved | Defeated | % approved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 1 | 0 | 100% |
| Illinois | 14 | 20 | 41% |
| Michigan | 87 | 23 | 79% |
| Missouri | 26 | 9 | 74% |
| Ohio | 93 | 68 | 58% |
| Oregon | 5 | 9 | 36% |
| Washington | 61 | 29 | 68% |
| Wisconsin | 25 | 21 | 54% |
| Totals: | 325 | 188 | 63.4% |
See also
- Local ballot measure elections in 2011
- School bond and tax elections in 2011
- Where to find information about local school bond and tax elections
Articles
- Approval rating for school bond and tax issues falter in 11 states
- School bonds fared lower approval ratings with nearly $8 billion voted on in 2011
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