On Tuesday, Ohio voters faced the fewest school levies in a general election since 2001, but the response from taxpayers was pretty much the same as in recent years.

Statewide, voters approved 59 percent of 175 tax requests for school operations and construction, virtually identical to the 58 percent approval rate in November elections during the past decade, the Ohio Department of Education said.

Several reasons were given for the lower number of levies. For starters, voters approved a remarkable 67 percent of school issues in May, so many districts didn't have the need.

Still, the reality for many Ohio districts is that it takes two, three, even four attempts and some tweaking before voters go along. Of the 11 school levies that failed in August, eight were back Tuesday and five passed. Of the four Franklin County school districts on Tuesday's ballot, three had previously put some form of the issue before voters: Reynoldsburg, South-Western and Worthington.

"There is no rhyme or reason to it, it's so local," said Scott Ebright, spokesman for the Ohio School Boards Association. "It boils down to what will sell in the community. Every board has to look at what the community will buy."

After a third consecutive loss, Reynoldsburg officials are among those seeing how difficult it can be to pass a levy in tough economic times.

"Look at South-Western. It took them four tries," said Reynoldsburg board member Andy Swope.

He said he thinks a levy will pass when two things happen: property values drop and residents realize that those most hurt by the cuts are the children -- not teachers or administrators.

"Eventually, people will step up," he said.

Ebright said it usually comes down to "How deep does it hurt? At some point, voters will open their wallets."

Until then, Reynoldsburg officials will have to decide what else must go.

The district already has frozen spending and will likely have to cut spending as much as $4 million more, said Superintendent Steve Dackin. That's on top of nearly $18 million in reductions in the past four or five years.

Dackin worries that the district might have to consider lowering its graduation requirements.

In the Bloom-Carroll school district, a 2,116-to-2,110 vote defeating a construction bond issue was so close that an automatic recount may be required.

But whether there will be a recount, triggered automatically by state law when the vote margin is less than 0.5 percent, won't be known until provisional and remaining absentee ballots are tallied by the Fairfield County Board of Elections. The official canvass is to be completed by Nov. 24.

This was the seventh time that the 1,688-student district sought voter approval of the construction package. The $26.5 million, 28-year bond issue would finance construction of a new middle school and renovation of the high school.

Elsewhere, Licking Heights schools' request for a 1.99-mill permanent improvement levy passed Tuesday thanks to voters in Franklin County. The issue received 46 percent of the vote in Licking County but passed by 159 votes after votes from Franklin County were tallied.

The levy will raise more than $1 million a year to pay for facilities maintenance.

And North Fork schools in Utica narrowly lost a 1 percent income-tax-renewal request. The issue won 51 percent of the vote in Licking County but lost by 35 votes once those from Knox County were added.

Dispatch reporters Encarnacion Pyle, Mary Beth Lane and Josh Jarman contributed to this story.

ccandisky@dispatch.com

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• Ohioans pass numerous nonschool tax issues B5