By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Of the 12 petitions seeking secession from Bowling Green City School District, only half appear to have passed the legal requirements to appear on the ballot in August.
One had already been tossed by the Wood County Board of Elections because it didn’t have a single valid signature.
On Tuesday evening, another five were rejected because they were either not adjacent to the districts they wanted to transfer to, or they created islands of properties in the Bowling Green district.
The 12 petitions from rural landowners had asked that property be moved to neighboring school districts – four areas have petitioned to join Elmwood, three to join Patrick Henry, two to join Eastwood, two to Otsego, and one to McComb.
Bowling Green attorney Diane Huffman studied the maps submitted with the petitions – involving an estimated 600 parcels of land. While six petitions passed muster, the others did not. On Tuesday, she presented the following reasons to the Bowling Green Board of Education:
- One petition seeks to move property to the Eastwood district that is not actually contiguous to the Eastwood district. The properties are contiguous to acreage in another petition, but it must be adjoining now in order to qualify.
- One petition asks to join Elmwood. However, “it’s not anywhere close to Elmwood,” Huffman said. The acreage is adjacent to Otsego, “but they didn’t ask to go to Otsego.”
- Another petition seeks to move 80 acres to Otsego – but it is not contiguous to the district, Huffman said.
- Another seeks to transfer almost the entire acreage of Jackson Township to the Patrick Henry district, but in doing so creates a triangular-shaped island of Bowling Green district land between the Patrick Henry and McComb districts, she said.
- A petition asking to move land into Eastwood included a map that was illegible and appears to create an island, Huffman told the board. “It’s not clear. I cannot tell from their map,” she said.
The school board’s attorney, Quintin Lindsmith, said the ambiguity of the map requires that the board takes no further steps to put it on the ballot.
“The petitioners have an obligation to create a map that is clear with no issues,” Lindsmith said. “They have failed in their burden.”
The board approved sending the remaining six petitions to the Ohio Department of Education and the Wood County Board of Elections so they can appear on the August special election ballot.
Those petitions seek the moving of property in the Bowling Green district to Elmwood (2), Otsego (1), Patrick Henry (2) and McComb (1). One petition creates a “jigsaw puzzle” type of cutout to Patrick Henry, but it meets the legal requirements.
The petitions were circulated by Grant Chamberlain, Richard Chamberlain, Nolan Chamberlain, Dan Wilson, Brian Smith, Scott Apple, Devin Dauterman, Josh Nutter, Jennifer Adler and Jeff Avery.
Some of the petitioners represent a portion of the agricultural community and have been outspoken about what they see as an over-reliance on property taxes for the school district.
The same petitioners were also strong opponents to Bowling Green City School District’s plan to build one elementary school, stating that smaller neighborhood schools were preferable. However, three of the districts they are petitioning to enter – Eastwood, Elmwood and Otsego – all have consolidated school buildings.
Prior to the August special election, the exact voters allowed to cast ballots on the petitions will have to be determined.
“We’ll go back through this with a fine-tooth comb,” to make sure everyone permitted to vote is notified, and to make sure that only those in the petitioned areas are allowed to cast ballots, said Terry Burton, of the Wood County Board of Elections.
Then it is up to all the registered voters in the petitioning areas to pass or fail the efforts.
“Everyone in the designated areas has the right to vote,” Bowling Green Superintendent Francis Scruci said.
This is the first request made in Wood County under the new controversial law – Ohio Revised Code 3311.242 – that allows residents in certain townships to transfer to an adjoining school district if enough voters pass the measure on an election ballot.
The new law does not require officials to consider whether the transfer is in the best interest of the affected students. The previous law required the education of the students be considered.
It appears from the language in the Ohio Revised Code, that the boards of education and the township trustees have the ability to turn down the areas where the petitioners want to join.
Bowling Green School District will be required to foot the bill for the special election.
