A combined levy request for new income and property taxes for the Hillsdale School District has failed again.

Voters rejected a two-year, 7.9-mill property tax and a five-year, 1.25 percent earned income tax in Tuesday's special election by 60 percent. The same request failed in November.
 

The property tax issue would have generated $1,075,271 for each of the two years and the earned income tax issue would have generated an estimated $1,261,559 annually for five years.

Superintendent Joel Roscoe says the district needs this new money because it has been hit hard by cuts in state funding and the deregulation of underground gas storage, which had been a big revenue source.
 

The district will now have to look at the best options to balance the budget for fiscal year 2014 which shows a projected $1.7-million deficit.

Roscoe says staffing could be affected, and pay-to-participate fees already in place for athletics and clubs could be increased. 
 

On May 7, voters will decide on a two-year, 4.8-mill renewal operating levy request for the district.  

Roscoe says if that levy fails, Hillsdale would plunge into a financial hole that could take years to recover from.

He expects the school board to try for a new levy in November, probably either a property or income tax, but not both.