Efforts to repeal a controversial tax increase by Daviess County public schools have fallen short.
School board members voted in May to levy a nickel tax to help fund construction of a new Daviess County Middle School and renovations to Apollo High School.
Opponents failed to collect enough signatures on a petition by the June 30 deadline to force a special election to recall the tax.
The projects would cost a combined total of about $50 million.
Superintendent Matt Robbins says once a district approves a nickel tax, the state typically matches the increase at 50 cents on the dollar.
"Literally, the state could pay for the renovations to Apollo without any cost to the local taxpayer, so I think that's a very significant piece to this," Robbins told WKU Public Radio.
The nickel tax is the equivalent of 5.7 cents per $100 of assessed property value. According to the Census Bureau, the median home value in Daviess County is $115,400. That means taxpayers, on average, will pay an additional $5.50 per month.
