East Clinton Local — OH

1. Snapshot

Rural-Distant district in Sabina (Clinton County), southwestern Ohio between Wilmington and Hillsboro. 1,179 students across 4 schools (Sabina Elementary, New Vienna Elementary, East Clinton Junior High, East Clinton High). SAIPE poverty 13.7%. Demographics 93% White / 3.5% Hispanic / 3.6% Multiracial — near-monolithically White rural. Per-pupil expenditure $14,675 (FY2020). This is a small farming-belt district whose tax base is roughly 6,000 households spread across multiple small townships.

East Clinton is already an FMX customer (own snapshot in fmxFacilities). The income-tax ask still failed by 33 percentage points. Operational data alone clearly is not the campaign-winning ingredient.

2. Why this was a hard sell — community context (ACS)

Below-median income, home values at 38% of national median, and college attainment less than half the U.S. average. This is the lowest-BA% community in the 7-district batch by a wide margin. A new 1.25% continuing Earned Income Tax means a permanent ~$1,250/year hit on a $100K household — in a community where the median household earns $65K and over 74% own their (modest) homes outright or are paying them down. The “CPT” structure was the killer: voters here have a documented pattern of saying no to permanent tax increases regardless of how the school’s operational story reads.

3. The gap story (what the data would have shown voters)

East Clinton’s facilities story is mid-pack but the climate numbers are alarming:

• Plant operations spending: $969.55 / pupil vs national median $1,324 — 27% below the national median. James A Garfield Local (OH, top peer): also rural-distant and similar PPE. Alexander Local (OH, the closest in-state FMX peer): $1,038 plant ops/pupil.
• Capital construction outlay (FY2020): $1.196M — modest activity, but the buildings are new (avg year built 2024 per FMX — they just opened a near-new campus). The CPT operating ask was not a buildings story; it was a “we built it, now we need to staff and run it” story. That’s a harder sell than a bond, and it shows in the result.
• Per-pupil instruction: $7,673 — below peer median; classroom investment is thin.
• Chronic absenteeism: 28.2% district-wide — well above the rural-distant peer norm. Sabina Elementary 23.5%, East Clinton HS 28.2%, East Clinton Jr High meaningfully worse.
• Suspension rate: 21.1% — high. East Clinton HS at 26.8%.
• Counselor ratio: 276:1 — actually good by national norms; not a sympathetic ask.
• 0 schools without a nurse (1.0 total nurse FTE across 4 schools — minimum coverage but no gap).
• Total expulsions: 15 — high relative to enrollment (1.27% of student body expelled in a year).

The data the campaign could have leaned on: chronic absenteeism + suspensions are both high enough to read as a school-climate red flag voters would care about. The data the campaign apparently did lean on: nothing visible. A 33.57% Yes is the absence of a story, not a contested one.

FMX peer operational benchmarks (live)

Pulled live from fmxFacilities for each confirmed FMX-customer peer above. East Clinton is itself on FMX — these are the peer set the next campaign can cite directly.

East Clinton’s portfolio is 2.0 years old (new construction just opened — FMX shows avg year built 2024). HVAC burden is 12.1% of work orders — more than double Alexander’s 5.1%. That’s not unusual for a brand-new campus during HVAC commissioning, but it’s a specific story the campaign could have told: “We just opened these buildings; we’re still working out the systems; that operations-cost spike is in the EIT ask.”

4. Bond/levy history (Ballotpedia + OH SOS)

East Clinton has a thin recent ballot trail. The new K-12 campus (built ~2022-2024 per facility year-built) means the district has likely had recent bond activity that succeeded — and the 2026 EIT is the operating follow-on, not a fresh ask. Need to validate: did East Clinton run a bond in 2018-2020 to fund the new campus? If yes, the EIT failure is the predictable “we already voted yes once, don’t make us do it again” backlash that Ohio rural districts see routinely.

5. What voters / opposition actually said

No surfaced opposition coverage so soon after the May 5 election. Ohio May 2026 saw a 64% statewide failure rate (42 of 66 issues failed) — the statewide narrative absorbs district-specific stories. East Clinton at 33.57% is not “narrowly defeated” — it’s “deeply rejected.” That’s a community-trust problem, not a campaign-design problem.

6. What we could have told them

1. “We’re 27% below the national median on plant operations — $969 per pupil vs $1,324. Alexander Local across the state spends $1,038 on a slightly older campus. We just opened a near-new campus and we’re operating it on bare-bones funding.” Concrete, peer-supported.
2. “28% of our students are chronically absent. Suspensions at the high school are 27%. The EIT funds the counselors, attendance officers, and academic support that move those numbers — these aren’t optional staff, they’re the difference between a 4-star and 2-star report card.” Ties operating money to outcomes voters can verify.
3. “This is a Continuing Permanent Term. We hear you. The reason it’s CPT instead of 5-year is that operating costs don’t pause for renewal cycles. But if a permanent rate is the dealbreaker, we’ll re-scope to a 5-year EIT for the next attempt — the data already shows we can make the case.” Concedes the structural objection.
4. Critical context to acknowledge: East Clinton already runs FMX. The operational transparency tooling exists. The next campaign needs to publish the data — not just collect it. Resolution rate 98.8%, HVAC 12.1% of WOs, portfolio age 2 years — these are credible numbers that voters can verify externally.

7. FMX outreach hook

East Clinton is already an FMX customer. This is a deeper-engagement / case-study partnership opportunity, not a net-new sale.

• East Clinton (self) (eastclintonschools.gofmx.com — validate hostname against internal list): 11 buildings tracked, 1,697 work orders YTD, 98.8% resolution, HVAC 12.1% of WOs, portfolio age 2.0 years (brand-new campus). Resolution rate is in the 92nd percentile of the FMX network (n=2,909).
• Confirmed FMX peers for cross-referencing in the next campaign:
• Alexander Local (OH, 79 mi south, enroll 1,362, 95% similarity, alexanderschools.gofmx.com) — 14 buildings, 17.3-year portfolio age, 97.4% resolution. Same state, same rural-distant, similar PPE.
• Summers County Schools (WV, 192 mi, enroll 1,138, 94% similarity, summerssd.gofmx.com) — 8 buildings, 91.9% resolution.
• Tuscarawas Valley Local (OH, 144 mi NE, enroll 1,228, 94% similarity, tvtrojans.gofmx.com) — 7 buildings, 84.9% resolution.

Opener for the call: “You’re already running FMX — and your May 5 income tax still failed at 33% Yes. The data is in the system; the next campaign needs the data out of the system and in front of voters. We can pull together a publishable benchmarking package against Alexander Local and Tuscarawas Valley — both in-state FMX peers — for your next ask. Your 98.8% resolution rate is in the 92nd percentile network-wide; voters don’t know that, and they should.”

Lead the call against the contact named in the spreadsheet (Director of Operations / Treasurer / Superintendent). Validate eastclintonschools.gofmx.com (or actual hostname) against the internal customer list before outbound.

8. Recommended angle

EIT-CPT failure on a tiny rural-distant district that already runs FMX. The pitch is case-study partnership + publishable benchmark report, not net-new onboarding. Pair with peer-district data (Alexander, Tuscarawas Valley) for the next ballot ask. Realistic engagement: 12-18 months for the next ballot attempt, with the deliverable being a voter-facing facilities-transparency report.