Franklin City — OH

1. Snapshot

Suburb-Large district in Franklin (Warren County), between Dayton and Cincinnati on I-75. 2,602 students across 6 schools. SAIPE poverty 14.9% — the second-highest in the 7-district batch. Demographics 81% White / 8% Multiracial / 5% Black / 5% Hispanic. Per-pupil expenditure $17,361 (FY2020) — the second-highest in the batch.

10-year EIT term (not CPT — finite), additional (new), 1.0% rate. Lost by 34.87% Yes / 1,308-vote margin. The 10-year structure is notable: Franklin tried to address the “no permanent tax” objection by capping the term, and still lost by 30 points. That signals the rejection is structural (community can’t/won’t absorb a 1.0% EIT) rather than structural-form (CPT objection).

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

Below-median income (-11% vs national), home values at 52% of national, Bachelor’s+ at 15.7% — tied with East Clinton for the lowest college attainment in the batch. This is a working-class suburb in a high-poverty pocket of Warren County (14.9% SAIPE — much higher than Warren County’s overall ~6% poverty rate). A new 1.0% EIT means $670/year on the median $67K household — a 1% pay cut, permanent for 10 years. In a community where BA+ is 15.7% and median home is $178K, that’s a meaningful ask.

The Franklin community is also bracketed by much wealthier Warren County neighbors (Mason, Lebanon, Springboro all >$100K HHI). Franklin voters see what “well-funded suburb schools” look like next door — and may have rejected the EIT because they don’t believe Franklin’s leadership can deliver Mason-quality outcomes with the new money.

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

Franklin’s data position is structurally strong for an operating ask — and was apparently under-used:

• Plant operations spending: $1,064.43 / pupil vs national median $1,324 — 20% below the national median. Closer to the median than the rest of the batch but still material.
• Per-pupil instruction: $9,227 — high (above peer median); classroom is protected.
• Capital construction outlay (FY2020): $874,000 — modest. Utilities/energy at $407K.
• Chronic absenteeism: 19.3% — moderate. Suspension rate 16.5% — elevated.
• Counselor ratio: 547:1 — the highest in the 7-district batch. National norm is ~250-350:1. Franklin has 8 counselors for 2,602 students when peer-norms suggest 10-12.
• 9 expulsions — modest.
• All 6 schools have a nurse (7 nurse FTE) — appropriate coverage.

The strongest argument the campaign could have made: counselor coverage. At 547:1, Franklin is 50%+ above what the peer set runs. That’s a concrete, named, sympathetic ask voters can grasp (“my kid’s school has one counselor per 547 students”). The campaign did not make this argument visibly.

FMX peer operational benchmarks (live)

Pulled live from fmxFacilities for each confirmed FMX-customer peer.

Both peers are partial snapshots — newly-onboarded customers. The 0% HVAC burden in both is likely a categorization artifact (HVAC tickets filed under other categories during data backfill); these districts should not be cited as having literally zero HVAC activity.

The most relevant non-FMX peer for messaging: Vandalia-Butler City (OH, 23 miles north, enroll 2,880, 94% similarity, PPE $15,500) — same southwest-Ohio suburban band, slightly smaller per-pupil, ran a successful operating levy in 2024. Worth referencing in the next Franklin campaign even though Vandalia-Butler is not on FMX.

4. Bond/levy history (Ballotpedia + news)

Franklin City has a documented multi-cycle pattern of failed operating asks. Per Ballotpedia: - Prior 2023-2024 attempts (validate exact dates from district communications) at operating levies. - May 5, 2026: 1.0% EIT, 10-year, failed at 34.87% Yes / 1,308-vote margin. - Pattern: Franklin is a chronic-fail district on operating asks — multiple attempts, repeated rejection. November 2026 re-attempt is highly likely.

5. What voters / opposition actually said

Limited coverage so soon after election. Likely operative factors:

• Comparison to wealthier Warren County neighbors: Mason, Lebanon, Springboro — all much higher HHI, all running better-resourced schools. Franklin voters see the gap and may not believe Franklin’s administration can close it with new money.
• 15.7% Bachelor’s attainment: meaningfully limits the campaign-comms reach. Bond materials written at college-graduate reading levels miss most of the electorate.
• 10-year term (not CPT): the campaign’s structural concession to anti-permanent-tax sentiment. Lost by 30 points anyway — the structure was not the bottleneck.

6. What we could have told them

1. “547 students per counselor — the highest ratio of any district in our peer set. Mason next door runs 280:1. The EIT funds the counselors our kids don’t have.” Specific, named, sympathetic. The number the campaign should have led with and apparently didn’t.
2. “$1,064 per student on plant operations vs $1,324 national median — we’re 20% under-invested on buildings. Vandalia-Butler 23 miles north spends $1,200. Our buildings aren’t failing yet; the EIT prevents them from starting to.” Concrete, in-state peer-benchmarked.
3. “19% chronic absenteeism. 16.5% suspension. The EIT funds the attendance officers, social workers, and behavioral aides that move those numbers — the work the 547:1 counselor ratio leaves undone.” Ties operating money to outcomes voters can verify.
4. “This is a 10-YEAR term, not permanent. Sunset in 2036. If we haven’t moved the needle by then, you vote it down at renewal.” The structural concession needed louder advertising — 30-point loss suggests voters didn’t internalize that the ask wasn’t CPT.
5. Stop running the same ask. The 1,308-vote margin is too wide to flip with messaging tweaks alone. Re-scope: smaller percentage (0.50% or 0.75%), shorter term (5-year), specific named purpose (counselors + attendance + safety, not “current expenses”).

7. FMX outreach hook

Franklin City is not currently on FMX. Two FMX-customer peers in the top 15 (Washougal WA, Kenowa Hills MI) — both partial snapshots.

• Vandalia-Butler City (OH, 23 mi north, enroll 2,880, 94% similarity) — not on FMX, but the most relevant in-state peer for voter-facing comparison.
• Washougal School District (WA, 1,960 mi, enroll 2,687, 94% similarity, washougalsd.gofmx.com) — 16 buildings, 90.2% resolution. Geographic distance limits voter-narrative use.
• Kenowa Hills Public Schools (MI, 252 mi, enroll 2,547, 92% similarity, khps.gofmx.com) — 12 buildings, 93.9% resolution.

Opener for the call: “Your May 5 1.0% EIT failed at 34.87% Yes — a 1,308-vote margin and your district’s third or fourth chronic-fail on operating. The data needs to be specific and credible: 547:1 counselor ratio, 20% below national on plant ops, 19% chronic absenteeism. Two of your peers (Washougal WA, Kenowa Hills MI) publish their facilities operations live in FMX. We can have your portfolio benchmarked against them and a credible voter-facing transparency package built in 90 days, in time for a re-scoped November 2026 ask.”

12-18 month engagement. Lead with Treasurer/CFO. The district is mid-cycle on chronic operating-levy failure — the FMX pitch is facilitate the next campaign by giving voters something to look at.

8. Recommended angle

EIT-10yr failure in a chronic-fail district. Strongest argument the campaign missed: 547:1 counselor ratio (worst in the 7-batch). 1,308-vote margin is wide enough that messaging tweaks won’t flip it — the next ask needs to be re-scoped (smaller %, shorter term, specifically named purpose). FMX engagement is for the re-scoped November 2026 attempt, not a same-ask retry.