Beavercreek City Schools’ fourth-straight request for new money was defeated by a close margin Tuesday, according to unofficial final results posted by the Greene County and Montgomery County boards of election.

Superintendent Bill McGlothlin said he was pleased with the support the district received on Election Day.

“Passing any tax issue in this climate is a very difficult, uphill battle,” McGlothlin said. “We understood that it would be a challenge.”

The 6.7-mill emergency operating levy would have raised about $10.9 million annually for the district, and would have paid for the operations of its two new school buildings and provide funds for the district’s ongoing operations.

There were many Beavercreek voters at the polls Tuesday who expressed concern that the levy would not pass.

Harold Delotelle said he has seen what happens when school levies continue to fail.

“I used to live in Xenia, and I saw property values drop when people did not (support the schools),” he said, noting that he felt he had to vote for the levy. “Also, what a lot of people don’t realize is, if this levy doesn’t pass, the next levy will be higher.”

The smattering of voters who said they were against the school levy at Beavercreek polls on Tuesday did not want to comment on the record, for fear of negative repercussions. They cited the economy as their primary concern.

One woman, with two children attending Beavercreek High School, said simply: “I want to support the schools, but it sure is a lot of money.”

This levy would cost the owner of a $100,000 home roughly $205 per year.