By Sue Kiesewetter
Enquirer contributor

HAMILTON - For the second time in three months, Talawanda voters rejected a $19.5 million school bond issue to replace Stewart Elementary School.

With all precincts counted Tuesday - 29 in Butler County and one in Preble County - the issue lost, with 3,767 votes against and 3,116 votes in favor in the final, unofficial count.

Meanwhile. in Springboro in Warren County, voters approved a single ballot issue that renews two expiring school levies. The measure passed with 2,332 votes in favor and 1,554 votes against.

It renews a $600,000 levy due to expire at the end of the year and a $1.6 million levy due to expire at the end of 2004. Collections on the renewal levy will begin in January, 2004, and continue through the end of 2008. Taxes will not increase. Money will be used for day-to-day operations.

Those were two of eight school and three municipal issues on the special election ballot Tuesday in four southwestern Ohio counties.

Elsewhere, money issues for schools in Lockland, Norwood, Milford, Batavia and Mount Healthy were defeated, while a renewal levy for St. Bernard-Elmwood Place schools won approval.

Addyston voters rejected both a 1 percent income tax increase and fire levy for that Hamilton County village.

An operating levy was also defeated in the village of Lockland.

Talawanda Superintendent Phil Cagwin said he would probably recommend the school board schedule a public work session to discuss what the district's next step would be. That meeting could be set at Monday's meeting during which the board will discuss the results of Tuesday's election, Cagwin said.

"It's obvious there was a concerted anti-tax vote out there that we did not see before,'' Cagwin said. "We saw a lot of vote no signs and they did two mailings."

Had the issue passed, the district would have used most of the money to build a school on 31 acres at the corner of Kehr and Booth roads.

Money would also have been spent to add gymnasiums at Maud Marshall, Kramer and the middle school and add classrooms to the middle and high schools.

The other southwestern Ohio issues:

Clermont County

Batavia Schools: Voters rejected a 5.9-mill bond issue, 626 to 437. It would have provided $18.4 million to build an elementary school.

Milford Schools: Voters rejected a 5.9-mill operating levy, 4,237 to 2,823. It would have raised $4,787,770 annually for day-to-day operations.

Hamilton County

Addyston Village: Voters rejected a one percent increase of the village income tax, 118 to 60, and a 2-mill fire levy, 105 to 72.

Lockland Schools: Voters rejected a 24.1-mill operating levy, 739 to 307. It was expected to raise $2.5 million each of the next five years.

Lockland Village: Voters rejected an 8.5-mill operating levy, 522 to 335. It was expected to raise $504,000 each of the next five years.

Mount Healthy Schools: Voters rejected a 6.95-mill continuing levy, 2,067 to 1,336. It would have raised about $2.2 million annually to be used for day-to-day operations.

Norwood Schools: Voters rejected an 8.93-mill bond issue 2,403 to 780. It would provide $54.9 million to pay for a facilities plan.

St. Bernard-Elmwood Place Schools: Voters approved a five-year, $1,050,555 operating levy renewal, 552 to 259.

Cindy Kranz and Dan Klepal contributed to this report. E-mail suek@infi.net