(Photo by Amber Phipps) Washington County Commissioners Charlie Schilling, Greg Nohe, and Eddie Place pose for a photo with Santa and Mrs. Claus on Thursday.

Washington County resident Mandie Morris came to the Washington County Commission about questions regarding the future of the Ewing School and the Washington County Board of Developmental Disabilities on Thursday.

“I’m here to educate myself on how the politics work,” said Morris. “What have the commissioners agreed upon?”

The tax replacement levy for the WCBDD failed in the Nov. 4 election. Superintendent Tiffany Neill said in the weeks after the election that the Ewing School Board would be reevaluating its funds and discussing partnerships that would allow them to continue services.

Without the additional funds that would’ve been provided through the tax levy if it had passed, Neill said they are hoping to go back on the ballot in May and continue looking at all their options.

“I can assure our community that our kiddos are at our heart and we are certainly trying to make decisions based on what we think is in their best interest,” said Neill.

Neill said they serve nearly 700 individuals within the school based on 2024 reports.

Morris asked the commissioners what they were doing to support the WCBDD and if they had agreed to provide funds in the case that the levy failed again.

Neill said she recalled meeting with Commissioner Charlie Schilling who said the commissioners didn’t have the financial capacity to provide the extra funding in that situation.

“I’m one commissioner out of three so in my conversation with Tiffany I did say that I did not think we had the funding to do that but I don’t make the decisions on behalf of the board of commissioners,” said Schilling.

Schilling said the commissioners are the last step in the process for getting a levy on the ballot.

“The language is approved by the commissioners but when it comes to the marketing and advertising that’s going to fall back on Tiffany,” he said.

Washington County Prosecuting Attorney Nicole Coil said there were regulations and laws about “who can do what” in terms of supporting county schools.

Schilling said their partnership with the WCBDD is to provide them with the facility without charging rent, maintenance, or utility costs.

Morris asked if the commissioners would approve the levy to be back on the ballot in May.

“I just wanted to get a temperature and see where I need to educate myself more in the process because this is vital,” she said.

Schilling said no decisions from the commissioners have been made yet.

Neill said the board would be meeting in January to vote on if they’d partner with the Educational Service Center.

“This appears to be the best result we could have other than not passing the levy, but the community has spoken,” said Neill.