Voters pass Issue 11, save Murray Ridge School from closing with new funding

Murray Ridge School will remain open for the foreseeable future after Lorain County voters approved a 0.85-mill additional levy for the Lorain County Board of Developmental Disabilities. The issue passed Tuesday night with 32,285 votes for it, or just under 60 percent, to 21,556 votes against, or just over 40 percent, according to unofficial results from the Lorain County Board of Elections. It will bring in $10 million per year and cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $30 per year. "We are extremely happy," Superintendent Amber Fisher said Tuesday. "This is very, very good news for thousands of people with developmental disabilities in our community. I just can't overstate the gratitude we have to the local voters. It's just really amazing and I think it shows support for our mission." The additional funding will preserve what the school and Board of Developmental Disabilities currently does and prevent the closing of the school as well as other cuts to services, Fisher said. Murray Ridge School has served students with severe developmental disabilities, medical and behavioral needs since the early 1970s. It currently serves 130 Lorain County residents in kindergarten through 12th grade and up to age 21. Officials said the school gives its students structure, physical and occupational therapy, education and skills training and a community. Murray Ridge doesn't charge tuition to a student's home district but gets state funding that follows the student no matter where they are placed. But that money often doesn't cover every cost. The county Board of Developmental Disabilities isn't required to fund the school, which would have closed for the 2027-28 school year if the levy failed. Two levies provide about $38 million in revenue each year, but the Board of Developmental Disabilities spent $45.7 million in 2025 to provide services to more than 3,000 clients. That's the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with falling reimbursement rates, rising costs and the loss of service providers, officials said. "We're very sensitive to the taxpayers and know it's not easy, but they came out and supported us and the people we serve at a difficult time," Fisher said. "We're just so, so appreciative and humbled. We'll keep operating frugally and continue the services, particularly the services for children that were in jeopardy. They're out of the woods now." Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com