COLUMBUS, Ohio – On Election Day, voters in Ohio’s largest school district will be presented with a tax levy that some are calling the most complex tax request they’ve ever seen.

It’s certainly one of the most unusual.

Columbus City school leaders are asking voters to increase property taxes by nearly 24 percent, so the district can build 10 new schools, expand pre-kindergarten programs, upgrade classroom technology – and help fund the local charter schools.

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The Columbus Dispatch reports the tax levy request would bring in $76.6 million a year, with $8.5 million of that to be handed off to charters, the alternative public schools that compete with traditional, government-run schools for students and resources.

That’s an extraordinary request, considering that charters are typically treated as the unwanted stepchildren in the public education “family.”

That’s not the only strange twist to the Columbus school tax levy.

During a public forum last night, Columbus Education Association President Rhonda Johnson spoke in favor of the tax levy, while some conservatives – who are typically pro-charter – questioned the wisdom of including the schools in a discussion of the district’s needs.

“Why should we rush to throw money at (charters) now when there really isn’t any reason for it?” asked anti-levy speaker Jon Beard, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

Beard called for the school board to de-link charters from the levy request, and approach voters in the spring.

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But Johnson, head of the local teachers union, warned, “If the levy fails, we’re going to begin to dismantle the school district.”

The union’s willingness to help fund their charter school competitors should be a red flag to education reformers.

Why would the CEA do this?

It might be because last year, the CEA’s parent union – the Ohio Education Association – “voted to begin organizing at charter schools,” reports National Public Radio.

By adding charter teachers to its membership rolls, the OEA will not only increase its political war chest (and, thus, it’s political influence throughout Ohio), but the union leaders will also be able to seize control of the charters, draining them of financial resources and stifling them with dozens of “Thou Shalt Not” work rules.

If the unionists succeed in that mission, the charters will be no different and no better than their government-school counterparts – and the charter threat will go away.

Perhaps that’s why the CEA is willing to play nice with the Columbus charters.

It remains to be seen if voters will play nice with the pro-levy advocates. The community is still angry over the district’s recent “data-rigging” activities to manipulate student attendance and grade records in order to secure a better state rating. The FBI is still investigating the matter, which has left many voters with a sour taste in their mouths.

That was evident last night when the anti-levy Beard urged Columbus officials to “come clean” about the scandal.

“This is not a money problem. The school board still doesn’t admit that data scrubbing is illegal,” Beard said according to the Dispatch.