The fifth time was not the charm for the Crestwood School District emergency operating levy.

Last night, voters rejected the levy 2,190 to 1,620. It last failed in November by fewer than 200 votes.

This would have been the first time in 14 years the district had received any new operating money approved by the taxpayers. Treasurer Carol Corbett said the last request for money was in 1992.

The five-year, 4.83-mill levy would have raised $1,375,000 per year. It would have accounted for 6.5 percent of the annual budget.

Superintendent Joe Iacano said in an April interview that if the levy passed in May, the district would have restored bussing to all students, including those in high school and those who live within two miles of the schools. Currently, only students in grades K-8 who live more than two miles from the school are bussed.

William Guegold, president of the Board of Education, said in an earlier interview that the district had planned to reduce pay-to-participate fees. The fees are used to defer the cost of playing sports or participating in activities such as band. The fees will remain at their current level of $300 for high school sports.

Corbett said the Board of Education will have a meeting tomorrow night to decide whether to put the levy back on the ballot in the fall. It would be the sixth time such a levy has come before the taxpayers.

She also said the board will not make any changes for the time being.

“We don’t have any anticipated cuts right now,” she said. “Everything will stay the way it is.”

Contact public affairs reporter Erin Hopkins at