KEENE, N.H. (MyKeeneNow) Keene voters rejected a proposal to limit school property-tax increases in Tuesday’s general election, while electing Democrats to all five of the city’s New Hampshire House seats.

According to the official results, Question 2 received 4,247 yes votes and 5,049 no votes in Keene. The measure required support from at least 60% of voters to pass.

The ballot question proposed limiting annual growth in a school district’s local property-tax levy to the prior year’s amount adjusted for inflation and new construction. It also called for capping School Administrative Unit central-office spending at 6% of total school district appropriations. Bonded capital costs were excluded from both limits.

The restrictions would have applied for two years. The question was part of a statewide effort by Republican lawmakers to address rising property-tax bills, but it was not decided through one statewide vote. Instead, the results were counted separately for each school district and, for the central-office provision, across the communities served by each School Administrative Unit.

Keene’s vote rejected the proposed restrictions for the Keene School District.

Democrats win all five Keene House seats

Voters also returned a full slate of Democrats to represent Keene in the New Hampshire House, including former Ward 1 representative Dylan Germana, who is returning to the Legislature.

Germana defeated Republican Timothy J. Donovan in Ward 1, receiving 1,105 votes to Donovan’s 314. Germana had resigned from the seat earlier this year amid questions about his residency. The state Attorney General’s Office subsequently cleared him, and he ran for election to his former seat.

In Ward 2, Democratic incumbent Terri O’Rorke won reelection with 1,524 votes, defeating Republican Jonathan Liptak, who received 456.

Ward 3 incumbent Dru Fox ran unopposed and received 1,527 votes.

In Ward 4, Democratic incumbent Jodi Newell defeated Republican Robert Johnson, receiving 1,402 votes to Johnson’s 524.

Ward 5 incumbent Philip Jones also won reelection. Jones received 1,636 votes, compared with 501 for Republican challenger Marissa W. Salisbury.

The results mean Keene’s five House seats will remain represented by Democrats, with Germana rejoining O’Rorke, Fox, Newell and Jones.

Regional school-tax cap results

Other school districts in the Monadnock Region had different outcomes on the tax-cap question.

The Monadnock Regional School District approved the measure, 3,580 to 2,270, according to results reported Wednesday morning. The Jaffrey-Rindge Cooperative School District also passed the measure, 3,096 to 2,040.

Voters rejected the proposal in the Marlborough School District, 432 to 521, and in the Stoddard School District.

The Fall Mountain school district, which includes Acworth, Alstead, Charlestown, Langdon and Walpole, had previously been reported as approving the measure, 3,160 to 2,092. That is a separate district from Monadnock Regional.

The Sentinel also reported that voters rejected the proposed 6% central-office spending limit across School Administrative Unit 29. SAU 29 serves the Chesterfield, Harrisville, Keene, Marlborough, Marlow, Nelson and Westmoreland school districts.

Because school districts and administrative units can include multiple communities, the applicable votes must be combined across those communities to determine whether the required 60% threshold was reached. A town’s individual result does not necessarily determine the outcome for its entire school district or SAU.

The results included in this story are based on the official Keene tally and district results reported Wednesday morning. Other election results remain subject to certification by election officials.