Embedded Files
Citizens for Marysville Schools is a volunteer committee.
How can I support the levy campaign?
You can support the campaign by accessing Support in the page navigation. Many opportunities are available for volunteers. We appreciate your time and effort to "Protect Our Students and Our Community."
What is on the November 5, 2024 ballot?
Marysville Schools is on the ballot with a five year 8.4 mill emergency operating levy that is necessary to maintain current programs and daily operations, including staff, supplies, maintenance/utilities, and costs associated with growing enrollment and loss of state funding.
When was the last time we had a levy on the ballot?
Prior to May 2023, it was 15 years since Marysville Schools has received funding from a levy despite decreases in state funding, increased enrollment, rising special education costs, and the elimination of the tangible personal property (TPP) tax.
Through strategic spending, utilization of grants, and energy efficiencies, the district has extended the 2018 renewal levy promise an additional year.
What is an operating levy?
Operating levies provide school districts money to be used for day-to-day expenses such as salaries, supplies, utilities, transportation, activities, and programming. Please access the Ohio School Boards Association "Understanding School Levies" fact sheet for more detailed information.
Why do we need this levy?
While no one wants to see a tax increase, with decreases in state funding and increases associated with growing enrollment, the district must turn to local voters to make up the difference. A driving force behind the need for this levy is that the district's operating revenue has been relatively flat, and is projected to decline, despite our growing enrollment per year.
House Bill 920 freezes a school district's income on voted mills. Therefore, as costs increase, schools require additional voted mills to increase local revenue.
Our state revenue per pupil has increased only $34 since 2016 - significantly below the $700 average increase in per pupil revenue.
In 2016, the district received $5.6 million in Tangible Personal Property (TPP) reimbursements, which has declined every year since. Due to the elimination of the TPP reimbursement by the state, this funding will be completely eliminated by the end of 2024. This loss is the equivalent of 5.6 mills. The elimination of this funding source is impactful to Marysville schools.
The Fair School Funding Plan is based on a formula that looks at property valuation and a community's ability to pay. In the eyes of the state, Marysville is considered a wealthy district, meaning we must rely more on local property taxes to maintain current operations and programming.
Marysville Schools is growing by approximately 100 students per year
30% rise in special education costs over the past 5 years
Information regarding the TPP phase-out is available here: Ohio Department of Education FY23 Reimbursement Phase-Out of TPP. (Effective July 1, 2003, a new R.C. 5739.01(YY) was added to the sales tax chapter. That section provides: "Tangible personal property" means personal property that can be seen, weighed, measured, felt, or touched, or that is in any other manner perceptible to the senses. For purposes of this chapter and Chapter 5741, of the Revised Code, "tangible personal property" includes motor vehicles, electricity, water, gas, steam, and prewritten computer software.)
In response to these challenges, how has the district shown fiscal stewardship?
Through strategic spending, utilization of grants, and energy efficiencies, the district has extended the 2018 renewal levy promise an additional year.
MEVSD remains in the top 20% in academic performance measure of school districts in Ohio according to Ohio's latest School Report Cards and its per-pupil spending is 13% lower than the state average. The last 7 years indicate strong fiscal responsibility with expenditures per pupil only increasing by 7.7% in total, compared to the state average increase of over 22%.
How does MEVSD compare to other districts?
Top 20% of all districts in Ohio for academic performance index score
2nd lowest tax rate of any district in Central Ohio (passage of 8.8 mill levy would move Marysville from 2nd lowest to 6th lowest tax rate)
2nd lowest administration to pupil ratio in the area
Since 2014, the per student cost in our district has increased 7.7% versus the state average of 22.5%. Marysville is considered a high performing, fiscally-disciplined district.
Sources - Ohio Department of Taxation and Ohio Department of Education
*2022 effective millage shown for Marysville. 2022 data not available for all districts, so 2021 data used.
Why didn't we ask sooner?
A school district cannot ask for a levy when it is not needed. FY23 is the first year the balance began to decline. The district has used funding wisely, even coming off the pandemic.
How much revenue does an 8.4 mill operating levy provide to the schools?
$9,641,968 per year
If the levy passes, how much will property taxes increase?
If passed, the cost to taxpayers will be $294 per $100,000 of appraised home value annually, which equates to $24.50/month or $0.81/day.
What are the plans for the additional revenue if the ballot issue passes?
Nearly 90% of our budget is dedicated to payroll and benefit-related costs. New operating dollars will be used to maintain current programs and services for students. Additional funds will provide the resources needed to maintain class sizes and programs as enrollment grows.
What happens if the ballot issue does not pass on May 2nd?
If the issue does not pass, Marysville Schools will have to consider making millions of dollars in reductions that would directly impact staffing levels, affecting classroom sizes, as well as program offerings. In order to effectively balance the budget, a change is needed either in increased revenue or reduced expenditures. A failed operating levy would require the Board of Education to reduce expenditures.
At the January meeting, the Board of Education approved a contingency plan to reduce expenditures by $2 million. The plan includes:
Hiring freeze likely affecting
Class size
Program and course offerings
All day, everyday kindergarten and Bunsold Teaming at risk (with anticipated enrollment increases staff from these programs will be utilized to offset large class sizes across grade levels)
Elimination of TRI Academy
TRI Academy is focused on high school at risk students which requires a higher staff to student ratio to effectively meet the needs of students. Currently the student to staff ratio is 11:1.
Reduction of school-funded extracurricular and co-curricular assistant coaches/advisors/directors
Reduction of school-funded extracurricular and co-curricular travel and school-funded field trips
The contingency plan was designed to reduce expenditures; however, an ideal plan for changes in services and programs does not exist. Maintaining core educational services will continue to be a top priority when making these decisions.
If the ballot issue fails on May 2nd, and the contingency plan is implemented, the need for additional funding will not disappear.
Why can't Marysville Schools place a lower millage amount on the ballot?
There have been no new levies passed to support schools in Marysville in 15 years. Over that same period, Central Ohio school districts have increased millage an average of 11 mills. During this time period, Tangible Personal Property (TPP) revenues allowed us to stretch the 2008 operating dollars and maintain our low local tax effort - currently 16th lowest in the State of Ohio. Now, the TPP funding we relied on will be eliminated entirely, so additional revenues are needed to replace that loss and maintain the same level of service.
My home value just increased significantly, does the school's funding increase at the same rate?
Generally, funding for our schools does not increase with inflation. This is due to a 50-year-old law known as HB 920, which freezes a district's income on voted mills. This protects the homeowner from unvoted tax increases based solely on valuation increases by decreasing the school's effective millage amount, making school revenue relatively flat. From a school finance perspective, HB 920 is challenging because as costs increase, schools require additional voted mills to increase local revenue.
One exception to HB 920 is something called "inside millage", which is 4.7 mills for Marysville Schools. This is the only portion of the tax rate permitted to increase or decrease with valuation.
How does the new school funding formula impact Marysville?
While the Fair School Funding Plan significantly changes how K-12 school district funding is calculated, it does not provide significant increases for our district. This is because the formula is based on school district property valuation and district residents’ income, both measures of a community’s ability to pay taxes. Districts like Marysville (considered wealthy by the new formula) must rely more and more on local property taxes for additional revenue.
Local factors influencing the formula:
Property values increased over 20% for 2022
Median family income has increased 28% since 2016
We have seen slight growth in state funding due to increased enrollment
At the same time, the tangible personal property tax (TPP) reimbursement funding provided by the state began phasing out in 2016, decreasing by $500k-$600k annually.
This funding will be completely eliminated next year, a loss to us of $5.6 million or the equivalent of having a 5 mill levy removed from revenues.
Has Marysville tried to streamline expenditures?
The average per pupil cost to educate a Marysville student is $11,698– well below the state average of $13,387. The last seven years indicate strong fiscal responsibility with expenditures per pupil increasing only by 7.7% in total, compared to a state average increase of over 22% over that same time period. Marysville Schools has a proven history of doing all it can to avoid returning to the ballot for additional funding. You may remember back in 2018 that the district renewed an existing levy (meaning it did not create new revenue or increase the tax rate) and made a promise that we wouldn't be back on the ballot until 2022 for a new money levy. Through conservative planning and effective use of grant funds, we were able to extend that levy promise until 2023.
Additional savings measures the district has implemented include:
Reduction in administrative staff - Marysville’s current admin-to-student ratio is 2nd lowest admin-to-student ratio in the area
Reduction in central office support staff
Retire-rehire of staff
Energy efficiency measures district-wide energy star-rated buildings
Effective use of competitive and federal grants (over $20 million)
What about the federal COVID funding? Didn't schools get an influx of funds?
We are appreciative of the funds received from the federal government through the CARES Act. These funds helped keep up with increases in costs in order to meet students' needs during COVID. In fact, these funds were strategically used to help push back this levy request in the face of record inflation. However, CARES Act funding is a one-time influx of funds and will not continue.
If Marysville has money to renovate the stadium or add classroom space at Edgewood, why is this levy necessary?
The simplest way to answer this is an illustration that clarifies the allowable uses of our funding sources. With our local funding, we basically have three “buckets” of money.
Bucket #1: Bond Fund - These funds may be used only to pay off the bonds that were issued to build our existing school buildings.
Bucket #2: Permanent Improvement Fund (PI) - These funds may be used only for maintaining school buildings, or paying for things such as school buses, technology equipment, asphalt repair, etc. This is the “bucket” that was used to pay for the stadium and Edgewood projects. These funds may not be used for operating expenditures such as teacher salaries.
Bucket #3: Operating Fund - The third “bucket” is our operating fund, used to pay for staff salaries, utility bills, school supplies, etc. These funds may be used only for operating costs.
How did the district pay for Impact Stadium?
First, over $1,300,000 was raised through business and individual donations. We have implemented naming rights, corporate donations, individual donations, and brick purchases. In addition, the district contributed funding through TIF revenues as well. This was all accomplished without using funds from the operating fund “bucket”.
How did the district pay for MHS gymnasium renovations?
Through careful management of long and short-term planning in the district's permanent improvement forecast, the district was able to pay for this project with permanent improvement funds.
How did the district pay for the additional overflow of classrooms from Edgewood Elementary to the former administration building?
The district was able to pay for this project without asking for a tax increase by using existing permanent improvement fund dollars. From a taxpayer standpoint, this is a big benefit. With all of the new houses and apartments being built in the district, it should come as no surprise that our enrollment is growing. Unfortunately, projected revenue from our enrollment growth does not keep pace with the added costs that result from growth. This project is a creative way to use existing assets instead of asking the community for a tax increase through a bond issue.
Why not just renovate East Elementary into an elementary school?
This is an option we considered. However, cost estimates to renovate this building into an elementary school were approximately $12 million. It would not be a responsible use of funds to invest into a 50-year-old building when a brand new elementary school with all its advantages for our students would cost approximately $16 million.
The community appears to be growing rapidly. Doesn't that provide new revenue for the school?
While the school does see limited new revenue from community growth, this growth also leads to increased expenditures . We are currently projected to grow by 100 students per year. To put that in perspective, over the next four years, that is the equivalent of an additional elementary school. So yes, on the revenue side, a new house does provide increased tax revenue: however, that revenue is outpaced by the cost of educating the new students generated from this growth. As discussed above, state funding also is not anticipated to keep pace with this growth. The need for additional school buildings and staff to accommodate the new students are future expenses we are currently forecasting.
On the “Where Do My Taxes Go” tab on the County Auditor’s website, I noticed that nearly 100% of my taxes go to the City of Marysville. Why doesn’t the school receive my tax dollars?
Currently, several residential areas are located in TIF (tax increment financing) areas that were mainly approved in the 2004-2005 timeframe. Most of these TIFs will not expire until sometime after 2030. The City of Marysville uses TIF revenues to pay for infrastructure costs related to the housing subdivision. This means that taxpayers still pay the normal rate of taxation, with the vast majority of their taxes going directly to the City to be applied to infrastructure debt costs. In turn, the City pays the school a TIF payment, which is approximately 34% of the revenue it would have otherwise received without a TIF being in place. Currently, TIFs are in place in the following neighborhoods:
Adena Point
Chestnut Crossing
Cooks Point
Keystone Crossing
Links Village
The Legends
Scott Farms
Walker Meadows
Woods at Mill Valley
How will the District be good stewards of the public funds provided by this levy?
Marysville Schools continues to perform academically at high levels ranking in the top 20% of all schools in Ohio according to performance index scores and collective report card ratings. This level of performance has been maintained while operating with the second lowest tax rate in Central Ohio and the 16th lowest local tax effort in the entire state. From a financial perspective, tangible personal property (TPP) funding has enabled us to stretch operating funds without increasing local taxpayer millage for 15 years. This has been an instrumental funding source in providing programs and services that have been key to our strong academic achievement. This levy will offset the elimination of TPP revenue and the upcoming projected deficit, allowing the district to maintain our existing programs and services.
Where can I find information regarding Ohio school districts and tax funding?
The Ohio Department of Taxation School District Data provides information. There are multiple reports available on the site.
How can I register to vote?
You can register to vote by accessing the Union County Board of Elections. Citizens who are 17 years old, but will be 18 years old by the general election in November are eligible to vote in May if registered. In order to vote on May 2nd, you must be registered by April 3rd.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse