Woodmore schools: Substitute levy planned for May ballot

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By Larry Limpf

The Woodmore school board has scheduled a special meeting for Feb. 1. at 4 p.m. to consider a resolution to proceed with placing a property tax levy on the May ballot.
The board is planning to seek voter approval of a substitute levy that merges two emergency levies already being collected: a levy that generates $600,000 per year originally approved in 2016 and a levy that generates $829,000 per year originally approved in 2019.
Both levies have five-year terms. The board is proposing to extend the term to 10 years and combine them into one issue that generates about $1.429 million annually.
If voters approve the combined levy it would begin collecting tax revenues in 2022.
“The substitute part allows the levies to reflect new construction that would generate additional revenue for the district. But property owners currently paying would still be in the group paying the $1.429 million,” said Dan Russomanno, district treasurer.
An emergency levy is structured to generate a fixed dollar amount each year it is in effect.
To generate the $1.429 million requires about 6.4 mills, he said, adding board members reasoned a combined levy with a longer term would be better than having to go back to the ballot four times every 10 years as with the two five-year levies.
The deadline for placing levy issues on the May 4 primary ballot is Feb. 3.
Last spring, Gov. Mike DeWine, citing the toll the pandemic had taken on the economy, announced he would balance the fiscal year 2020 state budget with $775 million in general revenue fund reductions, including reducing revenues for K-12 schools by $300.4 million.
For Woodmore schools, that equated to a loss of about $198,679.
The 2020 fiscal year ended June 30, 2020.
Recently, the governor issued an executive order directing state agencies and departments to reduce expenditures by $390 million in fiscal 2021, again citing the pandemic’s effect on the economy.
The order authorizes the Office of Budget and Management to permit the education department to allot an additional $160 million of 2021 general revenue fund appropriations that had been withheld under the earlier executive order.

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