The Marysville Board of Education voted unanimously Thursday night to place a permanent renewal levy on the Nov. 6 ballot.
If approved, the 6.56-mill renewal operating levy would not increase taxes, but would become permanent and never come before voters again. Also before voters will be an issue to shift capital improvement money into operating funds.
Originally passed in 1989 and renewed five times since, the operating levy generates about $3.2 million per year. The five-year levy, set to expire in December of 2019, is the only renewal levy remaining on the district books.
The levy currently collects at about 2.69 mills on homeowners because growth in the area has spread collection over more households.
Jarrod Weiss, who co-chairs the levy campaign committee with former Marysville Mayor Chris Schmenk, addressed the board and said the district has shown a focus on financial responsibility. He noted that the district had pledged not to seek new money from voters until at least 2020 and the success of the proposed levies could push that date out to 2022.
“We support making this levy permanent because we believe the commitment to our students and to the future of our community is permanent,” Weiss said.
The district has said the decision to place the issue on the ballot as a permanent measure comes from the standpoint that it has been passed five previous times. In previous meetings it was noted that each levy attempt requires the work of volunteers and the donation of thousands of dollars for promotion.
By law, school districts may not use public funds for levy promotion.
Weiss stressed the fact that the financial needs of the school district will never diminish.
“Marysville is growing and as the community grows, so will the district,” he said. “Because of this growth, the financial need in the district will at least remain the same.”
Board member Dick Smith said he understands that some in the community feel that keeping the issue as a five-year levy allows the district a sufficient time frame for financial planning. He said, however, financial planning becomes difficult when a portion of baseline funding is not guaranteed.
Weiss said he does not feel making the issue permanent negates the ability of the public to have input on school operations.
“In fact, we believe the voice of the people has been clear for many years now – ‘We support our schools,’” Weiss said. “Making this issue permanent is simply a firm affirmation from our community that we support our schools, our students and our future.”
The second measure, also approved unanimously Thursday night, involves a shift of tax dollars from bond issues to permanent improvement funds.
Because of growth, the district is collecting more money on bond issues than it needs to repay debt. As a result, the Union County Auditor is expected to reduce district’s collection rate on bond issues by 2 mills in order to generate the money needed to repay the debt.
Voters will be asked to approve an increase in permanent improvement funding equivalent to the reduction in bond funding. The shift would mean no additional taxes or expenses for property owners, just a shift of how the dollars could be spent. The permanent improvement funds are used for large-scale purchases such as roofing, paving and boilers.
If voters allow the additional money to flow into the permanent improvement coffers, the district can shift some money from that fund into operating expenses.