4 area school levies on fall ballot

There’s an old saying about tax levies among those who work in school finance.

“There’s never a right time to ask for more taxes,” Columbus City Schools Treasurer Stan Bahorek said. “Everyone will give you a reason why.”

But it appears that an ongoing pandemic, accompanied by historic unemployment rates, was enough to lead many central Ohio school districts — including Columbus — to forgo asking taxpayers to dip deeper into their wallets to support schools this November. The deadline to file tax issues for the Nov. 3 ballot was 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Just four districts in central Ohio have decided to seek levies in November:

• Delaware City School District is asking for an 11.73-mill continuing levy to generate $9.4 million for operations. It would cost residents $359 per $100,000 of home value. This would replace a levy of the same size, with a 10-year life span, that expires this year.

• Gahanna-jefferson has a threepart issue to be voted on as one package: a 4.26-mill continuing levy to generate $7.1 million for operations; a 4.93-mill, 37-year bond issue to generate $205.7 million for the construction of buildings, including a new high school; and a 1.5-mill, 30-year levy to generate $2.5 million for permanent improvements. Together, the 10.69 mills would cost $374 per $100,000 in property value.

• Pickerington seeks a 2.9-mill, 38year bond issue to generate $4.4 million for the construction of buildings, including a new junior high school. Cost: $101.50 per $100,000 in value.

• Walnut Township schools are asking for a 1.4-mill, 5-year renewal levy to generate $250,000 for operations. It would cost $43 per $100,000 in value, about $3 more than now.

Typically, a presidential election ballot is a popular choice for schools to seek levies, due to anticipated high voter turnout. In November 2016, for example, 10 central Ohio districts went on the ballot. In November 2012, 11 did.

Officials of some districts, such as Delaware City Schools, said that despite this year’s uncertainty, they had little choice but to go on the ballot.

The Delaware schools levy that is up for a vote in November — first approved in 2010 and expiring this year — accounts for more than 20% of the district’s operating budget, spokeswoman Jennifer Ruhe said.

“We would have looked at waiting from the standpoint of knowing that these are tumultuous times,” Ruhe said. “But this was our last chance, without skipping a year.”

In the spring, a community committee assembled by the Columbus Board of Education had recommended a 4.7mill permanent improvement issue, but the committee didn’t provide a time frame of when to pursue it, citing the uncertainty caused by the pandemic.

The board never decided to seek a levy. Bahorek said the needs, such as new buses, technology and building repairs, won’t go away, but he doesn’t anticipate additional levy-related conversations for at least a few months.

Hilliard school officials, who had discussed pursuing a levy in November, instead decided to dip into the district’s rainy-day fund to cover deficit spending.

“During the current pandemic, our local community members and businesses have faced unforeseen hardships. We want to be mindful and sensitive to the fact that finances for our families are being pinched right now,” Hilliard school board President Mark Abate said in late July. The board will discus options for a future levy in the coming months, he said.

The Ohio School Boards Association, which tracks school levies in the state, doesn’t expect to have a list of Nov. 3 school issues until early October, spokesman Jeff Chambers said.

In November 2016, Ohio voters decided 150 school issues, he said. In November 2012, they decided 192.

Gayle Saunders, chair of Pickerington’s Vote4pickkids bond committee and a district parent, said the construction bond issue is necessary to plan for the future in a growing district with 1,000 additional students expected in the next few years. In addition, borrowing rates are low, she said.

“We recognize where we are as a nation, in terms of these challenging times,” Saunders said. “We also know people in the Pickerington community care about the future of our schools.”

Gahanna-jefferson spokeswoman Judy Hengstebeck said the district has yet to convene a levy support committee due to ongoing planning for the next school year, which begins Aug. 24 and will be entirely online. “We will refocus on the levy plan once our students have returned to learning,” she said.

Thisweek News Reporter Kevin Corvo and Dispatch Reporter Dean Narciso contributed to this story. awidmanneese@dispatch.com @Alissawidman