Communications Department
School Funding: Millage Collection and Reduction – an explanation
by Becky Jenkins, Treasurer
Millage. What does it mean, and why do some Ohio schools collect less than what is voted?
The question is an interesting one and is often related to the frequency with which Ohio school districts are on the ballot.
Millage is the factor applied to the assessed or taxable valuation of real and personal tangible property to produce tax revenue. In a technical sense, a mill is defined as one-tenth of one percent or one-tenth of a cent (.01) in cash terms.
Schools often contend with two types of millage amounts. One is the full “voted millage” and the other is the “effective millage.”
The voted millage amount is the amount that voters approve. However, the amount goes through a reduction each year to adjust for rising home values, a factor commonly referred to as House Bill 920 (HB920). The millage amount that is actually collected by a school district after that reduction is then called the total effective millage.
How significant can that reduction be for a school district? As an example, while Olentangy residents have voted in 62 mills, currently the district is only collecting 35.36 mills.
Another way to think about it is to consider the last operating issue passed by Olentangy voters. While the request was for 10.5 mills, even in the first year of collection Olentangy only captured 10.2 mills. Fast forward to today and we are only collecting 8.66 mills.
Each school district has a different effective (or actually collected) millage. For a comparison of some of our local school districts, see the chart.
School funding is a very complicated issue, and millage is only one part. Because Olentangy is so heavily reliant on local tax dollars, millage is one area we monitor very closely.
Millage. What does it mean, and why do some Ohio schools collect less than what is voted?
The question is an interesting one and is often related to the frequency with which Ohio school districts are on the ballot.
Millage is the factor applied to the assessed or taxable valuation of real and personal tangible property to produce tax revenue. In a technical sense, a mill is defined as one-tenth of one percent or one-tenth of a cent (.01) in cash terms.
Schools often contend with two types of millage amounts. One is the full “voted millage” and the other is the “effective millage.”
The voted millage amount is the amount that voters approve. However, the amount goes through a reduction each year to adjust for rising home values, a factor commonly referred to as House Bill 920 (HB920). The millage amount that is actually collected by a school district after that reduction is then called the total effective millage.
How significant can that reduction be for a school district? As an example, while Olentangy residents have voted in 62 mills, currently the district is only collecting 35.36 mills.
Another way to think about it is to consider the last operating issue passed by Olentangy voters. While the request was for 10.5 mills, even in the first year of collection Olentangy only captured 10.2 mills. Fast forward to today and we are only collecting 8.66 mills.
Each school district has a different effective (or actually collected) millage. For a comparison of some of our local school districts, see the chart.
School funding is a very complicated issue, and millage is only one part. Because Olentangy is so heavily reliant on local tax dollars, millage is one area we monitor very closely.