Levy Information

The 4.25-mill levy package includes three parts:  

1. A ‘no additional millage’ bond package that authorizes the district to seek up to $350,000,000 in bond proceeds to construct new facilities; 
2. 3.00 continuing operating mills; and 
3. 1.25 continuing permanent improvement mills. 

The bond, permanent improvement levy and operating levy are on the ballot as one issue because the District believes that this comprehensive approach is needed to continue to provide the current quality level of educational programming at every school.  We believe the plan will fully address the needs of our growing district, and we consider it to be the most strategic, effective and efficient way to address our needs.  Therefore, voters are being asked to make one vote for the whole plan rather than pick discrete pieces that by themselves will not fully address our needs.  For example, by just approving a bond issue, we will be able to build new buildings, but without the operating funds, we would not have adequate funds to operate the new facilities.

The District recently passed policy 6210.01, which provides the District clear guidance about what general fund reserves it should have to be able to educate its growing student population efficiently and effectively.  Based on this policy guidance, and given the many variables used to create the five-year forecast (student growth, valuation growth, inflation, state funding, personnel changes, etc.), the District calculated that 3 operational mills would be needed for the District to have at least sixty (60) days, or approximately two months, of operating cash on hand by the end of the 2027-28 school year. 

From Policy 6210.01:

The Board designates a cash balance that specifies the number of days of cash recommended to be on hand at the end of each fiscal year.  The following chart provides the designated number of days’ cash recommended for each fiscal year in the five-year forecast cycle (days’ cash defined as the quotient of the forecasted cash balance at the end of each fiscal year divided by the forecasted expenses for that fiscal year multiplied by 365): 

For the permanent improvement millage of 1.25 mills, the District analyzed its 20-year capital plan and budget.  This plan is a comprehensive analysis of all facilities and equipment in the District—across all 27 of our current schools, our two transportation centers, and our administrative offices.  The plan creates a 20-year budget for major infrastructural items like: 

• HVAC equipment 
• Parking lot paving and maintenance 
• Roofs 
• Building mechanical systems 
• Outdoor facilities and structures, e.g., stadiums and fields 
• Building windows, exteriors 
• Maintenance equipment and vehicles 
• Buses 

The plan also budgets for the maintenance and upkeep of new buildings and facilities. Further, the plan accounts for inflation as we work to create a comprehensive plan to maintain the investment our community has made in our school facilities.  After analyzing that 20-year plan, the District calculated that 1.25 mills would be needed to be able to generate the required revenue to meet the forecasted infrastructural costs predicted by our comprehensive capital plan. 

The Delaware County Auditor has an application called the ‘Tax Estimator’ on the auditor’s website.  The estimator provides a cost estimate for any ballot issues on the March 19, 2024 ballot. 

The District has been informing the community that it has proposed a levy with 3 parts that will be posed to voters as one combined issue - a 3-mill operating levy; a 1.25-mill permanent improvement levy; and a "no additional millage" bond levy.   

The Auditor’s website shows that the 3-mill operating levy will cost $105.00 per $100,000 of home value, and that the 1.25-mill permanent improvement levy will cost $43.75 per $100,000 of home value, matching District’s estimates.  The two levies combined are $148.75, which is the same amount the District has been informing our community will be the annual cost of the levy per $100,000 of home value. But the Auditor’s website shows a third line for the bond issue, and notes that the bond issue is 2.72 mills and will cost $95.20 per $100,000 of home value.   

Ohio law strictly governs all aspects of school levies. The authorizing legislation passed by the Olentangy school board had a specific section concerning the bond issue, and that section had to match the requirements of Ohio law.  Specifically, if the issue passes, Ohio law says that the community is authorizing the Olentangy Board of Education to do two things:    

1. The legislation authorizes the issuance of up to $350 million in bonds to construct facilities; AND 
2. The legislation authorizes the levy of tax so that the District can pay the required debt service each year on the new debt issued (i.e., the District is authorized to levy a tax to generate the revenue needed to pay principal and interest payments each year for the newly issued debt). 

The legislation also requires the County Auditor to estimate the average annual millage level needed to pay back the debt service on the bonds. Using various factors, the County Auditor calculated the estimated millage that would be needed per the requirements of the Ohio Revised Code is 2.72 mills. However, this legislation is used to establish a tax rate that the District is authorized to collect, but does not have to collect.   

The District has already analyzed its current cash balances in our debt service fund; the amortization schedule of existing outstanding debt from past bond issuances; the anticipated valuation changes for the District in future calendar years; and the structure of the new debt authorized by the levy (e.g., the timing of principal repayments). Therefore, we have proactively determined that Olentangy will NOT need to increase the millage required to pay our debt service payments should the bond issue pass. 

The following bond issues were all issued by Olentangy as "no additional mills": 

• A $24.4 million bond issue passed in 2011 to fund elementary additions. The auditor estimated that 0.5 mills were needed to pay the new debt service. The District never collected any mills on this bond issue.

• A $79.6 million bond issue passed in 2016 to fund Berlin High School. The auditor estimated that 1.30 mills were needed to pay the new debt service. The District never collected any mills on this bond issue.

• A $134.7 million bond issue passed in 2020 to fund Shale Meadows Elementary, Berlin Middle School, and Peachblow Crossing Elementary. The auditor estimated that 1.70 mills were needed to pay the new debt service. The District never collected any mills on this bond issue.

Olentangy has handled the significant growth over the past 10-12 years. During that time, the bond millage rate has never increased despite the passage of 3 bond issues; it has decreased from 8.72 mills in 2011 to where we will be in tax year 2023 at 6.25 mills. The Ohio Department of Taxation website provides information on tax values and rates. 

The District is confident in its description that this is a "no additional mills" bond issue. Therefore, we are providing cost estimates that show that the 3.0-mill operating levy and the 1.25-mill permanent improvement levy will cost $148.75 per $100,000 of value annually, and that the bond issue will be for "no additional millage." 

In Olentangy Schools, future levies are always a possibility due to growth and the need to continue to maintain our current aging facilities. The District will continue to be responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars and maintain a low cost per pupil compared to other school districts in central Ohio and across the state. We will also maintain a high allocation of taxpayer dollars to classroom instruction.  

The timeline of a future levy will be determined by various economic factors impacting the District, with perhaps the most critical factor being future funding allocated to Olentangy Schools by the state funding formulas approved by the Ohio General Assembly during the biennium budgeting process.  

If the levy does not pass, and collections do not begin in calendar year 2025, a future operational ask will need to assess more mills (higher tax rate). Current projections show that if Olentangy Schools must wait until 2025 to pass a levy, with collections first beginning in 2026, the operating portion of the levy will need to be 4.5 mills (vs the current ask of 3.0 mills). Combined with the 1.25 mills permanent improvement, the total levy would be 5.75 mills (vs the current 4.25 mills). These extra 1.5 mills would cost the owner of a $400,000 home an additional $210 annually. 

If the levy doesn’t pass until 2026, and Olentangy doesn’t start collections until 2027, the operating ask would be 6.75 mills. 

As of November 2023, our building utilization is over capacity at most schools:

Olentangy Schools current enrollment is 23,943 students in grades PK-12. Based on data reported by the United States Census Bureau, there are an estimated 39,009 households within the District’s attendance boundaries. The chart below provides a comparison of households with and without children.

While we have students attending Olentangy Schools who live in multi-family housing complexes, our growth is not primarily driven by students from apartment complexes, condominiums, townhomes or manufactured homes. Apartment complexes, condos, townhomes and manufactured homes have a combined average student yield of .20 students per unit—which means that currently there are 2,650 students in our district living in an apartment, condo, townhome or manufactured home. By sharp contrast, there are currently 18,524 students in Olentangy Schools from single-family homes in subdivisions—this is an overall yield of .80 students per single-family home.  For every five multi-family units in the district, Olentangy enrolls one student compared to the four students enrolled for every five single-family homes. The growth in our population is tied to the growth in single-family homes located in subdivisions. 

Based on current projections, the District forecasts that we will reach enrollment that is just shy of 32,000 students in the mid-2040s. However, those projections are based on land development, which is further based on current zoning, proximity to utilities, and other factors that can and often do change over time. Current data and enrollment trends lead to the conclusion that our enrollment will increase by at least 5,000 students in the next 10 years.   

Olentangy Schools does not have any authority over the planning and zoning process, nor does the district have authority to make decisions regarding residential development. 

Zoning typically drives residential development.  Across central Ohio, Olentangy is not alone in having large areas of (formerly) agricultural land that have the necessary zoning to allow for the development of housing. As property owners sell former agricultural land to developers, developers may already have the zoning needed to develop single-family home subdivisions. 

If developers seek zoning changes, there is a deliberative process that they must go through with planning and zoning commissions, public hearings, and any changes or variances ultimately must be approved by township trustees or municipal council members; this process must be fair and impartial for all landowners, even for developers, who have legally purchased land and may be seeking to build residential subdivisions. School district officials have good working relationships with local township and municipal officials and have continued to communicate the impact that development has on Olentangy’s enrollment growth.  

Municipalities are able to collect impact fees on new developments; however, the Ohio Supreme Court struck down township impact fees in Drees Co. v. Hamilton Township, 2012.  The school district itself has no legal authority to assess or collect any type of fee on developers. 

However, developers have partnered with the school district to donate land for new schools (i.e. Shale Meadows Elementary, Peachblow Crossing Elementary). 

Most TIFs in Olentangy Schools are non-school, meaning the school district still gets the tax revenue it would otherwise get, notwithstanding the TIF. Where we do have compensation agreements because a TIF exceeds 75% in total abatements or exceeds 10 total years, we strive to get the best value for the District.  Some examples of TIF compensation payments that we get as a District involve cash or direct payments but have also come in the form of donated land for future schools and the expansion of school infrastructure (roadways, walking paths and utility infrastructure, etc.). 

Olentangy Schools does not have the legal authority to stop another township or municipality from enacting any TIF, whether residential or commercial, that abates 75% or less of property value for no more than 10 years. The District continues to partner with township, county and municipalities, and district leaders have shared the impacts that TIFs can have on the District when properties are exempted from taxation. 

Property owners whose parcels are in a TIF district, including developers, must still pay full property taxes. That is, they pay the same amount that they would pay if the TIF were not in place. A TIF is an economic development tool used to expand public infrastructure like roads, sidewalks, curbs, water and sewer lines, etc. The portion of the TIF that is abated goes into a TIF service fund rather than being paid to the government entities it would normally go to if not abated (like the school district). The TIF service fund is controlled by the city or township that passed the original TIF legislation, and this service fund pays for the public infrastructure improvements.   

Finally, it is important to note that the majority of TIFs in the Olentangy Schools are commercial TIFs, and many of the TIFs are also ‘non-school TIFs,’ which means that the District continues to get the same tax revenue even though there is a TIF. The District understands that TIFs can be used to help promote commercial and industrial growth, which increases the commercial/industrial tax base, expands public infrastructure like roads, sewers, etc., and doesn’t directly increase student enrollment.  In these cases, the school district works to find common ground with townships and municipalities to benefit our entire community. 

Income from new housing developments does not culminate in enough new income to negate the need for a levy. The district’s largest source of income is through voted tax levies, which remain constant on existing properties year over year due to House Bill 920. Annual increases in revenue are received through a small amount of inside mills and new building property taxes.  

In tax year 2023, inside mills and new property taxes accounted for approximately $13 million in new general fund revenue. While $13 million in new revenue is a large sum, it does not cover the contracted annual salary increases and additional staff needed to address growth in the opening of new schools and other costs driven by growth. 

Our high schools are 4 of the 16 largest in central Ohio and 41 largest in the state; average high school size in Ohio is 700 students. Our middle schools are 6 of the 40 largest in Ohio. Our 16 existing elementary schools are among the 20% largest K-5 schools in the state; the average K-5 elementary school in Ohio is 434 students and our average elementary enrollment is over 650. 

The Olentangy School Facilities Committee has studied costs and savings related to many school designs and configurations over the years. They have determined that our current school designs minimize construction costs and maximize operational efficiencies.  Simply put, our experts have determined that larger schools would cost taxpayers more.   Larger buildings also can create a less personal experience for students, which has a direct effect on school culture and students' engagement in their education. Higher enrollment at each school means reduced opportunities, both in extracurricular activities and elective classes. 

We are One Olentangy, and our community is stronger and thrives together because of our schools. Creating a new school district is a massive undertaking with the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce that would be financially detrimental to taxpayers. Additionally, the Ohio General Assembly must ultimately approve all new school districts created by the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce that happen after the 2004-05 school year.  There could be unintended consequences that would arise from creating new school districts within Olentangy’s existing attendance boundaries, including: 

• Splitting a board of education elected by constituents from our current 95 square mile district; this would create 2 superintendents, 2 treasurers, and additional administrative overhead that would be an inefficient use of taxpayer resources. 
• Splitting the property tax base, with the commercial tax base being inequitably distributed in certain areas over other areas—this can result in a greater residential tax burden in those areas. 
• Splitting the revenue streams, i.e., levies. 
• Splitting the debt that the school district currently has for facilities. 
• Splitting our workforce, with employees having to change employers. 
• Splitting district assets like school buses, maintenance equipment, technology, and more. 
• Splitting neighborhoods and communities. 
• Completely re-drawing all district boundaries and attendance zones. 

The 3.00-mill operating levy will collect approximately $20.4 million for district operations, and the 1.25-mill permanent improvement levy will collect approximately $8.5 million for the maintenance and upkeep of facilities. The combined estimated annual collections will be about $28.9 million.

In reviewing the 2024 home values, it will cost homeowners an estimated $148.75 annually for each $100,000 of their appraised value.  

Find Your Neighborhood Average Home Value and Tax Impact 
(download a copy of the file to filter)

School District leaders have expressed support for tax relief for our seniors to our legislators (Sen. Brenner, Rep. Lear and Rep. Lorenz), and to our County Auditor. The school district has no authority to issue tax credits or other tax relief to any of its constituents.  All modifications to tax law are within the purview of the Ohio General Assembly. 

Individuals in an apartment complex do not directly pay taxes to any political entity—schools, townships, or the county.  Rather, the owners of the complex pay real estate taxes, generally on an entire apartment or condominium complex.  The owners of the complex would ostensibly build those property tax costs into the rents or leases charged to the occupants living in the complexes. 

It is noteworthy that apartment or condominium complexes are generally taxed as commercial property. Commercial properties are currently assessed a higher real estate tax rate in our District.  Further, according to the Annual Comprehensive Financial Reports for both the Olentangy Schools and Delaware County, 6 of the top 10 taxpaying entities in Delaware County are apartment or condominium complexes in our District. With few exceptions, apartment or condominium complexes produce more tax revenue than the cost to educate the students attending our schools from those complexes. 

Olentangy received long-awaited funding relief as Ohio lawmakers prioritized fair school funding in the biennium budget last summer. House Bill 33 includes key provisions that affect Olentangy’s state funding to provide tax relief to our community. While this development has reduced the levy ask, it does not eliminate the need for a levy entirely as the District makes plans to accommodate current and projected growth.  

Olentangy currently receives $1,604 per pupil in state formula funding, an increase from the $600 per pupil Olentangy was receiving in 2019. This increase in state funding is largely due to advocacy efforts for the Fair School Funding plan, allowing the 2024 levy ask to be the lowest operating ask in over 30 years  

As Olentangy Schools receives more in state funding, direct tax relief is provided to the residents of our community. Parents and community members are encouraged to contact state legislators about issues facing the district regarding state funding systems and to advocate for Olentangy students and taxpayers at local, state and federal levels. 

The following legislators represent the Ohio House and Senate districts that overlap with Olentangy Schools: 

• Rep. Brian Lorenz, House District 60, rep60@ohiohouse.gov 
• Rep. Beth Lear, House District 61, rep61@ohiohouse.gov 
• Sen. Andrew Brenner, Senate District 19, Brenner@ohiosenate.gov

Home valuations and their effect on property taxes are a complex formula. We’ve created a series of three videos that can be found on the Treasurer’s webpage to explain this formula. In these videos, we demonstrate that when a home is reappraised at a higher value, it does not result in taxes increasing at the same percentage, and the school district does not automatically receive more money in voted taxes. 

Find Your Neighborhood Average Home Value and Tax Impact
(download a copy of the file to filter)

As the District has shared with our community, we have received increased state aid from the Ohio General Assembly via the Fair School Funding Formula.

But no school district in Ohio, including Olentangy, receives any funding directly from sports gaming or the Ohio Lottery.

Rather, the Ohio General Assembly determines the total amount that it will provide to Ohio’s public schools via the Fair School Funding Formula and other funding sources (e.g., transportation aid, preschool funding and special education transportation).  These amounts are determined as part of the biennial budgeting process that takes place every two years.

Section 265.10 of HB 33 (the 2024-25 biennium budget) shows the various sources of revenue that the state of Ohio uses to comprise the total funding provided to Ohio’s public schools via ODEW.  The principal source of funding for the state funding formula comes from the state’s general fund.  The state of Ohio also includes funding from the State Lottery Fund Group and the sports gaming fund to supplement the funds provided for by the general fund.  Each district’s formula funding is determined by the budget bill and Ohio law, but the law does not also include Ohio Lottery proceeds or sports gaming profits in addition to formula funding.

A recent article published by WBNS 10TV on its website might lead some to conclude that public schools throughout Ohio, including Olentangy, received additional funding or a windfall from the legalization of sports gaming.

Specifically, the article noted that, “Other school systems in the Columbus area are receiving millions in funding, which is also a combination of gambling money and general funds.”  It is important to note that the statement clearly denotes that the money schools are receiving…“[are] a combination of gambling money and general funds.”  In other words, the amounts noted for the various Ohio public schools are the amounts provided by the Ohio Fair School Funding Formula when the budget was enacted effective July 1, 2023, NOT an increase or windfall in new funding for the listed schools on top of the funding formula.

Indeed, the article notes that Olentangy Schools are noted as having received $36.9 million for the 2023-24 school year.  Note that data published on the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce’s webpage shows that the current funding formula amounts for Olentangy Schools as of the 2^nd monthly payment from ODEW in February, 2024, is about $36.122 million—note that the data provided on the ODEW website is the most current and up-to-date as per the District’s EMIS submission on February 5, 2024.

Finally, there is one form of gaming money that is paid directly to Ohio school districts.  The state of Ohio makes 2 direct payments each year to Ohio public schools from Casino profits.  For the 2023-24 school year, Olentangy received a payment of $785,512 in August of 2023, and another payment of $752,181 in February of 2024.  This totals $1,537,694, which is only about $69/funded pupil.  In subsequent fiscal years, the District is budgeting for about $69-$70 per pupil in Casino funding, which will bring in revenue for the District that accounts for less than .5% of total general fund revenue in any fiscal year.

Not passing a levy will not increase state funding allocated to Olentangy Schools. The state is responsible for funding all schools in Ohio - not just a singular school or district. The passage or failure of an individual levy in any individual school district will not impact the level of formula funding provided by the state of Ohio. 

The operating levy will be used to fund the day-to-day operations of our growing district, including salaries, benefits and other supply and material costs to operate our schools. The operating levy will also provide the funds that allow us to continue to address increased staffing needs to match growth, which will keep class sizes at appropriate levels and avoid the use of modular classrooms. Finally, the operating levy will allow us to expand our security personnel to include our elementary schools. 

Bond issue proceeds will be used for the construction of five additional Olentangy school buildings: three elementary schools (elementaries 18, 19, and 20), a seventh middle school, and a fifth high school. 

Additional revenues generated by the bond issue and permanent improvement levy ensure safe and adequate facilities for students to learn and staff to work – including the maintenance, repairs, and upkeep of capital facilities, school buildings, parking lots, equipment, and other significant infrastructure.

The following are facility improvements that the District expects to complete: 

• Shanahan improvements;
• Security upgrades; 
• Theater updates at each high school (e.g., lighting, sound, painting); 
• Musical instrument replacements in district schools; 
• Buses; 
• Stadium updates (e.g., fencing, scoreboards, tracks, lighting); 
• Flooring, mechanical and roofing systems, and furnishings at elementary, middle and high schools; 
• Paving and sealing parking lots at elementary, middle and high schools; 
• Support facilities for transportation, technology, and maintenance; and 
• Land for future growth. 

Recent upgrades of note:

• Upstairs collaboration space
• Media Center updates
• HVAC replacements
• Ongoing roofing replacements

Pending projects:

• Digital sign along Shanahan Road after road widening is completed
• Traffic flow improvements of the access road connecting Shanahan Middle School and Olentangy High School

Planned updates after successful passage of the levy:

• Student restroom upgrades
• Exterior door replacements
• Flooring updates
• Exterior concrete repair
• Interior and exterior paint
• Construction of a stage for performing arts
• Classroom casework (cabinet) replacements
• Gymnasium sound system replacement
• Updated maker space

Passed in December 2021, House Bill 169 allocated $21.1 million in ESSER II (Elementary and Secondary School Emergence Relief) and ESSER III relief funds to Olentangy Schools. Required to be spent no later than the end of fiscal year 2024, the District applied relief funds to the 2020-21 costs related to the pandemic, including mitigation strategies, equipment, and other unanticipated costs associated with the pandemic.

Chief among those unanticipated costs was creating safe learning environments and addressing learning losses caused by COVID-19.  Olentangy Schools used the vast majority of its ESSER funds to operate the Committed Distance Learning (CDL) program during the 2020-21 school year.  The district had well over 5,000 students take part in CDL - a number that in and of itself was larger than 553 other whole public districts in Ohio.  As a traditional public school built for in-person instruction, Olentangy Schools used ESSER funds to adapt to circumstances and created a robust learning environment for several thousand CDL students adroitly and quickly. 

The district also used ESSER funds to add math specialists across all elementary schools.  This was done to help address the highest academic needs in response to learning losses, and to create a stronger mathematical foundation for students. 

To accommodate our growth, minimize redistricting processes, and receive the best pricing for our building investments, we plan to open elementary schools 18 and 19 in the fall of 2025, high school 5 in the fall of 2027, and elementary school 20 and middle school 7 in the fall of 2028.

By replicating school designs for the different building levels, and partnering with reputable architectural and construction vendors, Olentangy Schools expedites the building process for a lower cost. From design to building completion, it takes 18 months to build an elementary school, two years for a middle school, and three years to build a high school. 

The bond issue proceeds will allow for five new schools to be built on district-owned land in the following locations:

• Elementary School #18 on Bean Oller Rd., west of Sawmill Pkwy
• Elementary School #19 on land adjacent to Berkshire Middle School
• High School #5 on Bunty Station Rd., west of Sawmill Pkwy
• Elementary School #20 and Middle School #7 sites have not been finalized but will tentatively be located on Curve Rd., in the central part of the district, north of Berlin HS

Redistricting to balance enrollment at all levels is common practice in the Olentangy school district due to the continued growth. If the ballot passes, then redistricting will only occur as buildings open.  

If the ballot does not pass, redistricting processes take place more often to balance enrollment.  

For example, Berlin High School is projected to have more than 2,200 students by the 2027-28 school year and grow to 3,600 by the 2032-33 school year. If a fifth high school is not opening by that time, we expect to redistrict high schools annually to continue to relieve growth at Berlin High School and distribute high school enrollment more evenly. If the ballot passes, the fifth high school would open in 2027 and one high school redistricting would resolve the issue.  

Redistricting processes traditionally take place in advance of a new school opening and are performed by an Attendance Boundary Committee. No decisions have been made on which areas of the district or schools will be impacted in future redistrictings. 

Members of the Olentangy Schools district leadership team joined the principal of every school for a co-hosted Community Conversation in January and February. These Community Conversations were levy-focused, providing an opportunity for community members to learn facts and ask questions about the upcoming levy and bond issue. 

If you missed the informational sessions, watch the recording of the Virtual Community Conversation from March 5 and view this community Q&A.