Levy FAQ’s - Vote on November 5, 2019
Washington Court House City Schools
What type of levy? This is a 7
year, 1% Traditional Income Tax levy for operating dollars.
NOTE, this is an income tax, NOT a property
tax. Property is
NOT taxed
Who is taxed? All residents of WCHCS.
Income that is not taxed: social security benefits; disability and survivor benefits; railroad retirement benefits; welfare benefits; child support; property received as a gift, bequest or inheritance; and workers’ compensation benefits.
Income that is taxed: wages;
salaries; tips; interest; dividends; unemployment compensation; self-employment
to the extent included in OAGI; taxable scholarships and fellowships; pensions;
annuities; IRA distributions; capital gains; state and local bond interest
(except that paid by Ohio governments); federal bond interest exempt from
federal tax but subject to state tax; alimony received; and all other sources.
Why not a property tax? WCHCS has one of the lowest per pupil property assessed valuations
in the state (564 out of 609 school districts). Because of this statistic, it
would require a 9.0 mill property tax levy to bring in the same dollar amount
as a 1% income tax.
Didn’t property taxes just go up? While your property taxes may have gone up in the county reassessment,
due to House Bill 920, schools in Ohio do not see any increase from property
reevaluations. WCHCS is getting the
same local dollar amount that it was getting in 1991, with no increase for
inflation.
normal;background:white'>You’ve survived for 28 years. Why do you need more money now? We
are proud to have remained fiscally conservative and taken appropriate cuts
where needed to remain off the ballot for so long. With that said, But after 28 years of penny
pinching, there's just not many more pennies to pinch, if you will. Our five year forecast shows that we will be
operating in deficit spending in the 2019-2020 school year. This means we will
be spending more money than that which is coming in from all revenue
sources. normal;background:white'> What will this levy support? This operating levy will support all our operational items
that we are responsible for including facility operations (water, heat,
electric, A/C, etc.), staff salaries, supplies, etc. passage of this levy will
allow WCHCS to maintain our current academic programming for our students as
well as temporarily eliminate the need to make dramatic cuts to programs and
services across the district.
This levy will NOT pay for new construction, such as a new football field, turf, or an auditorium.
What about the new buildings? Aren’t they more energy efficient? The current 10 year-old buildings are much more energy
efficient than our previous buildings built between 1913 and the 1960s. While these facilities are a great
improvement, they are a decade old and many major appliances and items have
reached their ability limits and are beginning to fail.
Didn’t we just pass a levy? NO. WCHCS has not had a permanent increase in
operating expenses in 28 years. Due to House Bill 920, most schools in Ohio
are on the ballot every
three years.
normal;background:white'>A history of WCHCS levies:=
2005 - Bond for new buildings - will expire after 28 years –, this money could only be used to build new schools. Like a mortgage, the district cannot use this money for any operating expenses (salaries,
utilities, athletics, transportation, etc.)
=
1996 -
emergency levy - expired in 2000 (we do not collect any more)
=
***1991 -
last operating levy successfully passed
=
1989 -
operating levy
=
1981 -
operating levy
=
1980 -
operating levy
=
1978 -
emergency levy - expired in 1980 (we do not collect any more)
=
1976 -
operating levy
normal;background:white'>How much revenue will this
generate for the district? This
1% traditional income tax will generate approximately $2,000,000 per year.normal;background:white'> normal;background:white'>When does the district
receive the money? Due to the way money is collected, the district will not realize the levy’s full collection until 2021.
normal;background:white'>What districts in our area
have an income tax? Athens, Wilmington
(traditional), Circleville, Greenfield, Hillsboro (traditional), London
(traditional), Yellow Springs (traditional), Cedar Cliff (traditional),
Jefferson, Jonathan Alder, Greenview (traditional), Teays Valley, Zane Trace,
Union-Scioto (traditional), Xenia (traditional).
What happens if we do not
pass this levy? We will begin
the process of reducing expenditures through reduction of programs and
personnel. The superintendent will
recommend to the Board approximately $1,000,000 in spending cuts for FY21. This
will involve cuts to Academics, Arts, Athletics, Activities, and
Transportation. Cuts will begin in the spring of 2020.
The US
inflation rate from 1991 to 2019 is 88.4%, but our local revenue has remained
the same. Essentially, it is like we are
paying our 2019 bills (electric, heat, water, etc.) on a 1991 paycheck.
If you have any questions, please call 740-335-6620, or email [email protected]
.