HAMILTON, Ohio — After voters rejected Ross Local Schools' levy request for the third consecutive time, the district has announced it will "press pause" on a future levy.
The decision was influenced by the Butler County Auditor's recent estimate that property valuations in the county could go up by as much as 42%. The estimate was announced the Friday before Ohio's primary election, when Ross schools' levy appeared on the ballot.
A statement issued by the district's Board of Education and admin staff cites that announcement as an unexpected concern for residents that likely influenced voters at the polls.
"While we expected property values to increase based on the previous triennial revaluation, there was no indication or communication from the county auditor's office that the state tax commissioner would be recommending a 20-40% increase in valuation," reads the statement issued on May 5.
Because of the potential increases, the district announced it won't seek another levy for the November ballot while they determine how much the district's revenue could be impacted by the property value hike.
However, the district likely won't know for certain the outcome of the valuation change or its financial impact until the fall.
"It's important to note that the potential valuation increase is still a fluid process and, from our conversations with the county auditor's office, we may not know the final numbers until this fall," reads the statement.
Because of this, the district said it still plans to make roughly $1.8 million in cuts throughout the district. Those potential cuts to curriculum, staffing and extracurricular activities were announced in April, when the superintendent outlined the district's anticipated future were the May 2 levy to fail.
Superintendent Chad Konkle said in April the failure of the May 2 levy would force cuts to key activities like clubs, music and arts programs, student government, yearbook and newspaper programs, National Honor Society participation and more.
Konkle also said the district's already $825 sport participation fee could go up — but in the May 5 statement, administrators announced that won't happen yet. Athletic fees will stay at $825 per athlete per sport with no financial cap for families with several student athletes or athletes who compete in more than one sport; if a student athlete competes in three sports, however, that third sport will be free, the statement says.
The fee structure will be re-evaluated for the 2024-2025 school year, once the rise in property values is more accurately known and the district can more closely evaluate its funding as a result.
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