PIERCE TOWNSHIP, Ohio — West Clermont Local Schools is proposing a combined earned income and property tax levy on the May ballot to fund a master facilities plan, but some residents are concerned about the financial burden.
According to the district, the levy includes a property tax of 1.76 mills, which would cost property owners $61.60 per year per $100,000 of appraised home value, generating approximately $3.9 million per year.
In addition, the earned income tax is for .25% for every $50,000 of earned income, meaning taxpayers would pay $125, generating approximately $5 million per year for the district.
This has raised significant concern among residents across the district. One resident in Pierce Township reached out to us after feeling there wasn't enough information about it to inform the community, saying 60% of her property tax already accounts for the school district.
"We've got a lot of retirees here on fixed income, and we've also got a lot of young families, who also have a lot of expenses raising additional people," Sparks said. "It may force them to move out if you can't afford property taxes."
Pierce Township resident expresses concerns about upcoming school tax levy on the May 5 ballot:
Sparks said the levy is also a double hit for Pierce Township residents. The police department is also asking voters to approve a 2.9 mills levy on the same ballot.
"I went online and did some research — actually, my neighbor and I have been going around the neighborhood and handing out flyers saying, 'Hey, you know, if you weren't aware, this is happening May 6,'" Sparks said.
We took Sparks' questions to the district. West Clermont Superintendent Natasha Adams said this comes as the district struggles with overcrowding at schools and with an expectation that enrollment will pick up.
According to the district, the area is expected to have "2,700 plus new dwellings in the form of houses, apartments, townhomes, and condos by 2030." Estimates show this will result in 1,351 new students in the district.
"Right now in West Clermont, the reality is that your home address determines what kind of learning environment you have," Adams said. "So we have some amazing buildings, and then some buildings that haven't really been addressed. And the biggest challenge that we have facing us is that our middle school is the largest middle school in the state of Ohio."
The Master Facilities Plan looks to house a fifth-sixth intermediate school and a seventh-eighth middle school on the current middle school campus. This would move fifth graders out of the elementary schools.
The district says it would also allow the district to build a new elementary school and invest in current elementary buildings while making upgrades to safety, technology and furniture.
When meeting with the superintendent at Merwin Elementary School, she shared the building was built in the 60s and over time lost classroom space. Now some of the classrooms are outside of the main building in modular classrooms. In addition, there was once an asbestos outbreak due to broken floor tiles.
But Sparks said financial burdens on residents have made it hard for people like herself to take care of basic needs around their homes.
"Maybe they could just, you know, reassess what are their most basic needs right now and then maybe we could revisit this if it doesn't pass this year, maybe in the next year or two" Sparks said.
When asked if the school district could delay its levy request, Adams said their needs are urgent.
"One of the reasons we have urgency is the fact that we have predicted increased enrollment; we're already running out of space," Adams said. "Whether this levy is supported or not, we would have to put money into that. And so we propose a long-term solution instead of a short-term solution. We also have on the table right now a partnership with the Ohio Facilities Commission; they are funding 20% of this facility project — that's money we can't pass up."
The district has 16 months to show up with local share. The fifth through eighth grade building won't open until 2029, and the current kindergartners will be the first class of fifth graders in the building. Adams said waiting would make the project more expensive.
"We have a website that's specifically related to bond information. There is an FAQ page. There is a chart on there so that people can look at their income as well as their property values to figure out how this exactly impacts them. There are videos on finance that are short clips, easy to consume. We have built a statement of facts that we've shared. And just this week, some of our one-pagers will be sent out in the mailboxes, so they will have that in their mail to really explain the entire story. And we continue to have town halls and opportunities at PTO meetings."
You can find that FAQ here. If you are a resident in West Clermont impacted by the levy, feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns at DeJah.Gross@wcpo.com.
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