New city schools levy hits November ballot
The Columbus Board of Education voted unanimously Thursday morning to put a combination levy/bond up for a vote on the November 8 ballot.
According to the board, the levy would cost homeowners an extra $242 per $100,000 of home value, which would incur a 10 percent increase on a homeowner’s total property tax bill.
Previously, media outlets including 614NOW reported the new levy would increase school property taxes by 18 percent (see below).
Board of Education spokesperson Scott Varner explained the discrepancy.
“The 10 percent represents your total property tax bill,” Varner told 614NOW. “Not just the school part, but the total bill you get each year.”
The two main issues the levy would address are increased staffing across the board for city schools, including more teachers, social workers and student aides for special education students; and school maintenance.
According to the board, Columbus City Schools has a $200 million backlog of maintenance requests.
Some of those maintenance requests would be handled by a $125 million bond city schools would receive if the levy passes, while others would be funded by an annual $4.4 million budget earmark.
Whether or not the new way of looking at the numbers will sway voters remains to be seen, some of whom see a pressing need for increased funding, while others say it’s just not affordable.
What do you think? Tell us on Twitter @614NOW or in the comments section below!
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6/27/16: New levy would bump up school property taxes 18 percent
A citizen committee tasked with recommending levies to the Columbus Board of Education submitted two proposals today that would raise property taxes by 18 percent.
That means a homeowner would pay $250 more per $100,000 of value on their house, a total of about $1,615 per $100,000 of home value per year.
Currently, Columbus homeowners pay $1,365 per $100,000 of home value towards city schools per year.
Come November, citizens will be able to vote on the proposal, which would add $1.5 million to the Columbus City Schools annual budget. The money would be used to reduce a backlog maintenance needs and to rebuild schools in disrepair.
Some board members were concerned about the gap between the needs of Columbus City Schools and the price the community is willing to accept, while others thought the proposal was within the realm of possibility.
The last Columbus City Schools levy failed by 70 percent in 2013.
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