• About 60% of our income comes from local property taxes
  
  

• The State provides another 32% of our income primarily through the State funding formula.  That money includes a portion that can be used for general operations and a portion that is restricted for certain initiatives like Student Wellness.
  
  

• Everything else equals about 8% of our total income, which includes things like interest income, transfers/advances, rentals, donations, etc.

• The district's current General Fund budget is approximately $61.4 million, which makes up 82 percent of the total budget. The total budget is $74.9 million.
  
  
• The budget from federal, state, and local grants is approximately $4.5 million, which makes up 6 percent of the total budget.
  
  
• The Bond Retirement Fund makes up $4.5 million of the budget, which equates to approximately 6 percent of the total budget.
  
  
• The student activity and building funds comprise about $686,000 of the budget, which is approximately 1 percent of the total budget.
  
  
• The remaining 5 percent of the total budget is made up of permanent improvement funds and construction funds.

• The Ohio Department of Education releases a “District Profile Report” each year.  According to that most recent, our district’s per pupil cost is $11,058. 
  
  

• The average per pupil cost in Ohio is $13,386, which is about $2,300 more than ours.
  
  

• If you compare districts that are similar to Lebanon, their average per pupil costs are about $200 more than ours.
  
  

• Overall, if you rank all the districts in the State using that report, Lebanon ranks in the bottom 15% of the State for per pupil cost.  We are currently number 528 out of 607 districts for lowest cost.

• Local property taxes make up 60% of our total General Fund money.

• The three emergency levies that we are proposing to combine equal $12.2 million of our revenue. That’s about 32% of the total property tax that we receive. That’s a significant part of our operational budget.

• Without this funding, we would need to consider serious cutbacks to educational programs, services and staff, which ultimately impacts the students we educate.

School districts use forecast tools to help anticipate and plan for upcoming changes to finances, based on historical trends. Our current forecast projects that we will have more money going out than coming in in two years: in Fiscal Year 2024, we will have higher expenses than revenue. However, we currently, in 2022, have a healthy fund balance, and do not anticipate using up our fund balance until 2026. 

Lebanon Schools has reduced spending over the last several years. The district is currently running efficiently. The substitute levy on the ballot November 8, 2022 is combining and renewing three existing levies that were approved by voters years ago - click here to see the history. The district is not asking for more money.

Annually, the Ohio Department of Education releases a “District Profile Report” (or CUPP report as it is often called) each year. According to the most recent CUPP Report, our district’s per pupil cost is $11,058. The average per pupil cost in Ohio is $13,386, which is about $2,300 more than ours. If you compare districts that are similar to Lebanon, their average per pupil costs are about $200 more than ours.  Overall, if you rank all the districts in the State using the CUPP, Lebanon ranks in the bottom 15% of the State for per pupil cost. We are currently #528 out of 607 districts for lowest cost.

Lebanon City Schools ranks 7th out of 10 for the lowest property tax collection in Warren County. We collect 34.8 effective mills, which generates $1,218 per $100,000 of assessed property value.

As a district, we are running efficiently, and we are working to be good stewards of the resources that we receive. 

Our student to teacher ratio is another example of our efficiency: in 2021, Lebanon Schools’ student to teacher ratio was 22:1, as compared to the national average of 17:1.

Our district is efficient, and our staff members are doing great work with less money spent than many of our neighboring districts and comparable districts in Ohio.

The following text will appear on the ballot November 8, 2022: 

ISSUE 7 - PROPOSED TAX LEVY (SUBSTITUTE) - Lebanon City School District - A majority affirmative vote is necessary for passage Shall a tax levy substituting for existing levies be imposed by the Lebanon City School District for the purpose of providing for the necessary requirements of the school district in the initial sum of $12,200,000.00, and a levy of taxes be made outside of the ten-mill limitation estimated by the county auditor to require 9.64 mills for each one dollar of valuation, which amounts to $0.964 for each one hundred dollars of valuation for the initial year of the tax, for a period of 10 years, commencing in 2022, first due in calendar year 2023, with the sum of such tax to increase only if and as new land or real property improvements not previously taxed by the school district are added to its tax list? If approved, any remaining tax years on any of the 3 existing levies will not be collected after 2021. FOR THE TAX LEVY - AGAINST THE TAX LEVY

A "substitute" levy is an operating levy and can only be used to pay for day-to-day expenses such as salaries, supplies, utilities, transportation, activities, and programming.

"Emergency" and "Substitute" levies are a form of property tax. "Emergency Levy" is a tax term used in Ohio to mean a fixed-dollar amount levy. The term "emergency" does not mean the district did anything wrong or that there was a cash-flow emergency. 

The key difference between the two levy types is that emergency levies can not grow and generate new income. Emergency levies only collect the amount that was approved by voters when the levy was approved. If a new home or new business is built after the emergency levy is passed, the new property owner does not pay taxes on the emergency levy. Substitute levies, on the other hand, do grow. Substitute levies generate new income when new businesses and homes are developed in the district. New properties and new businesses pay taxes on a substitute levy. 

No. "Emergency" levies are not temporary levies. When "emergency" levies are placed on the ballot, they are not meant as a one-time levy that would expire at the end of its term because it would no longer be needed. School districts request levies to fund operational needs, which is a continual need. Unless enrollment steeply declines, staff is drastically reduced, and many programs are halted, funds are continually needed to pay for a school district's operations.

This substitute levy, which generates $12.2 million, will combine three existing levies that also generate $12.2 million in total: 

• A levy that generates $4.2 million annually was renewed by voters in 2020. It expires in 2023 and is up for renewal in 2022. It has been renewed five times in the last 15 years.

• A levy that generates $3 million annually was renewed by voters in 2021. It expires in 2026 and is up for renewal in 2025. It has been renewed two times in the last 10 years.

• A levy that generates $5 million annually was approved by voters in 2019. It expires in 2023 and is up for renewal in 2022.

Yes, essentially a substitute levy is a renewal of an existing levy. 

The three emergency levies that are being combined into this substitute levy account for approximately a third of the total property tax revenue going into the general fund. The district's budget, and general operations, depend on the income from these levies.

The substitute levy is not a permanent levy. The Board of Education specifically chose a 10-year term to allow voters the opportunity to vote on this revenue periodically as a matter of checks and balances.  

One of the complaints the district has heard from community members is that they feel levy fatigue because it seems like the district is asking for levy renewals every year. In fact the District has been on the ballot for renewals in 5 of the last 8 years. In addition to voter fatigue, levies cost money to place on the ballot.

Converting the three emergency levies into a single substitute levy that is a term of 10 years will reduce the amount of fees that the district pays to the Auditor’s office on each of the levy renewal cycles.

Our taxpayers have voted 7 times in the past 17 years to approve the two Emergency levies that expire in 2023.

In addition, placing these levies on the same cycle will allow the district to more accurately budget and plan for the next ten years knowing we have a consistent revenue source not dependent on voter renewal every few years. 

This levy is for 9.64 mills.

The unit of value for expressing the rate of property taxes in Ohio is the “mill.” A mill is defined as one-tenth of a percent or one-tenth of a cent (0.1 cents) in cash terms. Millage is the factor applied to the assessed value of property to produce tax revenue.

This 9.64 mill levy will exactly replace three existing levies. Those three existing levies generate $12.2 million. This levy will generate $12.2 million in funding for operating expenses in the first year. After the first year, the levy will generate more money from new businesses and new homes. Those new businesses and homes will pay their share, which will generate new revenue for the district, but existing residents will not pay extra. 

Warren County Auditor Matt Nolan recommended using a 10-year term for this substitute levy to reduce voter fatigue and to stabilize the revenue used for general district operations. 

The District currently has three emergency levies on three, four, and five-year renewal cycles, as well as a permanent improvement levy on a 5-year renewal cycle. With the exception of the new emergency levy that voters approved in 2019, the district’s voters have renewed each of the emergency levies and the permanent improvement levy multiple times. Unfortunately, due to the varying renewal cycles, voters have needed to vote on these levies almost every year. We have frequently heard that voters are tired of going to the ballot for these same issues. We are trying to help this “voter fatigue” by combining three levies into a single-vote substitute that is of a longer term. 

Stabilizing revenue is another primary driver for requesting a ten-year term. Approximately 60% of the revenue that supports Lebanon School District is provided by the Lebanon City community. Taxpayers provide this revenue so that our students can receive a quality education. Though the district maintains buildings and provides a means of transportation, the majority of our budget is used to pay our 700+ member staff. We are the third largest employer in the City of Lebanon, behind Advics Manufacturing (2nd) and Warren County (1st).

Having a stable source of income allows us to attract and retain quality staff members who can create the educational environment that our students need to thrive. A quality education can only be provided if we have the appropriate staff to provide it.

There are several benefits to opting for a Substitute Levy:

• A Substitute Levy maintains the current fixed dollar amount collected by our existing three emergency levies.
  
  
• Taxpayers currently vote every third, fourth, and fifth year on our existing Emergency levies. This Substitute Levy will reduce the required vote to once every 10 years.  This allows voters to maintain their voice, but reduces the amount of times they are asked to return to the ballot.
  
  
• A 10-year levy provides the school district with stable revenues. This increased stability will help attract and retain quality educators and other staff members.
  
  
• The Substitute Levy captures future growth within the district without impacting current taxpayers. As new homes and businesses are built and new residents move in, they must also contribute financially to the district to help the cost of educating additional students. 

From 1988 to present, Lebanon City Schools has been on the ballot 30 times for bond and levy elections. Of those 30 times on the ballot, 23 passed and 7 failed, a passage rate of 77%. Click here to see details.

If there is no new housing growth in the next 10 years, then the district will not receive additional money from passing this Substitute levy. The district anticipates growth from the new housing developments over the next 10 years, but there is no way of knowing how quickly those homes will be built or the number of students who will reside in those neighborhoods. Based on a recent enrollment study, if all new development projects stay on schedule with their original timelines, the district could expect to see an increase of 1,000 students in the next 10 years.

Our current facilities have the capacity to handle moderate and incremental growth if it is spread across all buildings. The substitute levy would allow us to incrementally increase our property tax revenue and it is our hope that the additional revenue will keep up with the increased enrollment brought in by these new neighborhoods, while pushing the need for new revenue out further. 

All of our school facilities have been designed with future additions in mind if we run out of classroom space. We continuously monitor enrollment, building capacity, and classroom size. In the coming years if we need to add on to facilities to address increased enrollment, the Board of Education would discuss the need for a bond issue to pay for building additions or renovations. (Please note: substitute levies are for operating costs only, not for building new buildings or construction costs. Bond issues pay for new buildings and construction costs.)

"Substitute levies do not generate any new revenue by the three/six year reappraisals done by the County Auditor. The only time substitute levies generate new revenue for the school district is when new construction (homes or businesses) are developed in the district and they begin to pay taxes" ~ Matthew Nolan, Warren County Auditor.

However, our Emergency levies only account for 33% of the revenue generated by property taxes. The remaining 66% of the tax revenue MAY increase with property reappraisals because our District is at the 20-mill floor. In Ohio, school district property taxes are bound by House Bill 920, which means that property tax issues generate the same amount of revenue as when they were originally approved. The easiest way to understand this complicated tax law is to know that even though your property values may go up, others in the district will go down and the district will collect the same amount of money based on work done in the Auditor’s office. This is where the term “effective mills” comes into effect. At this time, our District is near the 20-mill floor, which is the state law minimum for effective mills that a district can collect. When our effective mill falls below 20 mills, the Auditor adjusts the collection to get us above the floor which means that the district will receive more money when properties are reassessed. This phenomenon only applies to the general property tax issues and not to Emergency or Substitute levies. 

All residents in Warren County should expect to pay additional taxes next year whether this Substitute levy passes or fails. This increase will not come to the schools, but instead to Warren County. After the recent reappraisal was completed the Warren County Commissioners authorized a "tax holiday" which means all county residents were not required to pay County property taxes in 2022. That holiday expires January 1, 2023 for all residents in Warren County. When payments resume in 2023, it will feel like a tax increase but it is not - taxes were owed but were forgiven in 2022. The 2022 taxes that will be paid in 2023 are county taxes, not school district taxes.

The district cannot sustain operations without property tax revenue. Sixty percent of the district's total revenue comes from local property taxes. The Substitute Levy on the ballot November 8, 2022 is a combination and replacement of three existing levies that bring in a total of $12.2 million in revenue. Two of the levies expire at the end of 2023 and must be renewed to maintain current district operations. The third levy will continue to collect until it expires in 2026.

If the substitute levy fails on November 8 and the Board of Education does nothing to renew the two emergency levies and they expire at the end of 2023, then taxpayers will no longer pay for those levies, and taxes paid to the school district would decrease. If the third levy (that expires in 2026) is not put up for renewal and is let to expire, or if it is put up for renewal and is not approved, then taxes paid to the district would decrease in 2027 as that third levy expires.

However, the reality is that the elimination of these three levies would cut one-third of the District’s property tax funding, which is unsustainable for the operations of the district. Cutting $12.2 million from the operating budget is not possible unless we cut programming, staffing, and services. 

If the substitute levy is not approved, and if any of the emergency levy renewals do not pass, the district would continue to propose additional levies in order to maintain current operations in the district or be forced to drastically change what is offered to our students and our community.