2023 Orange City School District Permanent Improvement Levy

Orange City School District voters will see a 1.5-mill permanent improvement levy on the November 7, 2023 ballot to continue funding district infrastructure needs.

Here’s what you need to know:

Types of School Funds
In Ohio, the majority of school district financial support comes from voters, not the State. There are three types of levies:

  1. A Bond Issue is usually for the purpose of constructing or renovating school district buildings.
  2. A Permanent Improvement (PI) Levy generates funds which can only be used to pay for long term assets with an estimated useful life greater than five years. HVAC, roofs, furniture, roads, sidewalks, security, technology, vehicles and other building updates are just some of the expenses that can be paid for with PI funds. Permanent improvement funds are not allowed to pay for salaries, wages, benefits or supplies.
  3. A General Operating Levy pays for day-to-day district expenses such as salaries, wages and benefits. A district is allowed to pay for PI expenses with general operating funds.

Orange City School District Levy History
The Orange City School District last passed a bond issue in 1998. The 2.2 mill 1998 Bond Issue that paid for Moreland Hills Elementary School will be retired in December. District residents have been paying $77 per $100,000 of valuation for this bond since 1998. The retirement of a bond is similar to a property owner making their last mortgage payment, and this charge will no longer appear on our property tax bills.

The Orange City School District passed a Permanent Improvement Levy in 2003 to protect the district’s General Operating fund, and it is still in effect. The current 1 mill PI generates about $1M per year, which is insufficient for all district PI expenses. General Operating funds are used for the shortfall.

The Orange City School District last asked its voters for a General Operating Levy increase in 2011. Between the growth of our district tax base and good fiscal management, the district does not plan to propose a General Operating Funds Levy increase for at least another 2-3 years, according to the most recent district financial forecast.

Why is this Permanent Improvement Levy being proposed?
The Orange Board of Education maintains a 10-year capital improvement schedule that anticipates more than $25M of known expenses. With the retirement of the 2.2 mill Moreland Hills Elementary School Bond debt, the board has decided to put a new 1.5 mill Permanent Improvement Levy before the voters in November. This PI Levy would cost property owners $52.50 per $100,000 of valuation. This would generate an additional $1.8M per year for the PI Fund.

Due to the timing of the bond debt retirement, passage of this levy would result in a net tax decrease of $24.50 per $100,000 of valuation for district property owners as compared to what they are currently paying.

For more information, visit https://orangeschools.org/pifunds.