The question of Bowling Green City Schools voters is, how much will the levy for a new high school cost me?
The answer is different for each individual based on your property, said BGCS Superintendent Ted Haselman at Tuesday’ school board meeting.
The primary misconception, however, is how the county’s revaluation is going to affect how much taxpayers pay, he said.
“Taxes do not increase in direct proportion with an increase in property value,” he said.
House Bill 920, which has been around since 1976, states that if inflation has caused the value of the property to increase, the auditor cuts the school tax rate so schools do not receive more money.
It protects property owners from inflation and higher reappraisal values which would result in school districts receiving a windfall of taxes collected, Haselman said.
“We can’t collect any more dollars on levies that are already in place,” he said.
As valuations go up, our collection remains the same, he said.
The district is asking voters to support a 5.55-mill bond issue on Nov. 7 to raise $72.8 million for a new high school.
District Treasurer Cathy Schuller has said the bond issue will cost $184 annually for the owner of a home with an appraised value of $100,000.
As inflation drives up the value of that home, H.B. 920 prevents schools from collecting more in taxes, Haselman said.
“No more, no less,” Haselman said.
”Under the current law that applies to voted property tax levies, the voted property tax levy should generate the same amount of property tax revenue after the reappraisal as the amount of property tax revenue before the reappraisal was conducted,” Haselman said.
He encouraged residents to visit the Wood County Auditor’s website to get an estimate of taxes. (Directions can be found under the Facility Planning tab on the district’s website, www.bgcs.k12.oh.us).
He answered additional questions that were asked at the Aug. 30 community forum with DLR Group, in which the renderings for the new high school were unveiled.
• Penta Career Center satellite programs which include the vo-ag, DECA and Family Consumer Science program will continue at BGHS just in a new facility.
• The new high school will not be connected to the proposed BGCS Activity Center (the site of the current high school) or the Performing Arts Center because of Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) rules and regulations. If the new high school was connected to either of these facilities, the OFCC would count this space in their calculations and the district would get less new space and/or less OFCC reimbursement dollars.
• The areas of the current high school that would be renovated and converted into the BGCS Activity Center include the music rooms, main gymnasium area, auxiliary gymnasium area, and the cafeteria area. The use of some areas would remain the same (music rooms, gymnasiums) and other areas would be repurposed for district storage.
Another option for this area could be dedicated to a Family Resource Center for BGCS families. The gymnasium space would allow student-athletes, and mainly younger students, to complete daily practices at a more reasonable time for families. Other local groups that serve students and the community, such as music and the arts, will have areas for practice and meetings.
The BGCS Activity Center will not be used regularly during the school day for classes.
• Should the levy pass in November, groundbreaking would take place around May of 2025 with a target opening date of August 2027. Selective demolition of the old high school would take place after opening of the new building. A target opening date of the BGCS Activity Center would be the spring of 2028.
• Geothermal is still a viable way to heat and cool the building and the lines could be integrated with the middle school when the time comes to replace those mechanical systems.
• The building was designed to allow for future growth in student population.
• Options are being considered for the marching band practice area, as the new high school will be built on the current site. One idea is to place a practice field in the grassy area in front of the current high school. The band tower, which was a project of a Bowling Green student as an Eagle Scout project, would be relocated to wherever this new practice area would be located.
• 17% of the project will be reimbursed from the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission, or $7.5 million. The district would receive that reimbursement in five-10 years.
• It would cost $47.5 million to renovate the high school, but the project would not be co-funded by OFCC.
DLR Group will return to Bowling Green on Oct. 4 to present a final draft of the district’s facilities master plan and show new renderings of the proposed high school and a video flyover (both are currently available on the district’s website). That meeting will start at 6 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center.
Board President Ryan Myers said the flyover video was very impressive.
“It really talks about having a campus feel,” he said. “I think it looks absolutely wonderful.”
The façade of the new school is unique to the city, which was very deliberate, Myers said.
“We wanted something that was Bowling Green, that represented our pride,” he said. “We wanted something that was different, that was going to be built for not today or tomorrow, but 10, 20, 30 years from now.”
“It’s designed to educate and it’s the stuff inside that’s very impressive,” said board member Norm Geer. “The outside could change but it’s the inside with the organization of the learning centers and collaboration with the teachers that’s really impressive.”
