TONTOGANY – Otsego Local Schools is taking steps to again ask for voter support for an income tax, this time in March.
For the first time in more than 20 years, the district asked voters earlier this month to support a request for more operating funds.
That request, a continuing 0.5% income tax, failed Nov. 7 by more than 1,500 votes.
The unofficial results from the Wood County Board of Elections show 5,799 votes in favor and 7,394 opposed.
The district did well in two villages and not so well in two others, said board President Brad Anderson at the school board meeting held Wednesday.
The school board passed four resolutions of necessity.
“That gives you four options,” said district Treasurer Steve Carroll.
The board is asking the department of taxation what a 0.5% income tax will collect as a continuing tax and as a five-year tax, and the income tax rate that will be needed to collect $950,000 for a continuing time and for five years.
Carroll said the answers should be 0.5% and 0.25%.
The district board will hold a work session Dec. 11 to discuss the results. The meeting starts at 6 p.m. in the high school library.
The district started outspending its revenue in fiscal year 2023, which ended June 30, according to the five-year forecast Carroll presented at the meeting.
Without the extra income, the district will continue to spend more than it takes in for each of the next five years and is expected to reduce its unreserved cash balance to $1.115 million at the end of fiscal year 2028.
Even with the additional $600,000 from the reappraisal of property, “that’s not enough to keep us in the black” Carroll said.
There has been growth in income tax and property tax collections – 5.2 % and 11.6% respectively — from last year.
Carroll said he is not expecting an increase in NEXUS payments.
The bond payments for the high school end in 2031; payments for the elementary school are done in 2025.
Personal services, which is the district’s highest expense, went up 9.3% this year.
However, Otsego’s per-pupil expense of $11,400 is extremely low, Carroll said.
“Every other school around is spending more per student than we are,” Carroll said.
“We are trying to operate very lean and efficiently,” he said.
The district has experienced an increase of $500,000 annually for special education services.
“It’s something as a school we want to provide, but it’s impacting our bottom line,” Carroll said.
He said there will be a reduction in the increase in expenses, but the cost to operate the district continues to go up.
He said expenses had outpaced revenues by 7% and that it was trimmed to 5%.
“We’re working hard to cut our expenses the best we can,” he said.
Any local issues need to be filed with the board of elections before Dec. 20 for the March 19 presidential primary election.
Also at the work session, the board needs to start considering cuts in spending, said board member Jamie Harter.
Board member Jessica Mehl asked Carroll to compile a list of possible cuts.
The last time the district asked voters for new operating money was in 2002 with a 1% income tax.
The last property tax request was in 1987, said board President Brad Anderson.
“That gets lost on a lot of people,” he said.
Also at the meeting, the board:
Held a moment of silence in honor of the three band members, two parents and one teacher in the Tuscarawas Valley Local Schools who died in a five-vehicle crash on Interstate 70 Tuesday.
Harter said the Ohio School Boards Association conference was cut short, as the band was heading to the conference to perform.
Went into executive session to discuss personnel. When the board reentered regular session, Harter said the intent was to approve a Weston Public Library board member but that no action would be taken as “something has come to light.”
Questions were raised and the board will speak with the three candidates at its Dec. 20 meeting.
The candidates are Shelly Myerholtz, Fritz Wolfram and Bonnie Armitage.
