Q. Is the Elementary/Middle School building paid off?
A. No. It will be paid off in December of 2013. There is currently $150,000 outstanding.
Q. When will the High School be paid off?
A. December of 2018.
Q. If this bond issue is passed in February, 2012, when will the first taxes be collected?
A. The taxes would not be collected until January, 2013.
Q. When is the last collection of the Elementary/Middle School building millage?
A. July of 2011.
Q. Can we pay off the High School and Elementary School early?
A. No. When the bonds were sold for the Elementary addition in 1991, they were sold as “Non-callable” bonds, which means we cannot pay them off early. The elementary bond issue will be paid off in 2013. When the High School bonds were sold, they had a one-time call feature on them. When interest rates decreased, the bonds were refinanced in 2005 and resulted in decreasing the cost of the bonds by over $382,000. The High School bonds will be paid off in 2018.
Q. What are the current levies that are on my taxes and when do they expire?
A. There are three types of levies on your real estate taxes currently, which include operating, permanent improvement and bond retirement. For operating, we have voted millage of 42.85, which is currently collecting at 20 mills and is continuing millage, so it will not expire. For permanent improvements we have a voted millage of 1.0, which is currently collecting at .75 mills, and will expire in 2015. For Bond Retirement purposes, we have the Elementary addition which is currently collecting at .80 mills and will expire in 2011, and the High School building which is currently collecting at 6.9 mills and will expire in 2018.
Q. When will the school district need new operating dollars?
A. So much of this depends on the state funding to our district and the economy because of our income tax. Our cash and revenue estimates should be enough to cover our expenses for at least the next few years.
Q. If this levy is for 38 years, how many operating levies will you need before this school is paid?
A. The District will need the same number of operating levies whether a new school is built or whether the old building is renovated. Note: 38 years was presented at the meeting on September 13. The Board of Education has now changed the term of the levy to 33 years.
Q. What is the length of the bond levy?
A. 33 years
Q. What is the current Permanent Improvement balance and could this money be used to help pay for a new building?
A. The current Permanent Improvement cash balance is $249,000. Technically, this fund could be used for items in a new building. In 2008, when we knew an OSFC project was going to be offered to us, we stopped renovating rooms in the K-8 building. The balance has grown since then, but we also know that the boiler could go out at any time, so we are keeping a balance in the Permanent Improvement fund to be able to cover this cost, if necessary.
Q. Why put the levy on in February 2012? Is this so older people might not make it out to vote?
A. February 2012 is the soonest that we can have it on the ballot and still get information out to the public and provide opportunity for response from them. In addition, the OSFC allows for one year to pass the levy before the District is “put on the shelf”, and we don’t want to pass up an opportunity to have the issue passed. NOTE: Since the community meeting on September 13, 2011, the Ohio legislature has changed the date of the primary election from May to March. Therefore, the Board of Education has decided to be on the March, 2012, ballot rather than the special election in February, 2012.
Q. What is the total operating cost for the current buildings, and how would that compare to a new building?
A. The operating costs of the high school were $139,718 for 98,185 square feet of space during the 2010-11 school year. Using that ratio, the operating costs of the proposed new K-8 building at 80,540 square feet would be $114,367. During the 2010-11 school year, the operating costs of the current K-8 was $115,244, so the operating costs should decrease slightly for utilities. Less repairs should be needed for a new building, decreasing the cost of building repairs and maintenance. The cost of water should also be lower by using water conservation facilities.
Q. Would we be eligible for federal funding of our building project through Obama’s proposed jobs bill?
A. The Obama proposal is currently very vague, and just that – a proposal. Both the Senate and the House of Representatives would have to agree to it, and even then, there are no details in how the money would be spent. Our best guess is that the money would go to the states to oversee the spending of the dollars, much like Race to the Top and the federal stimulus money. Since the State of Ohio already has a school facilities program in place based on the wealth of the districts, we suspect that Ohio would use the federal dollars to reach more school districts under the OSFC program.
Q. What will happen to any leftover dollars if the cost of the building comes in under the cost of the estimates?
A. We're trying to size the issue appropriately. If bids come in below estimates, excess dollars can be spent on other related building items. Examples would be to upgrade the lighting in the high school to more energy efficient; upgrade the security in the high school since we will be connecting to a building with more security. Another possibility is to transfer the excess dollars to the Bond Retirement Fund.