Board hears state budget could add some school dollars while threatening local levies and inside millage

The district’s treasurer summarized the state budget outlook at the Bellbrook-Sugarcreek Local School District board meeting, saying the Senate plan would send more state money to schools but that other provisions could remove or limit key local tax tools.

The summary matters because the proposals under discussion at the statehouse could change how the district collects and retains property-tax revenue. "It's not insignificant, but it's not major either," the treasurer said when describing the projected increase in state aid under the Senate proposal.

Under the versions the treasurer reviewed, the Senate and an alternate analysis estimated extra funding for schools. The treasurer said one estimate showed $448,000 in additional state aid for Bellbrook-Sugarcreek next year and $769,000 the following year (roughly $1.2 million over two years). An alternate estimate the treasurer cited showed about $596,000 next year and $1.5 million the following year. The district’s current state guarantee was described at about $6.2 million annually.

Board members pressed for details about provisions that would affect local tax collections. The treasurer said the Senate language would eliminate fixed-sum (“fixed dollar”) replacement levies when they expire; the district currently receives about $3.2 million from a fixed-sum levy that would not be renew-able in that form under the Senate draft. The treasurer said, “We cannot renew our levy,” describing the change as permanent for new fixed-sum levies.

The treasurer also flagged a Senate proposal to increase allowable carryover from 30% to 50% of certain funds and noted a new option in that version allowing districts to adopt a board resolution to dedicate excess carryover above 50% to permanent-improvement projects for up to three years. He said that change could let the district keep and spend excess funds for buses, HVAC work and other capital needs without returning them immediately to taxpayers.

Another concern raised at the meeting was language giving county budget commissions more authority to reduce local property-tax levies. The treasurer described the county budget commission as the locally constituted panel that certifies tax rates each year and said the proposal would make reductions mandatory in some cases instead of advisory.

Board members and the treasurer also discussed House Bill 355, which the treasurer said would eliminate the state “inside millage” for most local governments (an automatic 10 mills in Ohio’s system is distributed among subdivisions). The treasurer characterized the district’s inside millage revenue at about $4.5 million annually and said losing that indexed revenue would be “a major hit.”

The treasurer warned that other proposals remain possible, including a citizen-driven constitutional amendment circulating to eliminate property taxes, which would have a far larger fiscal impact if enacted. "That would be huge," the treasurer said, noting the district receives most of its general-fund dollars locally.

The board obtained consensus to watch the bills and return with more analysis once the House and Senate reconcile their differences and the governor acts. The treasurer’s report and routine financial items tied to the monthly report were approved by roll call vote earlier in the meeting.

Discussion-only items: the board held a substantive review of legislative changes and budget projections; no policy was adopted on those state proposals at the meeting.

Background: The treasurer said the state budget language was still in flux — the House and Senate still needed to reconcile versions — and urged the board to await the final enacted language before taking major local steps.