Treasurer Jen Wagner reviewed the district's growth and capital plan during the Feb. 1 board meeting, presenting Phase 1 actuals, Phase 2 net impacts and a longer-term levy and debt schedule that will shape decisions about operating and construction funding.

Wagner told the board Phase 1 repurposing and reassignments (Riverview repurposing, Mount Washington expansion to PK–8, combining Owens and Promise Center, and creating Schroeder junior high and other moves) had an aggregated documented cost of about $1,300,000. She said the largest single component of the Phase 1 figure was staff costs because the district committed to keep staff in place during the transitions.

Phase 2 had been projected earlier to produce a $1.4 million net savings if implemented as originally proposed; after board votes and modifications the treasurer said that estimated savings fell to about $350,000 and noted that appeals or further adjustments could change that figure. Wagner said transportation changes, including a single start time for SCPA, account for roughly $1 million in anticipated savings under earlier assumptions.

Wagner walked members through a multi-year set of capital and operating questions. The district's current $48 million renewal levy (the board referred to the levy that funds a $15 million set-aside for preschool expansion) expires and the board must decide whether to renew, combine needs into a new levy, or seek separate levies. "One mill right now is generating about $8,800,000 in property revenue," Wagner said during the presentation, explaining how millage translates to revenue and how levy structure choices interact with Ohio's 20-mill floor rules.

Wagner explained options: renew the current $48 million operating levy (with its preschool set-aside), allow it to expire and propose a new fixed-sum operational levy that could include new money, or pursue a permanent improvement (PI) levy or bond for facility repairs. She said the district's facility-repair estimate for repairs presented earlier was about $170 million over five years and that the seven Phase 3 construction projects were estimated at roughly $200 million in construction costs. For very large construction borrowing, Wagner said borrowing costs could make a bond levy more efficient; she estimated a $200 million bond could require roughly 3 mills for the borrowing service rather than a simple per-year calculation.

Wagner reviewed the debt summary and capacity: the only current voted levy backing bonds showed a principal balance of approximately $173 million as of July 1, 2025, and the district's additional debt capacity was limited (she cited roughly $9 million of capacity). Board members heard that upcoming timeline windows for levies include the November 2025 renewal, a 2028 renewal ($65 million referenced) and a 2032 renewal ($52 million referenced), and that overlapping levies carries political and fiscal risk.

Board members asked about sequencing and whether the district should pursue operational money first and a facility-focused levy later. Several members, including Board member Craig and Vice President Bolton, favored an approach that prioritized an operational levy in 2025 and a dedicated PI or bond conversation in 2026 to avoid putting two large levies on the same ballot year. Wagner and board members also discussed levy design (fixed-sum vs. fixed-rate) and noted that a fixed-sum levy can avoid negative interactions with the 20-mill floor and preserve tax advantages created under Ohio law.

The treasurer and administration said they would convene further meetings with the district's financial adviser and other staff to prepare detailed dollar-and-millage proposals for subsequent board review; no final levy decisions were taken on Feb. 1.