Frequently Asked Questions

The May 3rd vote is a way for voters to decide what they want out of their school system.  If they value the programs and services that the district currently provides, then a YES vote will help ensure that those things continue. The only message that a NO vote will send is that the community does not want what the district is currently providing, so go ahead and make those cuts.  Keep in mind that the need for additional funds will still be there even if this levy fails.  The district will be back on the ballot in November, but the cuts will have already been made.  Certain teachers will be gone.  Football season will be over.

Funding for Ohio’s 614 public school districts generally comes from a combination of local property taxes and state level taxes. The majority of all districts' operating budgets are comprised of different combinations of these two sources. School districts that are defined by the state as “wealthy” receive less money from the state (via an allocation of state taxes) than do less wealthy districts. A district is considered wealthy based on a combination of property values and the median income of its residents. Olentangy is considered a wealthy district and currently receives only 15% of its operating revenue from the State.

If the May levy does not pass, the district does not plan to go back on the ballot in August.  This is because the vote is on May 3rd and the deadline to submit all paperwork and to have completed all resolutions to be on August ballot is May 4th.  The soonest the district plans return to the ballot should this levy fail is November 2011.

No. A levy failure will NOT result in additional state funding.  In fact, because of the State’s current budget crisis, school districts across Ohio, including Olentangy, are expecting additional state funding cuts.  The State has no money to provide additional funds to public school districts.  That means that any additional funding must come from local taxpayers. Based on the State’s per pupil funding model, Olentangy receives about the same amount of money from the State (approximately $7 million) that it did in 2005. Since then, we have added nearly 6,000 new students. Olentangy’s School Funding & Action Committee is a board-selected committee of district residents that work to educate and advocate on behalf of Olentangy at the state level. Visit http://www.olentangy.k12.oh.us/district/board/sfac/index.html.

A bond issue is a property tax used to provide funds for school facilities.  Bond dollars pay for the construction of new buildings, buses, textbooks and technology.  Money collected from a bond issue cannot be used for operations.

An operating levy is a property tax used to pay day-to-day operating expenses in a school district.  Operating levy dollars pay for expenses such as personnel, utilities, and classroom supplies.

Both bonds and operating levies are taxed in terms of “mills”.

A mill is a fraction (1/1000th) of the community’s total property value.  In terms of dollars, one mill represents $30.62 in annual residential school property taxes for every $100,000 of home valuation, as determined by the County Auditor.

This bond issue will be listed on the ballot as being for .50 mills. However, due to rapid growth, it will be collected at no additional mills.

This plan addresses growth while keeping our tax rates low. Current residents should see NO increase in their tax rate for school bonds, which results in future residents paying more than they would have under a “traditional” debt structure.

Structuring the bond debt in this fiscally responsible manner creates a situation in which future residents pay more of their fair share. Those already living in the district will see a much lower millage than they would have under traditional debt funding.

Both. The cuts will be enacted as stated for the 2011-12 school year.  The board will then plan to go on the ballot in November.  Some of the cuts from a failed May levy will not be reinstated.  Furthermore, assuming a November levy passage, some of the cuts that should be reinstated won’t be able to be until the following school year (2012-13), due to contracts.

Yes. The state minimum requires districts to offer busing to students in kindergarten through eighth grade who live more than two miles from the school, and no busing for high school students. There is no requirement for sidewalks or specific road speed limits. This has been enacted in many districts when levies have failed.  It's often cut first because it is an expensive undertaking that, by its elimination, can save valuable academic programs.

No. OLSD actually has seen 303 more students enroll than had been projected at that time.

The proposed cuts are not threats.  Due to state law and the nature of school funding in Ohio, districts must have a plan for what they will do to balance their budget in the event the levy doesn’t pass.  It is simply fiscal planning for what to do if expenses exceed revenues.  If voters do not approve a revenue increase, they will cut expenses.  Our district has a history of communicating to voters the consequences of a levy failure. If the levy doesn’t pass in May, the cuts will go into effect for the 2011-2012 school year. State law has specific requirements about what must be taught.  So those are off the table, such as English and Math. There are contracts that have to be honored, so those are off the table as well.  If you look at what is “off the table”, the things that are left are the “extras” --- the things that people come to expect from a district like Olentangy.   Sure, they could probably have come up with other things to cut, like AP classes at the high school, etc., but the administration made a reasoned decision to protect academics as much as possible. Therefore, things like busing, sports, and other activities are a logical place to reduce costs.

The district has trimmed their forecasted expenses by over $15 million since 2008.  And they tried to make sure those reductions didn’t affect the academic programs.  But they lost over $12 million in expected state funding.  Enrollment is still increasing dramatically.  Olentangy has a history of asking voters for money only when it is critically needed.

One way to view efficiency is through third party evaluations. Moody's and Standard and Poor’s are considered the standard benchmarks for rating the financial soundness of private and governmental entities. Both organizations rate the district's financial practices as very strong.

Another way to measure efficiency is by using “cost per pupil,”.   Cost per Pupil is the cost which each district in Ohio spends to educate one child.  This amount, which is determined by the Ohio Department of Education (ODE), is the standard measure of cost efficiency throughout the state.

Olentangy has the second lowest cost per pupil of any major suburban school district in Centra l Ohio.  According to the most recent ODE data, Olentangy’s cost per pupil is $9,603, which is lower than the state average of $10,512 and well below our similar-district average of $11,230.

Olentangy already spends less per pupil on Administration than any other district in Central Ohio except Delaware City.  And they spend less than the state average on administration as well.  But further cost efficiencies are still being considered. One example is the sharing of assistant principals between elementary schools.

When a new school building is opened, a TV is purchased for each room. They are LCD flat screen. They are used in the education process as they are connected to the teachers' computer. A cost analysis was done to see if using projectors would be a cheaper alternative, and it was determined that the TV's would be cheaper based on the replacement cost of projector bulbs.  Other technology, including some TVs and smart boards, are donated to the schools by various PTO and Booster groups.

If the levy doesn’t pass, the buildings will stay open, at least until the custodial staff has completed their cleaning.  Therefore, latchkey will continue.

If the levy doesn’t pass, the district will continue to allow OYAA to utilize the schools’ fields.  The buildings will stay open, at least until the custodial staff has completed their cleaning.  Currently, the district expects OYAA athletics to continue to be able to use school facilities.

If the district were to enact pay-to-play fees subsequent to a levy failure, the cost is estimated to be between $800 - $1,200 PER sport or activity.  As fewer students participate due to financial constraints, the cost per athlete would increase.  This creates a situation where those children who have parents who can afford to pay the fees can play, while those who do not, won’t.  The district does not want to support this type of inequity.

Yes.  Here are two examples:

Scioto Reserve – In the Scioto Reserve subdivision, some of the homes are part of Olentangy, while others are part of Buckeye Valley.  Here is a comparison of home sales in 2010 within that subdivision:

South-Western City Schools – see chart below to see how increases in property values compare between a high-performing school district like Olentangy and South-Western City Schools.

Olentangy Local SD vs South-Western SD

One reason is because Olentangy is considered “wealthy” by the state, based on our property values and median income.  Olentangy gets only 15% of its funding from the state, whereas the average district gets 44%.  Our district is growing at 900+ students per year.  Thus they have to rely on the local taxpayer since state funding has not kept pace with this growth. Compared to other comparable Central Ohio school districts, Olentangy’s school property taxes are on the low end!  See chart below:

2010 Effective Millage Comparison

The school board’s Finance & Audit Committee, which is made up of volunteer district residents who have financial specialties, has looked into this, and they have determined that it is not a good option for Olentangy taxpayers at this time.  The problem with a school earned income tax is that it only hits individuals – thus making the district MORE reliant on residents, as opposed to property taxes, which are assessed on corporate and retail property owners as well.  So school earned income taxes work in a residential property owner’s favor when the corporate and retail tax base is low.  Fortunately, Olentangy’s is not low, so an operating levy in our district should pose less of a financial reliance on the residential property owners than a school income tax would.

There is NO 4th High School on this ballot issue.  Furthermore, there is a question as to whether it will ever be built or needed at all.  The administration is looking long term at how the district will look in 10 years (called Project 2020), and are looking at many alternatives to try to avoid this cost to the taxpayers.

There are more than 100 sixth graders slated for Berkshire currently taking their classes at Orange High School, because Orange Middle School is overcrowded.

3 of the 14 elementary schools are currently over capacity and 5 others are between 2 and 19 students from exceeding capacity. (as of February 2011)

Every class in Olentangy is larger than the one before it (there are more 6th graders than 7th, more 5th graders than 6th, etc.) So as these students grow through the system, the need for additional space grows too.  Growth is expected to continue.  Please see the chart below, which is based on projections from the independent consulting firm DeJong Healy prepared in October 2010.

DeJong Healy Enrollment Projections Report, October 2010

Yes. Each 1st grade class is larger than the one before it.  So the district needs this building for these students as they move through the system as well as for the incoming population from preschools.

As of February 2011, the following elementary buildings are over the design capacity of 650:

Glen Oak
Liberty Tree
Olentangy Meadows

Also, the following elementary buildings are close to the 650 design capacity number:

Freedom Trail @ 649
Indian Springs @ 644
Tyler Run @ 645
Scioto Ridge @ 635
Wyandot Run @ 632

And enrollment growth is expected to continue.

The district has actually increased the student/teacher ratios in the middle and high schools in the past couple of years and they are working on figuring other ways to further increase them without risking student achievement and learning.

At this point, Olentangy still plans to apply for a waiver for all day kindergarten for next year and provide all day kindergarten to only those students who are determined “at risk’ (about 300 young learners, mostly from the special needs preschool population).  If the kindergarten laws change again, which they could, then Olentangy will look at what they can provide from a service and cost perspective. Under current state law school districts cannot charge for all day kindergarten (they used to be able to under old law, but Strictland’s all day kindergarten plans did away with that).