NEW: Beavercreek schools to try levy again in fall
Board of education members will likely seek another substitute levy, said Superintendent Paul Otten.
“We definitely will be returning to the voters because we have to get this approved,” Otten said. “We just see so many benefits with this (substitute levy), not only for the school district but for the community as a whole.”
Otten said he will recommend board members seek another substitute levy, but also said the district will need to do a better job educating the public on the levy.
MORE: Beavercreek schools levy narrowly rejected
The property tax levy would have generated $10.4 million for the district in its first year, and would not have increased annual costs for residents. The owner of a home worth $100,000 would have paid $210 annually, according to the Greene County Auditor’s office.
The vote would have transformed the levy from a five-year recurring measure to a permanent tax.
Substitute levies were only introduced in Ohio in 2008, allowing communities to change the terms of previously passed emergency levies.
RELATED: Small districts’ bond levies failed in 2016
An emergency levy produces a fixed dollar amount for the school district each year, regardless of new home construction. That generally means as new homes are constructed, increasing the overall tax base, each individual taxpayer’s burden goes down.
But a substitute levy keeps the tax rate the same, and can gradually produce more revenue for the school district, by applying that rate to new construction.
RELATED: See chart on school levy costs
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