A special Elida school board meeting drew a crowd Tuesday.
Mackenzi Klemann | The Lima News
ELIDA — A special Elida school board meeting Tuesday aroused confusion and widespread support for an emergency property tax levy set to expire in 2025.
The levy, which expires next December, is the largest property tax levy for Elida schools, generating $2.7 million for the district’s general fund each year.
The board held a special meeting Tuesday at Elida Elementary School as it prepares to vote on a resolution in November to place the renewal on the ballot next spring.
But the board failed to mention an important detail: It is considering increasing the levy’s millage to bring in additional revenue ahead of a forecasted deficit, leading some in the audience to conclude the board does not intend to renew the levy at all.
“It saddens me to think that a renewal levy is up for debate like this,” said Mellani Cady, a Title One reading teacher at Elida Elementary.
She added, “Are you willing to get certified and provide emotional support services to our at-risk students? Are you willing to volunteer and provide tutoring after school and over the summer for struggling readers? Because these are the things that you’re cutting when you don’t have a levy.”
‘We can humble ourselves’
Treasurer Larry Kaiser warned the board in September that the district’s five-year forecast shows a deficit in the general fund starting in fiscal year 2027.
He presented a few scenarios should the board decide to increase the millage on its emergency levy, which is up for renewal next year, to bring in new revenue.
The board is expected to vote on a resolution regarding the levy in November, at which time board members will decide whether to increase or keep the millage at its current rate.
Jaired Birks suggested the board host a public forum to solicit feedback from the community before making a decision.
“There is a huge part of the electorate who tend to vote based on how they feel the schools are doing,” Birks said. “I think they feel their only method of making an impact on the district is to vote ‘no’ on a levy.
“If this levy is going to have a chance of passing, we need to show the community that we are interested and willing to listen to them. We can humble ourselves and hear what they have to say.”
‘The future seems bleak’
Tuesday’s meeting did not go as Birks anticipated.
Kaiser distributed copies of the five-year forecast to audience members and spoke of the coming deficit, but neither he nor the board mentioned proposals under consideration to raise the levy millage to offset the deficit.
The board set out glass jars where audience members could submit written questions about the renewal or the district’s finances but did not answer those questions at the advice of legal counsel due to restrictions on campaigning for a levy before it is approved for the ballot.
Instead, the board will respond to questions by email and draft an FAQ for the district’s website at a later date.
The meeting then proceeded to public comment, which universally supported renewing the levy and exposed frustration among Elida staff regarding the board’s direction this past year.
“The future seems very bleak unless we can work together for the good of the people in this district,” said Bryan Horn, who has taught at Elida schools for 21 years. “We spent so much time talking about who we should buy books from, if we should have student agendas or what students should or shouldn’t wear at school.
“But in the meantime, we found ourselves in the most precarious position that I can remember in my 21 years here: We face the challenging task of passing a levy at a time when everybody’s feeling the pinch in their wallets.”
Do board members oppose the levy?
A common question raised in public comment Tuesday is whether Birks and David Peters, who joined the board in January, oppose renewing the emergency levy next year.
Peters and Birks both campaigned last fall on a pledge to reverse Elida’s accommodations for transgender students who wished to use facilities of their preferred gender identity, rather than their birth sex, which had become a flashpoint at board meetings in the months prior to the election.
The duo aligned closely with a group that campaigned against renewing a permanent improvements levy to send a message to the board. The renewal failed twice, costing the district $200,000 a year in building maintenance funds.
Asked about the coming renewal, Peters said he supports renewing the levy with no increase, while Birks said he believes the levy is necessary.
“Hopefully, we can show the people in our community that we’re going to be fiscally responsible and that we respect their contributions,” Birks said.
What’s under consideration
Kaiser presented board members with a few options to bring in additional funds from the levy during the board’s September meeting. Those possibilities include:
• No change: taxpayers would continue to pay $173.13 per $100,000 in assessed value of their properties.
• Increase levy by $300,000, which would cost an extra $19.25 per $100,000 in assessed value for a total of $192.38 per $100,000 in property.
• Increase levy by $500,000 (0.94 mills), which would raise tax bills by $32.88 for every $100,000 in property for a total of $206.01 per $100,000 in property.
• Increase levy by $800,000 (1.5 mills), which would cost taxpayers an additional $52.50 per $100,000 in assessed value for a total bill of $225.63 per $100,000 in assessed value.
• Increase levy by $1 million (1.87 mills), which would raise tax bills by $64.52 per $100,000 in property for a total of $237.65 per $100,000 in assessed value, according to estimates provided to Elida schools by the Allen County auditor.
Speaking in his personal capacity, board President Jeffrey Point said he’s leaning toward no change to the levy millage.
“I don’t think it’s wise to do anything further than that,” Point said, though he said a final decision will be rendered by the board next month. “Do they want to add an addition to it? That is up to all five members,” he said.
