The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
District splits bond issue with income tax on special election ballot
A combination bond issue and income tax question goes before voters Aug. 2 in the Firelands Local School District.
The blended revenue option is the only issue for the special election at the Lorain County Board of Elections.
Firelands Schools Superintendent Michael Von Gunten said the school board decided they needed to reduce the property tax burden on residents.
“And for those living on social security, it would reduce the burden, also,” Von Gunten said.
The proposed 3.61-mill additional bond issue lasts for 36 years and raises almost $23.3 million for a new school building to educate students in grades six through 12, he said.
The bond issue costs the owner of a $100,000 home $126.35 a year, according to information provided by the office of Lorain County Auditor Craig Snodgrass.
The 0.25 percent income tax is a continuous tax that pays for required maintenance and upkeep on the new building, Von Gunten said.
“The income tax is based on Ohio taxable income,” he said. These types of income are excluded: Social Security benefits, disability benefits, survivor benefits, welfare,
child support, workers compensation, property bequests and inheritances, he said.
A bond issue appeared twice before, beginning with the November election, he said, and was defeated.
“This is the last opportunity to get guaranteed state funding,” Von Gunten said. The Ohio Facilities Construction Commission offered to pay $6.2 million, he said.
“We were awarded that money last August,” Von Gunten said. “The state gives 13 months to pass the bond issue to pay for our portion of it.”
School officials asked residents what they would like to see changed, he said.
“The board wanted to lift the burden on retirees and those who own large amounts of land,” Von Gunten said. “The original plan was to demolish the existing high school, but we
also heard from the community that they would like to see a re-purpose of that building.”
The earliest section of the high school was built in 1954, with other sections added later, he said. South Amherst Middle School is much older, and difficult to repair, school officials said earlier.
The middle school would be offered for other uses, also.
“On passage, the board is interested in sitting down with the village to see what interest they would have in that building,” Von Gunten said. “If there is no interest, there is money available to abate the asbestos and demolish that building as well.
The new building would be built north of the existing high school, located at 10643 Vermilion Road, Von Gunten said. The total cost is almost $35 million, he said.