LOUDONVILLE — Voters in the Loudonville-Perrysville school district will be asked to approve a $53.5 million, 37-year bond issue to pay for a new building come November, following the board’s approval of a resolution Monday night.
The district’s board of education approved a resolution to put the bonds and an additional levy on the November ballot at its regular meeting Monday.
According to the resolution’s text, a property tax outside the 10-mill limitation will pay for the bonds. Those bonds will cover $53.5 million of the building project. That means a price tag of $341 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s appraised value, to be paid over 37 years.
(Below, you can view a Microsoft Word document with the full text of the resolution the board passed Monday.)
The project’s total cost sits at $71 million, with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission spending $15,681,130.
The district also pledged $2,306,493 to the project, according to previous Ashland Source reporting.
The resolution requests passage of a levy for an additional property tax. That levy is to “provide funds for the acquisition, construction, enlargement, renovation, and financing of permanent improvements…”
The levy is estimated to collect $145,000 annually. That means a cost of $18 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s appraised value.
The approved resolution, along with a resolution declaring the necessity of the bond issue and certificates from the county auditor, will now go to the Board of Elections.
In-district constituents in Ashland, Holmes, Knox and Richland counties will vote on the issue in November.
(Below is a PDF document of certificates of estimated property tax revenue from the county auditor.)
Planning stages
The unanimous vote from the board comes after the district put together a master facilities planning task force, which spent months developing a master facilities plan.
It presented a plan at community meetings in April, which revealed two options for a new school building. The new building will house prekindergarten through 12th graders.
Following input from the community meetings, the district’s master facilities planning task force recommended one option to the board.
According to previous Ashland Source reporting, the building process would last five years.
Resolution responses
Only one public commenter spoke at the meeting.
Jason Hellinger, a third-generation farmer who lives in the district, urged the board to reconsider the decision to put the bond and levy on the ballot prior to the board’s vote.
He said in 2022, he paid $6,400 in taxes. Last year, he said that number had increased to $12,000. With the passage of the bond issue and permanent improvement levy, Hellinger claimed he’d pay over $16,000 in taxes.
“My income does not keep up with that,” Hellinger said. “I’d plead with you to take the farmers in our community into account with what you’re planning.”
He added the tax increase he anticipates would be difficult for the farming community in the area at large, too.
“It’s going to be tough, and it’s probably going to ruin a lot of us,” Hellinger said.
Jennifer Allerding, superintendent of Loudonville-Perrysville Exempted Village Schools, provided an emailed statement to Ashland Source about the resolution following Monday’s board meeting.
We understand how significant a bond issue is for our community and its potential impact on families.
As a district, we aim to ensure that Loudonville-Perrysville Schools remain a safe and accessible place of learning for all our students. The proposed bond issue is a result of extensive community engagement activities conducted over the past year through our Master Facilities Task Force and partnership with architecture firm Garmann Miller.
Our Facilities Task Force, comprised of a diverse group of parents, students, business owners, community members, farmers, and school staff, has worked diligently to create a plan that respects our rich history while preparing us for the future.
We will continue to provide factual information to every community member so voters can make informed decisions at the ballot.
I would encourage individuals with specific questions related to the bond issue or school topics in general to reach out to me via email or phone so that I or our staff can help answer them.
Our community is the backbone of our Redbird spirit, and we hope to continue working with all our stakeholders to provide the highest quality education to our students.
Allerding’s statement to Ashland Source
