Dublin Schools seek levy, bond issue to build elementary school

DUBLIN, Ohio (WCMH) – Another Franklin County school district has added its name – and proposed levy – to residents’ ballots in November.

The Dublin City Schools Board of Education voted unanimously Monday to put a 7.9-mill levy and 1.99-mill, $145 million bond issue on ballots Nov. 7. Citing inflation and a population boom, Superintendent John Marschhausen said the levy is necessary to meet growing demand for Dublin Schools education.

"Being a district that is so heavily reliant on local property tax dollars, it puts us in this very tough position," Marschhausen said. "I struggle with it from a standpoint of knowing the difficult economic times, seeing what folks in our community have been through, but at the same time, realizing that so many people move here, or stay here, because of the education."

The district seeks a 7.9-mill operating levy and a $145 million bond issue to, in part, fund the construction of an elementary school to serve the city’s northwest corner. An increase in development has provided a steady stream of new residents – and more children to educate, said Brian Kern, the district’s treasurer and chief financial officer.

In addition to the elementary school, the bond issue will fund building improvements and a $7.5 million preschool expansion to accommodate a rising number of preschool students with disabilities.

All told, the levy and bond will increase property taxes by $314 per $100,000 of appraised value. Properties are appraised at 35% of their actual value; a property with an appraised value of $100,000 is worth about $285,714.

The bonds will accrue a 5% interest rate and will be paid over three decades. The operating levy is continuing, meaning it will collect funds in perpetuity.

Dublin City Schools last placed a levy on the ballot in 2018, when it requested a 5.9-mill operating levy, a 2-mill permanent improvement levy, and a $195 million bond. The generated revenue funded the construction of three schools and building additions to Dublin Jerome High School.

The board originally approved the no-new millage bond issue, but it will likely appear on voters’ ballots as 1.99 mills. The Franklin County Auditor’s Office certified, as millage values of previous levies have lowered over time, the bond can be levied at 1.99 mills without additional cost to taxpayers.

Dublin joins Columbus City Schools in placing levies on the ballot. In June, a Columbus school board member said the district’s aging buildings “can’t wait” for a better time for tax increases to hit residents’ pockets. 

Dublin’s ever-increasing student enrollment can’t wait either, Kern said. To open the elementary school by fall 2025, the district needs to move quickly. Rising construction and materials costs only accelerate that timeline.

The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission expects the region’s population to reach more than 3.1 million by 2050. With the district’s ever-increasing population, it expects its enrollment to grow by 270 students each year through 2032 – growth partially driven by rapid residential development amid central Ohio’s expected population boom. 

Increased demand, inflation and supply chain disruptions have exploded construction costs, Marschhausen said. In 2018, construction costs in the area averaged $286 per square foot. In 2023, it costs $515 per square foot.

“Just the cost of concrete in central Ohio, and the cost of structural steel, and getting those resources when you’re up against the Hondas and Intels and all of the growth that’s associated with those places – the shortages are real,” Marschhausen said.

Abraham Depp Elementary, which opened in 2020 after being constructed from levy-generated funds, is at capacity, according to the district. This year, the district built a dozen modular classrooms on school property to accommodate the extra students. 

Enrollment for the school is expected to double in the next five years.

Marschhausen alluded to what might happen should the levy and bond fail, including up to 200 eliminated staff positions, increased class sizes, and about $40 million in budget cuts. By August, the board plans to have a detailed list of how the levy-generated money will benefit the district – and what it means for Dublin Schools’ finances if the issues fail.

The levy and bond issue will appear on ballots in Franklin, Delaware, and Union counties.