Olentangy Schools bond issue won't raise taxes

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Voters in the Olentangy area will see a bond issue on the ballot on Tuesday. If passed, it would allow the school district to build two new schools without raising taxes for residents.

Olentangy is a rapidly growing area and hundreds of new students are enrolling in Olentangy schools each year.

Superintendent Todd Meyer said a new elementary school and a new high school are needed to keep up with growth.

The bond issue would raise $235 million to build Olentangy’s 18th elementary and 5th high school.

Meyer said it’s a no new millage bond.

"There are questions about how can you build two new buildings and ask for no additional millage? Well, the reason why is because we continue to grow as a district. So as we continue to grow, our valuation increases,” said Meyer.

The superintendent said because of Olentangy’s fiscal responsibility and increasing property values in the area, the current tax rate provides enough revenue to cover the cost of the new buildings.

“This is the most cost conscious ask that we can ask for to meet the immediate need of our enrollment growth,” said Meyer.

There are Olentangy parents on both sides of this issue.

Felita Moran is a member of Olentangy For Kids and has been advocating for voters to pass the bond issue. She said her daughter has been affected by schools being over capacity.

“Opportunities start to get lost when there's a lot of kids in the school. So as we continue to grow, which we have been growing, there's a need for additional space and additional schools,” said Moran.

But parent Shane Hritz said he voted no because even though it wouldn’t raise taxes, he wants to see more fiscal responsibility from the district before he’d pass a new levy or bond issue.

Plus he said even more money will be needed if new schools are built.

“A $235 million infrastructure investment is going to take expenses to operate it, add people, staff and everything else. So definitely going to yield future levies as well that are also going to increase our taxes even further,” said Hritz.

Superintendent Meyer said the district has pledged that taxes will not increase for residents. But he also said whether this bond issue passes or fails, a new operating levy will be coming in a few years.

“We will continue to stretch the dollars as far as we can to push that out as far as we can,” said Meyer. “It’s not a matter of if, it's when we have to come back and we will have to come back in the future to operate the entire district.”

If the bond issue passes on Tuesday, construction on the new buildings would begin next year, with the goal of the elementary school opening in 2027 and the high school in 2028.