Ayersville Local Schools will have two tax levies — a 1% income tax renewal and a 1.3-mill property tax natatorium levy — on the ballot for the May 3 primary election.
The income tax renewal was defeated by 89 votes in November while the 1.3-mill levy was defeated by two votes.
Ayersville School reports that the 1% income tax raises about $1 million annually to support general fund expenses.
Due to a change in state tax law, property taxes collected from industry have decreased, which has caused less money for the school.
“We’ve been doing the best that we can to make cuts or adjust what we’re doing to help fill in that gap,” Ayersville Superintendent Beth Hench expressed.
The “pay to participate” program is one of those adjustments the school had made. At the moment, Ayersville students must pay a fee to participate in extracurriculars such as archery, football, cheerleading, etc.
If the 1% income tax renewal levy passes, this program will be rescinded.
Hench reported that if the levy does not pass, the school’s cash balance will be in the negative by 2026 and the district will be heading to a status of fiscal distress down the road.
As for the 1.3-mill levy, this was previously referred to as the “natatorium levy.” However, since the money will be used to pay salary and benefits in addition to the pool expenses, it has to be labeled as current expenses.
This levy will raise about $130,000 annually to support the pool and staff, according to the school.
The pool is utilized in many ways. It has been used for physical education for grades 1-12, and not exclusively for Ayersville. The Good Samaritan school has also been known to use the pool for their students’ gym classes too.
The natatorium also has been host to the D.A.R.E. camp, a countywide program, for several years as well as the Ayersville Blue Dolphins, a swim team consisting of students all over the Defiance area, according to the school.
Swim meets consisting of over 550 swimmers from northwest Ohio have been in the natatorium for competitions, and the pool also contributes to the local community with swim lessons for children.
The board of education has reported that this will be the last time a levy for the pool will be placed on the ballot. If the levy does not pass, Ayersville will have to shut down the pool indefinitely, according to Hench and the school.
According to the Ohio Department of Taxation, a school district income tax (SDIT) is an income tax separate from federal, state and municipal income taxes. They are taxes specifically used to support school districts and must be approved by voters of the school district.
In Ohio, 210 schools have income taxes. In northwest Ohio, those schools are: Antwerp, Bryan, Central Local, Columbus Grove, Continental, Defiance, Delta, Edgerton, Edon, Evergreen, Fayette, Hicksville, Holgate, Jennings, Kalida, Leipsic, Liberty Center, Mill Creek-West Unity, Miller City, Montpelier, Ottawa-Glandorf, Ottoville, Pandora-Gilboa, Patrick Henry, Paulding, Patrick Henry, Pettisville, Stryker, Swanton and Wayne Trace.
The one Ayersville is proposing for renewal has a traditional tax base. What that means, according to the Ohio Department of Taxation, is that it will tax “salaries, tips, interest, dividends, unemployment compensation, self-employment to the extent included in OAGI, taxable scholarships and fellowships, pensions, annuities, IRA distributions, capital gains, state and local bond interest (except that paid by Ohio governments), federal bond interest exempt from federal tax but subject to state tax, alimony received, and all other sources.”