Why does lake need a levy and what will it cost?
How funding works?
Funding of education in Ohio is quite literally a moving target. The formula for state assistance to school districts operates on a two-year plan, while school districts are required to operate on a five-year forecast. All school districts in the state use a combination of state monies, mandated property taxes, and voter approved levies as the vast majority of funding for their school operations and buildings.
The state can and has decided to change their funding of various districts on their own two-year cycle which, as you can imagine, complicates the five-year budget districts work from. As the state deems local districts able to provide additional funding for their schools because of the community's economic success compared to other areas, the state reduces its funding and shifts the responsibility of making up the deficit to residents through school levies. School levies must be designated for specific expenditures when voted on. For example, the funds generated by the operational levy in Issue 22 may by law be used exclusively for operational costs like salaries and classroom materials.
State law also mandates that levies are capped annually at the amount of funds generated during first year of its term. This means if passed whatever the Issue 22 levy generates in 2025 will be the most that may be brought in each of the next four years regardless of home values or increased number of residents. If more homes are built in the lake community with more residents contributing to the levy, the portion each resident will pay towards the Issue 22 levy will become smaller to get to the same total as the initial year.
Financials
The Performance Audit from the State Auditor as well as the Five-Year Forecast and many other resources are available to you for more detailed information.
What will it cost?
$333 / $100,000
LAKE COMPARED TO OTHER DISTRICTS
LAKE COMPARED TO OTHER DISTRICTS
The Issue 22 Levy will cost Lake property owners $333 / $100,000 of the county auditor appraised value of their home. The appraised value is what all property taxes are based off of and is established by the Stark County Auditor's office. You can find your property's appraised value on the County Auditor's website through the link below.
The bond issue which was passed in 2015 to build Lake's new schools will be ending in two years. This reduces school levy impact on property owners by close to 30% for the final three years.
Issue 22 Annual Impact for 5-year term:*
2025 - $333 / $100,000
2026 - $333 / $100,000
2027 - $235 / $100,000
2028 - $235 / $100,000
2029 - $235 / $100,000
* Total funds generated from this operational levy in its first year may not be exceeded for each of following four years. Therefore, as properties are added to the Lake community, each property owner's portion of levy taxes will decrease.
LAKE COMPARED TO OTHER DISTRICTS
LAKE COMPARED TO OTHER DISTRICTS
LAKE COMPARED TO OTHER DISTRICTS
In FY 2023 Lake residents' funding of education through school taxes ranked in the bottom 14% of all districts. While Lake ranked in the top 6% in academic performance statewide, 523 of the 606 school districts in Ohio receive more funding from their residents than Lake.
Average of Similar Districts - Lake pays 12% LESS
Average of Districts Statewide - Lake pays 32% LESS
North Canton - Lake pays 16% LESS *
Green - Lake pays 2% LESS
Jackson - Lake pays 14% MORE *
Marlington - Lake pays 7% LESS
Field - Lake pays 24% LESS *
Springfield - Lake pays 30% LESS
* North Canton, Jackson, and Field all passed levies in 2023, which will increase the differential as their taxes for education went up in 2024.
This information may be found in the CUPP Report from the Ohio Department of Education at the link below.