On November 7, Oakwood registered voters will have the opportunity to go to the polls and decide on a number of local and state issues. One of the issues they will be asked to consider is a combined levy for Oakwood Schools, Issue 15.  The single ballot issue has two parts, a 5.75 mill operating levy and a 1.0 mill permanent improvement levy. 

According to guidance from the Ohio State Auditor’s Office, school district personnel are not permitted to advocate for or against the passage of any levy or bond issue during times they are being compensated by the District.  Therefore, the District will only provide factual information about Issue 15.

Oakwood Schools Board of Education members took the final vote to place the two-part request on the Nov. 7 ballot on Monday, July 10.

The 5.75 mill operating levy would provide Oakwood Schools with money to be used for day-to-day expenses.  Those expenses include supplies, utilities, programming, activities and personnel costs.  The 1.0 mill permanent improvement (PI) levy would be used for building and facility maintenance, security and technology costs, and replacement of computers, vehicles and furniture.  PI funds can only be used for improvement projects, maintenance and repairs of school property designed to last five years or more. PI funds allow districts to maintain safe and secure facilities for students, staff and the community.  Funds generated by a permanent improvement levy cannot be used for operating expenses, such as personnel, benefits and instructional supplies.

Ohio school districts are financed with a combination of state, local and federal funds. At the state level, school districts receive funding from the Ohio Department of Education’s (ODE) general revenue funds and Ohio Lottery profits. At the local level, school districts receive funding from locally levied property taxes. Federal funds come to school districts in the form of grants that are restricted for specific purposes.

In an effort to provide more factual information to taxpayers, Oakwood Schools has a developed the  About School Levies webpage.

Within the page, viewers can watch a video series I created based on questions we received from the community.

• Informational Video Oct. 5, 2023 - What are the details of the upcoming levy and what will the money fund?
• Informational Video Oct. 8, 2023 - Why does the District place levies on the ballot instead of using state money to fund the schools?
• Informational Video Oct. 10, 2023 - If my property value increases, will I pay more for these levies?
• Informational Video Oct. 19, 2023 - Can you provide more information on the District's carryover funds?
• Informational Video Oct. 24, 2023 - Does the District get audited on a regular basis?

There is also a section for other questions that have been posed and answered to help taxpayers better understand levies and school finances.  Finally, there are links to webpages for the Ohio State Auditors Levy FAQs, Montgomery County Auditor, and Oakwood’s Financial Data posted on the Ohio Department of Education website.

In order to be transparent with the community, we also linked the Five-Year Forecast for the past five years on our district website.  The forecast is a standardized document created by the Ohio Department of Education.  Upon feedback from a community member, we created a simplified document that contains the same information with assumptions: 

FY2024 through FY2028 General Fund Summary Financial Plan

I hope this factual information will help all community members become more informed about Issue 15 and school finance.

#OneOakwood