MORRIS TOWNSHIP — Knox County State representatives recently conduted a property tax town hall at the Ramser 4-H Activity Center.

State representatives Mark Hiner, Beth Lear and David Thomas discussed the statehouse bills in the works to provide property owners with relief.

For example, House Bill 96 would reduce property tax collections if a school district allocates more than 30% of its operational budget.

‘The challenge is finding that balance’

Hiner said East Knox has 18 months of its annual budget in reserves; Danville has around 13 or 14 months.

“My view is, those are taxpayer dollars and I’d rather have them in your bank account than the school’s account,” Hiner said. “Now, with that being said, we’ve got to ensure that the schools have got the money they need to function.

“The challenge is finding that balance.”

As of the end of the last fiscal year, (June 30, 2025) the general fund had a balance of $18,610,732 in reserves, East Knox Local Schools Treasurer Jessi Busenburg said. 

The district’s operating budget last year was $12,373,410.

“It is also important to remember that our ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) federal funding expired June 30, 2024. So our expenses from the general fund increased due to these funds going away. And our costs are being rolled back into the general fund from ESSER funds.”

The district is using funds for permanent improvement projects

On June 30, 2025, The East Knox Board of Education changed the reserve by creating the 070 Capital Projects Fund and the 035 Severance Fund.

“Those funds are no longer in our operating reserves,” Busenburg said. “In addition, based on the May 2025 (financial) forecast, the expenditures (prior to any transfers)  increased to $14,591,486.”

Danville Local Schools treasurer Tonya Mickley said the district currently has a healthy general fund balance, but that’s because it previously lacked a permanent improvement fund, causing the general fund to cover major capital projects. 

A secure, ADA-accessible high school entryway costing over $3 million is one such project, Mickley said.

Additionally, there’s a five-year plan to transfer $6 million into the newly-established Permanent Improvement fund to support a $10 million Master Facility and Equipment plan.

Legislative proposals impact the 20-mill floor

Tax revenue for public school districts is also determined on a 20-mill floor, meaning a 2-percent valuation of the tax rate.

According to the Ohio Legislative Service Commission, three proposed bills, HB 96 and 129 and 186, tinker with it.

House Bill 129 aims to change the calculation of the 20-mill floor that guarantees school districts receive a certain level of property tax revenue, according to the bill analysis.

The analysis further states the bill adds two previously excluded revenue sources to the floor calculation: fixed-sum levies and school district income taxes.

It also prohibits a school district from shifting the “purpose of its unvoted mileage in a way that would increase the district’s property tax revenue.”