MOUNT VERNON — Mount Vernon City Schools is asking voters to approve a 1 percent earned income tax levy for the second time this year. But the district’s plans for the money have changed.
The levy narrowly failed in the May primary by 115 votes, a margin of 50.94 percent to 49.06 percent. The Board of Education voted in July to formally put the measure back on the November ballot.
The district’s original plans for levy-generated money included construction of three new elementary schools and major renovations to the high school.
However, a sharp change in the district’s financial outlook has prompted school officials to rethink how the levy revenue would be used.
A levy with a new purpose
At Thursday’s special board meeting, Supt. Bill Seder and Treasurer Courtney Roberts said the district’s August financial forecast revealed $3.8 million in deficit spending for the current year.
Roberts said the district’s financial outlook changed rapidly between its fall 2025 forecast and its August forecast.
“In October (2025), the district did a forecast that projected the next five years, at the time of that forecast the district was very slightly deficit spending within reason that we can look at this and we can kind of correct it,” Roberts said.
By the time of the August forecast, the projected deficit had grown to $3.8 million. The deficit is projected to grow to $5 million the following year and $5.8 million the year after that, according to Roberts.
As a result, the district is turning to the proposed levy to help offset the deficit. The change would allow a portion of the levy revenue to address the district’s operating expenses.
The levy is predicted to generate $7.6 million by its third year. With the revised plan, $4 million would go toward the facilities improvement plan, while $3.6 million would go toward current expenses and operations.
The new path would preserve the construction of three new elementary school buildings, but defer the planned renovations at the high school.
However, several locally funded improvements will still be made at the high school, including a new auditorium, new music room, updated secure entrances and enhanced cafeteria spaces.
The Ohio Facilities Construction Commission has offered the district nearly $40 million in state support toward the facilities project if the measure passes.
Why the elementary schools?
The district’s plan calls for consolidating its six elementary buildings into four, including three new elementary schools. That plan was part of the district’s original master facilities proposal.
“We felt the elementary schools, with their age and the lack of the facilities they have, it was the natural place to start,” Seder said.
Two of the district’s elementary buildings are more than a century old, with Wiggins Street Elementary dating to 1904 and East Elementary dating to 1908.
In the past, the district has said replacement is more cost-effective than renovation.
Current elementary buildings also have limitations involving cafeterias, accessibility and instructional space.
Twin Oak Elementary, built in 2005, would remain as the only original building under the plan. The other five elementaries would be consolidated into three new buildings.
During the board meeting, Seder said there are plans to meet with the Knox Area Development Foundation to “fine tune” where the new school sites would be located.
State changes squeeze school funding
The district’s financial changes come as Ohio has altered both its school funding and property tax policies. Seder said the change is due to state tax reforms that occurred during the previous six months.
One of the changes affecting school districts is the way state funding interacts with local property wealth.
As property values and taxpayer income increase, the state’s funding formula can determine that a district has a greater ability to support its schools locally — due to the formula being based on data from 2022.
As a result, the percentage of Mount Vernon’s operational costs covered by the state government has declined.
At the same time, changes to Ohio’s property tax system have limited how some districts can see revenue increases from rising property values.
House Bill 186, which took effect March 20, places a cap on the amount of revenue some school districts can receive from property taxes. Seder said that cap sits right around 8 percent for the school district.
MVCS also loses around $500,000 annually through the ongoing Knox County homestead exemption, according to Seder.
“All of these coming together, we really truly believe that this is going to be addressed somehow at the state level. But we can’t wait for the state to fix it,” Seder said.
How to fix a $3.8 million deficit
For Seder, the change in the levy plan does not mean the district is choosing operations over facilities. Instead, he said the two problems are connected.
“We can’t think of either one of them in isolation at this point … it would be negligent on our behalf not to bring this to the forefront, to have this conversation, to realize that we have to look at both,” Seder said.
However, Seder and the board recognize the revised plan is a departure from what had originally been presented to voters.
“That wasn’t always our plan, but we’re now facing a different kind of a reality,” Seder said.
Roberts said the change is intended to ensure the district uses the levy revenue where it is most needed.
“We are ensuring that we are being responsible with the taxpayer dollars and that we’re using them how our how our students and our staff need them to be used,” Roberts said.
What happens in the levy fails?
The district would be facing both its existing facilities needs and a worsening operational deficit if the levy fails, Seder said.
“If the levy doesn’t pass, we still have two issues. Those don’t just go away,” Roberts said.
Without the levy revenue, Seder said the district would have to determine which needs can be addressed immediately and which would have to wait.
Even if the levy passes, the district is facing difficult decisions regarding budget reductions.
“We are going to have to start making some budgetary changes … we will have to make (budget) cuts no matter what,” Seder said.
Consolidating the school buildings could make that job easier.
“New facilities gives us the ability to address operational things that will save us money in the long run,” Seder said.
Seder said the district wants to make cuts as far away from students as possible, which might mean looking at personnel.
Personnel costs currently account for 80 percent of the district’s operating expenses.
“Those are hard conversations. Ones we we really don’t want to have. Nobody wants to RIF (Reduction In Force) teachers or aides or classified staff,” Seder said.
If faculty reductions become necessary, Seder intends for it to occur through attrition and retirement rather than layoffs.
For now, the district’s facility needs and financial outlook remain intertwined. The November vote will determine whether the district has additional revenue to address both, or whether school officials will have to develop a new path forward.
