Please click here to read important information about the Lakota School levy.
The Lakota Local School District is asking our community to approve an incremental levy on May 4th.
It’s only ONE WEEK until Election Day!
Do you have the facts?
You may have seen signs saying that Lakota should control spending. Here are the facts:
Lakota IS controlling spending:
You may not agree with every budget decision Lakota has made, but that doesn’t mean it is wasting tax dollars or its spending is out of control. The facts do not support their claim.
- Lakota spends $750 LESS than the state average; $1,000 LESS than Mason and $4,000 LESS than Sycamore
- Over the past 10 years, Lakota’s taxes have risen by only 12%, while Mason’s have risen by 43% and Middletown’s by 42%
- Since the last levy, inflation accounted for 19% of the increased costs; growth in enrollment accounted for 7%.
- The last levy was projected to last 3-4 years, but Lakota made it last 5 years
- Lakota has cut $11 million from its general fund over the past 3 years
- Lakota has 30% fewer administrators than the state average, which saves $2.8 million each year; administrators have had no increase in salary for 2 years and pay more in health care costs
- Lakota is currently in negotiations with the LEA and is asking for no raises
- Lakota has a finance committee, comprised of residents with various finance-related backgrounds, which reviews budget and spending and helps with financial forecasting
Columbus won’t save us
We have heard people say they are voting no to send a message to Columbus. This will not work.
- State educational funding for Lakota has steadily decreased over the past five years, while average state educational funding has gone up for other districts.
- State funding formula changed after the last levy passed and Lakota went from per student to flat funding; Lakota lost $15.1 million in state revenue because of this.
- The state continues to force school districts to provide expensive mandated services, such as all-day kindergarten, rather than letting local districts choose how to best serve its students. All-day kindergarten alone will cost Lakota over $15 million for a new building and $2.2 million in operating costs
- The state phased out a tax on businesses called the Tangible Personal Property tax, which caused the tax burden to shift further onto homeowners.
- HB920 says that school districts cannot receive additional revenue as property values rise, so as Lakota’s valuation has risen over the years, the millage amount is lowered to yield the same dollar amount that was approved on the day the original levy passed. In other states, revenue rises with the value of the property. Inflation has accounted for 19% of the rise in costs over the past 5 years.
- The state gives no consideration to fast-growing districts like Lakota in the funding formula. Only about 100 out of 614 school districts are even growing at all. Lakota has 1,510 students who receive no funding from the state of Ohio.
- A group of parents from Lakota and 10 other school districts went to Columbus to testify in front of the Senate Finance Committee about fixing the state funding system. They were told to “go home and take care of yourselves.” The state is not going to help Lakota.
The cost of failure is too high
- Loss of programs, services and jobs as Lakota moves toward a state minimum education (see Little Miami)
- Loss of Lakota’s reputation as a great place to live and do business, which will erode the residential commercial tax base
The average valuation of a home in Lakota (provided by Butler County Auditor) is $213,339. The total cost of this levy is only .361% of the valuation. If you protect just 1% of your home’s value by passing this levy, you will be 3 times better off!
The average property taxpayer covers the cost of 1/3 or less of one Lakota student’s education. We are asking our excellent communities to make a conscious choice to continue to support our excellent Lakota schools. This small investment matters now more than ever!
Ask questions, get informed and see the list on the right for how you can help.
Vote YES on Issue 4 on May 4th!
