Hilliard school levy enters the 2024 ballot to build new 6th grade center

HILLIARD, Ohio ( WCMH ) – To support plans to replace three elementary schools and create a new sixth grade center, Hilliard school district residents will see a levy on the ballot Nov. 5 – the first in eight years.

Hilliard’s Board of Education unanimously decided to support a combined bond-levy request to help renovate and improve school facilities. The $6.9 million operating levy will go toward daily school maintenance, and the bond issue would authorize the district to issue $142 million in bonds for renovation and improvements, according to Hilliard schools.

Much of the improvement funding will go toward executing phase one of the district’s Master Facilities Plan, the first of two. Phase one will focus on creating elementary spaces and converting existing facilities to create a third center for sixth graders, according to the district.

Phase one will replace three existing elementary schools, Brown, Beacon and Ridgewood, according to Hilliard City Schools. It will also attach a second preschool to the new Beacon Elementary building, and Brown will be converted to a third sixth-grade building. Other renovations will focus on playgrounds, extracurricular spaces and safety improvements, according to the district.

This is the first school levy request the district has made since the last one passed in 2016.

The district said in the 2023 fiscal year, its expenses exceeded how much it was bringing in, forcing it to rely on previous savings to close the gap. District revenue is projected to grow by –at most — 1.5% annually, while expenses are expected to grow between 3% and 5% each year, according to the district. Thus, the board of education said it was time to ask for more funding.

The Master Facilities Plan follows a 2023 district-wide survey, which consulted parents and students about their opinions on various solutions to facility usage. According to the survey, participants were most in favor of implementing a third sixth-grade center, particularly so students could remain with the same classmates throughout their time in the district.

“Having three 6th grade schools allows students to stay with the peers they will go to high school with and graduate with, which allows them to build lifelong relationships,” one survey respondent said.

The survey provided mixed results, however. Many people voiced concerns about costs, especially following an extensive redevelopment plan and increasing home values in the area.

“I am concerned about passing all these bond levies in the first place, but when the cost is so high it has me concerned,” another survey respondent wrote.

The district responds to concerns about fiscal responsibility on its website, citing its Auditor of State Award with Distinction as proof of its responsible usage of tax dollars. According to the Ohio Auditor, this award is granted to those who do not contain findings for recovery, weaknesses or other issues in their funding.

The Ohio Department of Education’s annual report card for Hilliard City Schools placed it fairly centrally among Ohio public schools regarding spending and performance. The report card noted Hilliard spends the most on classroom instruction of the 14 schools in its comparison group, which ranged from other similarly sized districts in Franklin County to as far as Cleveland. According to Hilliard’s website, it spends the least per pupil in Franklin County, a separate measure of spending.

The district will host seven community meetings to discuss the levy at various district schools every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. between Sept. 11 and Oct. 23. The first is Sept. 11 at the Bradley High School Media Center.

The district also said redistricting of students will happen whether the levy passes or not. The process will begin in 2025, although the district stressed no decisions have been made regarding when or where things will be implemented. If the levy passes, the district said no changes will be implemented until the third sixth-grade building opens.

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