Galion City Schools
Permanent Improvement Levy
Support our Schools
Secure our future
Your “yes” vote this November means safer, stronger school facilities and a brighter future for our community.
Understanding The Levy
This November, we have the chance to vote on a five-mill continuous permanent improvement levy. This levy is dedicated to making our schools safer, more comfortable, and better equipped for our children's education.Unlike previous levies, this one focuses on maintaining and enhancing our school facilities, from upgrading failing roof structures to replacing aging school buses.
What to expect from the levy
Improved Student Safety: Funds will go toward upgraded security measures, ensuring our schools remain safe environments for learning.
Enhanced, Comfortable Learning Conditions: Upgrades to HVAC systems and roof replacements will create more comfortable classrooms, minimizing disruptions to learning.
Reliable Transportation: New school buses will replace the aging fleet, providing safe and dependable transportation for our students.
By supporting this levy, you're investing in a safer, better future for our children and ensuring that our community's schools remain a source of pride and excellence.
Why It Matters To You
Passing this levy is more than just an investment in our schools—it's an investment in our children's future and the well-being of our entire community. Here's three key reasons why this levy is essential right now.
Ensuring Safety and Efficiency
They might look brand new, but 20 years of crazy Ohio weather really does take a toll on any structure. From improving classroom HVAC systems to replacing aging roofs, this levy ensures that every child learns in a comfortable, well-maintained environment. We’re creating spaces where our kids feel safe and ready to learn.
Preserving our community's reputation
Do you love living in a respected community as much as we do? Well-maintained schools are a cornerstone of our community’s reputation. This levy helps us prevent small maintenance issues from becoming bigger problems, ensuring our schools remain a point of pride and a good investment for our property values.
Building for the Future
Supporting this levy isn’t just about fixing what's broken; it’s about preparing for some wonderful future opportunities. With this funding, we can consider projects like a new performing arts center that would benefit everyone in our community and cement a passion for music and theatre in our kids.
"I'm voting yes because these schools aren’t just for my kids—I believe we have a responsibility for all future students. They deserve the best, and this levy helps give them a safe, comfortable place to learn. The cost is well worth the benefits."
-Amanda W.
What's The Catch?
Asking for money? In this economy?? We understand how thin dollars are being stretched these days, so it’s important to know exactly how this levy will affect you as a homeowner. Here’s a simple breakdown of the cost and what you’ll be supporting with your investment.
For a home with an appraised value of $100,000, the levy would cost about $14.58 per month. This amount is based on the county auditor’s appraisal, not market value.
This is roughly the same as the cost of a streaming service, or two cups of coffee, or one large pizza per month. It’s a small investment for big improvements to our schools and community.
Your support will directly benefit our schools, our community, and our children’s futures. Click here to let us know you’re committing to voting YES!
Questions? We have answers!
We understand you may have questions about the levy and its impact on our community. Here are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions.
No, the millage rate only applies to 35% of your appraised property value, not 100%. Your property’s appraised value is multiplied by 35% to calculate its taxable value, which is then divided by 1,000 and multiplied by the millage rate.
5 mills will generate nearly $1 million for the district which is what is needed to address deferred incurrent maintenance issues, according to a 20-year permanent improvement cost assessment conducted in the fall of 2023.
The Permanent Improvement Levy, passed in May 2005, was a requirement for new school buildings ONLY. While technically a 'PI Levy', this type of levy aspires in 2028 and currently generates $80k, which does not cover the deferred and current maintenance items mentioned in question 4. This levy does not allow the district to purchase buses, information technology, or security systems for our kids.
House Bill 920 does not allow school districts to capture additional tax revenue from periodic property revaluations unless the voters pass new levies. The school district can only capture the amount that previously passed levies generated in the first year of passage. For instance, if a school district receives voter approval on a levy that generates $1 million in the first year and property values increase the following year due to reappraisal, the school district will still only receive $1 million, unless voters approve a new levy.
The District excels at diligently managing expenses and effectively controlling costs. This is the FIRST time our district has asked for a Permanent Improvement Levy in its 177-year history! Right now, any permanent improvement purchases come from the General Fund, which goes to buying books, paying utility bills, and funding programs. While our Fiscal Department has received the Auditor of State Awards for exceptional work quality, enrollment is decreasing, which means State funding is decreasing. Paired with the rising costs of maintaining our buildings and bus fleet, a PI Levy becomes very important, so we avoid choosing buses over books.
In 2028, the community could decide to finish what it started nearly 30 years ago by building a state-of-the-art performing arts space and student center at no increased cost to homeowners due to our previous PI levy that built our campus is expiring. This initiative could be with our YMCA partners and other community groups as it would be a broader community benefit. This cannot be done if we can't maintain our existing facilities, replace and patch roofs, improve security, replace an aging bus fleet, and fix our parking lots by passing this levy.
In November 2004, the community approved a 9.40 mill repeal, which resulted in a loss of $1.2 million adjusted for today's inflation rate. Had that repeal not occurred, we would likely not have had to submit this PI levy to the community for consideration.
Still undecided? Reach out to us or join an upcoming community meeting for more details. Follow us on Facebook to find out where we’re going next!
Commit to Voting Yes
Enter your email below to let us know you support the levy! We send out monthly newsletters with volunteer opportunities and educational information, but you may opt out of those at any time.
©2024 | Paid for by Galion Board Of Education Tax Levy Committee