Bonds and Levies

Ohio school districts have three ways to fund their schools:

Operating Funds

Operating dollars are what is used to keep the district running, such as salaries, benefits, utilities, supplies, busing, classroom materials and other district expenses. These funds can be raised via property, income or earnings tax and must be approved by voters 

Bond Funds

This money can only be used for building projects and repayment of debt issued for the construction and renovation of our buildings. A bond issue must be approved by voters.

Permanent Improvement Funds

Permanent improvement funds or "P.I." funds can only be used on items that have an expected useful life of five years or more, such as furniture, textbooks and buses. A permanent improvement levy must be approved by voters.

Goshen's Income Tax

Goshen Local Schools' current 1% income tax was approved in 1990 and is considered an operating fund (see above). Most surrounding districts use property tax to fund operations. Goshen's income tax is the reason that, unlike many surrounding school districts, Goshen has not had to seek new operating dollars from its voters.

 To put things into perspective, surrounding school districts have sought multiple new property taxes in recent years.

  • Milford: 2003, 2008, 2013

  • Batavia: 2004, 2012

  • West Clermont: 2004, 2009, 2012

  • Loveland: 2004, 2008, 2011, 2014

  • Little Miami: 2002, 2011, 2015, 2019

     

The last time Goshen Local Schools sought a property tax increase was 1976.

 The 1% income tax is budgeted for yearly by the Board of Education and district administration. The district realizes it must live within the means of 1%, even when there is a recession or a dip in the economy. This source of funding is considered variable, which is the reason it cannot be used to add space or buildings.

Goshen's Bond History

 Goshen voters last approved a bond issue in 1999 to renovate existing buildings and construct a high school. This bond issue was paid off early for two reasons:

More residents moved in and helped pay on the debt.

The bond was re-financed over the years at lower interest rates, which also dropped the effective millage rate for taxpayers.

Tax payers were saved nearly $2 million through the fiscal stewardship of the board of education and school district administration.

Currently, Goshen residents are not paying taxes on ANY bond issues support Goshen Local Schools' facilities. In fact, in 2023 the Ohio Facilities Construction Commissions 0.5 mill permanent improvement levy tied to the 1999 bond issue expired and fell off residents' tax bills.