After delaying an operating levy request for the past two years, the Upper Arlington Board of Education is returning to the ballot on November 8. Issue 5 is a 6.9 mill continuing levy that would fund daily operations and maintain current academic programming so that the district can continue providing the current quality of education for Upper Arlington's students.

For an Upper Arlington homeowner, the proposed 6.9-mill operating levy would add approximately $241.50 a year in property taxes per $100,000 of appraised home value as determined by the Franklin County auditor. For an Upper Arlington home with an auditor’s appraised home value of $400,000, the levy would add about $966 per year based on calendar year 2022 tax valuations. You can look up your appraised home value at www.franklincountyauditor.com.

Issue 5 is a 6.9 mill continuing levy that would fund daily operations and maintain current academic programming so that the district can continue providing the current quality of education for Upper Arlington's students.

For an Upper Arlington homeowner, the proposed 6.9-mill operating levy would add approximately $241.50 a year in property taxes per $100,000 of appraised home value as determined by the Franklin County auditor. For an Upper Arlington home with an auditor’s appraised home value of $400,000, the levy would add about $966 per year based on calendar year 2022 tax valuations. 

Appraised home valuation isn’t what your home would sell for — it’s an amount determined by the county auditor and available on your property listing on the auditor’s website, www.franklincountyauditor.com.

Operating levies are the primary way that suburban school districts in Ohio similar to Upper Arlington deal with inflation in the cost of operating expenses. The 6.9-mill operating levy would be continuous. As property values increase, though, the millage collected for each voted levy is reduced to ensure the district’s funding from the levy remains mostly flat, pursuant with House Bill 920. In short, as a homeowner’s property value increases, their school operating tax rate actually decreases. 

With the proposed 6.9-mill operating levy, the Board of Education would anticipate not having to return to the ballot for a new, continuous operating levy to deal with inflation and enrollment for three years or possibly longer. This is the typical levy cycle for a suburban school district like Upper Arlington.

Back in November of 2017, Upper Arlington voters approved an operating levy, combined with a bond issue. The bond issue funded the first phase of the district’s facilities master plan, while the operating levy, at 3.75 mills, maintained current educational programming at the time. 

The Board of Education had intended to return to the ballot in the fall of 2020 for new operating funding — which reflects the typical levy cycle for a suburban school district like Upper Arlington. However, due to the pandemic and the economic situation at the time, the Board of Education postponed an operating levy request twice — first in the summer of 2020 and again in the summer of 2021 — and sought out creative solutions to stretch the district’s budget in the absence of additional operating funding. Those solutions included reducing the budget reserve; seeking out approximately $4.6 million in cost reductions, primarily through a three-year hiring freeze on new positions; and utilizing additional COVID-related funding made available to school districts. Even with these proactive steps, though, the district’s expenditures have already begun to outpace revenue — which reflects a typical levy cycle for a suburban school district. That is why suburban school districts like Upper Arlington usually go back to voters every three years to request new operating funding.

Upper Arlington Schools is actually in the middle of the pack in terms of school property tax rates. This is a chart showing the residential property tax collected in 2022 on a county-appraised $100,000 home for various school districts in Franklin County. These amounts, which are rounded to the nearest dollar, include the portion the state pays directly for state tax credits such as Homestead (owner-occupied) and Rollback for levies passed before November 2013.

This chart changes over time, as new operating funding requested are approved in some school districts. Typically, a school district that just passed an operating request will move up on the chart before moving back down as other districts receive new operating funding.

Enrollment growth is one of the most exciting challenges for this school district and community. Districtwide, enrollment has been growing and is projected to continue over the next decade. In fact, you may see some anecdotal evidence of these changes in your neighborhood, as homeowners age and move out and new families with younger children move in.

Each year, Upper Arlington Schools commissions a third-party enrollment projection report. According to the latest update in November of 2021, enrollment has grown nearly 7 percent, or approximately 400 students, since the 2012-2013 school year. Over the next decade, Upper Arlington Schools is anticipating a projected increase of as much as 24.6% — which would amount to an increase of more than 1,500 students. More students create a need for more staff and school resources. Through the lens of continuous improvement, Upper Arlington Schools will continue to seek out efficiencies and creative solutions in order to ensure that the majority of the district’s budget goes to what matters most — the instruction and support of students.

Even amid continued enrollment growth and inflation, the district’s state funding total is expected to remain steady. In fact, it’s remained relatively flat for decades and is lower today than it was in 1999.  

In 2022, UA Schools received $2.6 million in funding from the state. If you look back 23 years, to 1999, the district received $3.4 million in state funding. Adjusted for inflation, that would amount to approximately $6 million in 2022 dollars.

In Upper Arlington, approximately 96 percent of district revenues are fixed, with little or no room for growth. A major factor in this is House Bill 920, a state law passed in the 1970s. 

HB 920 ensures that voted operating levies do not grow as property values increase. As property values increase, the millage collected for each voted operating levy is reduced to ensure the district’s funding from the operating levy remains flat. 

A major factor in the impact of HB 920 is inflation. Every three years, the value of taxable property in a school district is determined by the county auditor. If inflation has caused the value of the property to increase, the auditor reduces the school tax rate so schools do not receive more money. So, as inflation drives up the value of property, HB 920 prevents schools from collecting more money. However, that also leaves districts unable to meet the increases in school costs caused by inflation and enrollment growth. 

Generally speaking, the only way school districts see an increase in property tax revenue is when voters approve a new operating levy. That contributes to the need for suburban school districts like Upper Arlington to return to voters every three years to keep up with the cost of doing business.

The district receives the majority of its revenue — 83% — from local property taxes. Of that, approximately 90% of property taxes are generated from residential property because the district has relatively little commercial property.

State aid represents only 13.1% of the total revenue for Upper Arlington Schools. Because of a relatively high property valuation and income per pupil, as well as other demographic figures, the district is considered wealthy and receives much less than the state average. In fact, last school year Upper Arlington Schools received less than half the amount of state funding per-pupil than private schools received. Upper Arlington Schools leaders continue to advocate for increasing state support for the district so that it is comparable to the amount a private school receives.

This is why the majority of revenue for a suburban school district like Upper Arlington comes from school property taxes. The burden on local taxpayers is likely to grow as state funding is expected to remain steady even amid inflation and continued enrollment growth.

The majority of the district’s budget  — 78% in the 2020-2021 school year — goes to supporting students in our classrooms. In fact, Upper Arlington Schools is the #1 district of the more than 600 in the state of Ohio for the percentage of funding dedicated to the classroom. That also means that our district is #1 in the state for the lowest percentage of funding (22%) dedicated to non-classroom expenses, including administrative costs.

As you can see in this chart from the district’s annual financial update based on the 2022 collection year, in addition to the schools, homeowners’ property taxes go to Franklin County (21%); the City of Upper Arlington (8%); the Upper Arlington Library (2%); and Columbus State Community College (1%). Property tax collections for Franklin County include funding for Children’s Services, the Board of Developmental Disabilities, Metro Parks, the Columbus Zoo and more.

The Ohio School Report Card is one of the data points that Upper Arlington Schools reviews to monitor the success of our school district and our students. During the month of September, the Ohio Department of Education released the 2021-2022 annual school report cards. The report cards look different this year than in previous years, with schools and districts now receiving star ratings (on a scale of one to five) for five components.

Upper Arlington Schools was one of only 12 districts in the state to receive a five-star rating on all five components. For more detailed information about the report card, please access the document below.

Upper Arlington Schools 2021-2022 State Report Card & Rankings