“Moving forward I fully anticipate that the board will pause on our master facilities plan,” said Superintendent Paul Otten. “We need to find something our community can support.”
Otten said he does not believe a bond issue would go before voters in November, possible not for another year as the Board of Education and stakeholders come up with a “Plan B.”
Meanwhile, Otten said the district will rely more on portable classrooms to address elementary buildings that are at full capacity.
Beavercreek’s multimillion-dollar bond issue would have funded construction of a new high school.
The 4.9-mill bond issue — identical to one rejected last November — would have cost a district homeowner an additional $172 annually for each $100,000 of appraised real estate value, according to the Greene County Auditor’s Office.
While construction of a new high school would have been the headline of the $265 million project, the remaining money would have been divided among three new elementary school gyms at $15 million, $20 million of miscellaneous reprogramming improvements, and $5 million in capital improvements, including accessibility and security upgrades.
It also would have caused a domino effect of changes: The current high school would have been renovated into a middle school for sixth, seventh and eighth grades. Ferguson Hall would have been used for alternative programming, including working with the Greene County Career Center. Coy Middle School and Ankeney Middle School would have been converted into elementary schools. The oldest elementary school, Main Elementary, would have been renovated into central offices for the district.
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Sugarcreek Twp. voters supported a 1-mill property tax issue by 62% for the levy and 38% against to fund fire operations and equipment, according to partial, unofficial results from the Greene County Board of Elections.
Sugarcreek Twp. officials say this is their first fire levy in a decade.
“We are very pleased that our residents voted in the majority to approve our levy,” township Administrator Barry Tiffany said. “These are essential dollars for safety services, for fire and EMS. What this means is we will be able to continue to provide the level of service our residents have come to expect.”
The permanent levy will cost homeowners $35 for each $100,000 of appraised home value, according to the Greene County Auditor’s Office.
Levy funds will go toward fire department payroll, plus materials including fuel and equipment, Tiffany has said.
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Voters turned down the Franklin school district’s tax levy request with 66% against the levy and 34% for the levy, according to unofficial results from the Warren County Board of Elections.
Franklin’s Board of Education in January voted to place an emergency five-year, 6.301-mill property tax levy on the ballot that would raise $4,519,279 annually to fund district operating costs.
The levy would have cost homeowners $220.54 a year for each $100,000 of appraised home value. For the average home in the district, it would have cost $479.71, according to a levy fact sheet.
It has been 11 years since Franklin City Schools last had a new-money levy pass for daily operating costs, which makes good on the district’s promise that the 2014 levy would last eight to 10 years, Superintendent Michael Sander said.
The district outlined $1.2 million in cuts for the 2025-26 academic year that will be implemented if the levy was not approved. They include eliminating all-day kindergarten, reducing busing to state minimum levels with no high school transportation, as well as implementing higher school fees and larger class sizes.
According to the district’s five-year budget forecast, Franklin began this school year with less than 10% of a year’s spending in the bank, which is the lowest in the region.
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Franklin voters rejected a tax issue by 54% against the levy to 46% for the levy to fund fire department operations and equipment, with nine of nine precincts reporting, according to preliminary, unofficial results from the Warren County Board of Elections.
“The voters have spoken and let us know that they currently don’t have the palate for a 4.9-mill levy,” Mayor Brent Centers said.
Centers said there is a strong need in the fire and EMS division to update equipment, staffing levels and apparatus and that while unfortunate, it also is understandable with many people facing a difficult time amid current economic conditions.
“We always respect the outcome of the voters and will be discussing next steps at our Franklin City Council meeting,” he said.
The levy would have collected $1.76 million annually for the city and would have cost a homeowner $172 a year for each $100,000 of appraised property value.
The city’s last tax levy request for additional fire department funding was in 2012, at which point they promised not to come back to voters for 10 years.
City officials said the average age of the fire division’s vehicle fleet is 22 years, contributing to higher and higher maintenance fees. They also said the department has a staffing shortage and that a grant that helps pay for personnel is expiring at the end of 2026.
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