Amid community frustration, Pleasant board approved internal tax shift Monday

Due to a reporter's error, this story has been updated.

Directly following the community meeting to answer questions and respond to concerns regarding the possibility of an internal millage shift Monday, the Pleasant Board of Education approved the internal shift of 1.65 mills to create a permanent improvement fund.

This shift in 1.65 mills from the operating inside fund to a permanent improvement fund to address critical infrastructure needs throughout the district will increase the overall tax collection by one mill between 2022 and 2023, returning it to the value collected in tax year 2021.

For the owner of a $100,000 home in the Pleasant Local district, this one mill increase is an increase of $35 per year.

Before the board voted to approve this internal shift in millage, it held a community meeting at 5 p.m. to answer questions and address concerns.

Board President Vicki Kimmel opened the meeting by welcoming the full auditorium of Pleasant community members and asking them to reflect on what kind of school district they wish to have in the community and what the dollar amount from this millage shift would be for their families personally. She noted it would likely be between $50 and $200 annually.

Superintendent Tom McDonnell then explained the need to the community. He said the district learned Friday from Rebecca Princehorn, an attorney from Bricker and Eckler representing the district, that it will be six years until Pleasant can begin planning for the new elementary building due to delays from state funding with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC).

Gesturing to the auditorium of Pleasant's brand new grades 5 - 12 building where the meeting took place, McDonnell said the new school was built with the community's funds, however this state funding for the new elementary school is delayed - 40% of the entire budget for the K-12 campus. He later added the district is also awaiting the state funding to raze the old middle school building.

In the meantime, he said, the district now needs to make the current elementary school last for the next six to eight years, and it is in need of a $350,000 roof repair. The district also plans to use this permanent improvement fund to invest in new buses and repair its athletic facilities.

“Tonight’s discussion centers around really this particular scenario: we have the unique opportunity to help our school district by considering an inside millage shift in our tax structure as our bond payments are going down yet the need for permanent improvement in our district is significant, so that’s really the crux of the issue that we’re talking about,” McDonnell said during the community meeting.

McDonnell also apologized for the fact that much of the community found out about the shift in millage in the legal notice posted in the Marion Star rather than from the district directly. He then assured the audience his staff would work to improve its lines of communication with Pleasant residents moving forward.

“I understand that in terms of communicating with the larger community - we have emails that go to 3,000 parents in the district, and they all have kids here – but anybody who is outside of that, facilitating conversations like that so the first time that you find out about this isn’t in the Marion Star with some legal language is something we need to do a better job of,” McDonnell said.

The meeting then moved into a time of answering community questions with district Treasurer James Corbeil, addressing question such as "What is the actual dollar amount on the taxes due to the one mill?" and "Can the move to Permanent Improvement be reversed at any point?"

Corbeil said this shift can be reversed if the district's board no longer deems permanent improvement necessary, but Pleasant believes this is the right decision at this time.

“We just want to do this right. We want to play our cards right. We have an opportunity. There’s a lot of unknowns in the air right now, so we want to make sure when we have this opportunity to explore, we explore it,” he said.

Kimmel then concluded the community event, transitioning the evening into the September board of education meeting.

“I wanted to reinforce that this is no new dollars. It’s the same amount of money, just reallocating it differently, so that we can protect our campus and make sure that things don’t go unaddressed, that those dollars are set aside,” Kimmel said.

However, before the board took its four to one vote in favor of the resolution approving the shift in internal millage, members of the community expressed confusion and frustration during the time of public comment about the way the information was presented to the community.

One district resident, Holly Carr, said that had some direct conversations with the county auditor's office to understand the situation and felt the district was not representing the millage shift transparently.

"I feel like saying that this is not new money isn’t necessarily true, because it may result in new money for people," Carr said.

"I’ve been a part of this community for 25 years. I’m raising my kids in this community. I want to take care of the school buildings, and I want to give these kids everything they deserve to have in this community. I’m not saying in any way that we shouldn’t be spending money on these things, but the transparency that this won’t cost anything – I’m not getting that."

In response, Corbeil reiterated that the district has just been trying to explain the shift would return the collection amount to the value it was in 2021.

"We’re not saying this isn’t an increase to taxpayers – we’re not. We haven’t been saying that. At least not tonight," Corbeil said.

"Where this affects people’s wallets, more specifically, is when you look at tax year ’22 to ’23, there will be a one mill increase to the taxpayers, but again that completely ignoring the fact that the current tax year, tax year ’22, there’s a decrease of one mill.”

Marion County Auditor's Office welcomes questions

Following the meeting, Marion County Chief Deputy Auditor Angela Smith said she had received several phone calls asking questions about the shift in millage. She said the office is welcoming any questions the community may have as the process moves forward.

"Our office has received several phone calls this morning with questions regarding the shift in inside millage passed by the Pleasant school board last night," Smith said Tuesday.

"I am pleased that the taxpayers are asking follow up questions in order to better understand the process. Our job at the auditor’s office is to be here to help in anyway possible and anyone is welcome to call with questions."

Smith addressed some of the common questions she has received, clarifying that the money is not being moved from the bond levy to the permanent improvement fund. The decrease in bond levy payments and the shift in internal millage are two separate processes.

"It is not legal to move money from a bond levy fund to a permanent improvement fund. This is not what the Pleasant School Board voted on. They voted to shift inside millage from general fund to permanent improvements," she said.

Smith also clarified there might be an increase in taxes between tax year 2022 and 2023 as a result of the shift, however this value will be determined after the triannual update this year which will adjust the bond levy rate based upon reassessments in property values.

As the final item of board business Monday, the board voted in support of the resolution in a four to one vote. Bret Bowers was the only board member to vote against the resolution.

As each board member provided a comment to explain his or her vote, Kimmel said she believed it was the best decision for the district and community.

"This is really a no-brainer for our community. It's money that has been voted in. It's available. The needs are extensive, and it's the right thing to do for our students and our community," she said.

Story by: Sophia Veneziano (740) 564 - 5243 ∣ sveneziano@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Pleasant board approved internal millage shift of 1.65 mills Monday