Frequently Asked Questions
Question: What is the millage of the operating levy? And how much will this cost the taxpayers?
6.99 mills. For every $100,000 of home valuation, it will cost the taxpayers $244.65/year, $20.38/month, $4.70/week or $.67/day.
Question: Why put an operating levy on the ballot?
The last operating levy passed in November 2013. At that time, the district hoped to not be back on the ballot for at least 5 years. The District has made it now 8 years since the levy was passed.
Currently we are operating in a deficit spend, where expenses are more than revenue. Each year the deficit spend will continue to compound if there is no operating levy, and in this case would put us in financial emergency by the 2024-2025 school year.
Question: Wasn’t there a levy on the ballot in 2016?
Yes, there was a levy on the ballot in 2016. The school district asked the community to approve a bond levy, which enabled us to add on and renovate Amity Elementary. Amity is now one of the premier elementary schools in the Cincinnati area. We truly thank our community for investing in the students education in the Deer Park Schools !
Question: Did the District receive $10.2 million from the Kenwood Township development?
Over the next 30 years, the Deer Park School District will receive a total of $10.2 million dollars as part of a TIF negotiated with Sycamore Township. Here is the breakdown:
Last year we received $1.2 million upfront, which was used to install air conditioning in the Deer Park Jr./Sr. High School.
For the next 10 years, 2023 - 2032, the schools will receive an additional $200,000/school year, for a total of $2 million dollars.
For the next 10 years, 2033 - 2042, the schools will receive an additional $300,000/school year, for a total of $3 million dollars.
For the final 10 years, 2043 - 2052, the schools will receive an additional $400,000/school year, for a total of $4 million dollars.
Question: What is the Operating Levy used for?
The sole purpose of an operating levy is to support the operating expenses of a school district. In Deer Park, 80% of our operating budget is for staff salary and benefits. The other 20% of the operating expenses go towards day-to-day operations such as supplies, curricular materials, water, gas, sewage, electricity, etc.
Question: How did the Board of Education determine 6.99 mill operating levy?
The Superintendent Jay Phillips and Treasurer Jeff Lewis have been engaging community members in conversations about the ‘State of Deer Park Schools’ since February of 2021, with over 100 families in the community. The consensus feedback at the conclusion of all of these meetings was that in order to rectify the deficit spend, the community would rather see us ask for an operating levy as opposed to making drastic cuts across the school district.
Question: What is the difference between an operating levy and a bond levy?
An operating levy is solely for day-to-day operations of the school district. Whereas a bond is solely for what is stated in the ballot language, generally capital improvements. In our case, the last bond was for renovating and adding onto Amity Elementary. When a bond issue is passed, the dollars go into a permanent improvement fund. Our general fund, which is for operating expenses, and a permanent improvement fund can’t be intermingled, meaning you can’t use operating dollars to fund construction and you can use permanent improvement money to pay for operating expenses.
Question: What has the district done academically since the last operating levy in 2013?
Deer Park Schools have made drastic improvements in both it’s academic results as well as it’s program offerings since 2013. For starters, we raised our Progress grade on the report card in 2013 from an F to an A on the latest school report card in 2019. Deer Park also had an overall report card grade of a B. We have also added some great programs such as our Deer Park Career Academies, Deer Park Discovery Program, and Full Day Kindergarten among many others.