§ 5705.218 — Holding special elections on general obligation bonds for school district purposes

Ohio § 5705.218

• Jurisdiction: Ohio
• Title 57: Taxation
• Ch. 5705: Tax Levy Law

Text

(A) The board of education of a city, local, or exempted village school district, at any time by a vote of two-thirds of all its members, may declare by resolution that it may be necessary for the school district to issue general obligation bonds for permanent improvements. The resolution shall state all of the following:

(1) The necessity and purpose of the bond issue;

(2) The date of the special election at which the question shall be submitted to the electors;

(3) The amount, approximate date, estimated rate of interest, and maximum number of years over which the principal of the bonds may be paid;

(4) The necessity of levying a tax outside the ten-mill limitation to pay debt charges on the bonds and any anticipatory securities.

On adoption of the resolution, the board shall certify a copy of it to the county auditor. The county auditor promptly shall estimate and certify to the board the average annual property tax rate, expressed in mills for each one dollar of taxable value and in dollars for each one hundred thousand dollars of the county auditor's market value, required throughout the stated maturity of the bonds to pay debt charges on the bonds in the same manner as under division (C) of section133.18of the Revised Code.

(B) After receiving the county auditor's certification under division (A) of this section, the board of education of the city, local, or exempted village school district, by a vote of two-thirds of all its members, may declare by resolution that the amount of taxes that can be raised within the ten-mill limitation will be insufficient to provide an adequate amount for the present and future requirements of the school district; that it is necessary to issue general obligation bonds of the school district for permanent improvements and to levy an additional tax in excess of the ten-mill limitation to pay debt charges on the bonds and any anticipatory securities; that it is necessary for a specified number of years or for a continuing period of time to levy additional taxes in excess of the ten-mill limitation to provide funds for the acquisition, construction, enlargement, renovation, and financing of permanent improvements or to pay for current operating expenses, or both; and that the question of the bonds and taxes shall be submitted to the electors of the school district at a special election, which shall not be earlier than ninety days after certification of the resolution to the board of elections, and the date of which shall be consistent with section3501.01of the Revised Code. The resolution shall specify all of the following:

(1) The county auditor's estimate of the average annual property tax rate required throughout the stated maturity of the bonds to pay debt charges on the bonds;

(2) The proposed rate of the tax, if any, for current operating expenses expressed in mills for each one dollar of taxable value and in dollars for each one hundred thousand dollars of the county auditor's market value, the first year the tax will be levied, and the number of years it will be levied, or that it will be levied for a continuing period of time;

(3) The proposed rate of the tax, if any, for permanent improvements expressed in mills for each one dollar of taxable value and in dollars for each one hundred thousand dollars of the county auditor's market value, the first year the tax will be levied, and the number of years it will be levied, or that it will be levied for a continuing period of time.

The resolution shall apportion the annual rate of the tax between current operating expenses and permanent improvements, if both taxes are proposed. The apportionment may but need not be the same for each year of the tax, but the respective portions of the rate actually levied each year for current operating expenses and permanent improvements shall be limited by the apportionment. The resolution shall go into immediate effect upon its passage, and no publication of it is necessary other than that provided in the notice of election. The board of education shall certify a copy of the resolution, along with copies of the auditor's estimates and its resolution under division (A) of this section, to the board of elections immediately after its adoption.

(C) The board of elections shall make the arrangements for the submission to the electors of the school district of the question proposed under division (B) or (J) of this section, and the election shall be conducted, canvassed, and certified in the same manner as regular elections in the district for the election of county officers. The resolution shall be put before the electors as one ballot question, with a favorable vote indicating approval of the bond issue, the levy to pay debt charges on the bonds and any anticipatory securities, the current operating expenses levy, the permanent improvements levy, and the levy for the current expenses of a qualifying school district and of partnering community schools, as those levies may be proposed. The board of elections shall publish notice of the election in a newspaper of general circulation in the school district once a week for two consecutive weeks, or as provided in section7.16of the Revised Code, prior to the election. If a board of elections operates and maintains a web site, that board also shall post notice of the election on its web site for thirty days prior to the election. The notice of election shall state all of the following:

(1) The principal amount of the proposed bond issue;

(2) The permanent improvements for which the bonds are to be issued;

(3) The maximum number of years over which the principal of the bonds may be paid;

(4) The estimated additional average annual property tax rate to pay the debt charges on the bonds, as certified by the county auditor and expressed in mills for each one dollar of taxable value and in dollars for each one hundred thousand dollars of the county auditor's market value;

(5) The proposed rate of the additional tax, if any, for current operating expenses expressed in mills for each one dollar of taxable value and in dollars for each one hundred thousand dollars of the county auditor's market value and, if the question is proposed under division (J) of this section, the portion of the rate to be allocated to the school district and the portion to be allocated to partnering community schools;

(6) The number of years the current operating expenses tax will be in effect, or that it will be in effect for a continuing period of time;

(7) The proposed rate of the additional tax, if any, for permanent improvements expressed in mills for each one dollar of taxable value and in dollars for each one hundred thousand dollars of the county auditor's market value;

(8) The number of years the permanent improvements tax will be in effect, or that it will be in effect for a continuing period of time;

(9) The annual estimated collections, if applicable, of the current operating expenses levy and permanent improvements levy, as certified by the county auditor;

(10) The time and place of the special election.

(D) The form of the ballot for an election under this section is as follows:

"Shall the __________ school district be authorized to do the following:

(1) Issue bonds for the purpose of __________ in the principal amount of $______, to be repaid annually over a maximum period of ______ years, and levy a property tax outside the ten-mill limitation, estimated by the county auditor to average over the bond repayment period ______ mills for each $1 of taxable value, which amounts to $______ for each $100,000 of the county auditor's market value, to pay the annual debt charges on the bonds, and to pay debt charges on any notes issued in anticipation of those bonds?"

If either a levy for permanent improvements or a levy for current operating expenses is proposed, or both are proposed, the ballot also shall contain the following language, as appropriate:

"(2) Levy an additional property tax to provide funds for the acquisition, construction, enlargement, renovation, and financing of permanent improvements, that the county auditor estimates will collect $_____ annually, at a rate not exceeding _______ mills for each $1 of taxable value, which amounts to $_______ for each $100,000 of the county auditor's market value, for ______ (number of years of the levy, or a continuing period of time)?

(3) Levy an additional property tax to pay current operating expenses, that the county auditor estimates will collect $_____ annually, at a rate not exceeding _______ mills for each $1 of taxable value, which amounts to $_______ for each $100,000 of the county auditor's market value, for _______ (number of years of the levy, or a continuing period of time)?

If the question is proposed under division (J) of this section, the form of the ballot shall be modified as prescribed by division (J)(4) of this section.

(E) The board of elections promptly shall certify the results of the election to the tax commissioner and the county auditor of the county in which the school district is located. If a majority of the electors voting on the question vote for it, the board of education may proceed with issuance of the bonds and with the levy and collection of the property tax or taxes at the additional rate or any lesser rate in excess of the ten-mill limitation. Any securities issued by the board of education under this section are Chapter 133. securities, as that term is defined in section133.01of the Revised Code.

(F)(1) After the approval of a tax for current operating expenses under this section and prior to the time the first collection and distribution from the levy can be made, the board of education may anticipate a fraction of the proceeds of such levy and issue anticipation notes in a principal amount not exceeding fifty per cent of the total estimated proceeds of the tax to be collected during the first year of the levy.

(2) After the approval of a tax under this section for permanent improvements having a specific purpose, the board of education may anticipate a fraction of the proceeds of such tax and issue anticipation notes in a principal amount not exceeding fifty per cent of the total estimated proceeds of the tax remaining to be collected in each year over a period of five years after issuance of the notes.

(3) After the approval of a tax under this section for general permanent improvements as defined under section5705.21of the Revised Code, the board of education may anticipate a fraction of the proceeds of such tax and issue anticipation notes in a principal amount not exceeding fifty per cent of the total estimated proceeds of the tax to be collected in each year over a specified period of years, not exceeding ten, after issuance of the notes.

Anticipation notes under this section shall be issued as provided in section133.24of the Revised Code. Notes issued under division (F)(1) or (2) of this section shall have principal payments during each year after the year of their issuance over a period not to exceed five years, and may have a principal payment in the year of their issuance. Notes issued under division (F)(3) of this section shall have principal payments during each year after the year of their issuance over a period not to exceed ten years, and may have a principal payment in the year of their issuance.

(G) A tax for current operating expenses or for permanent improvements levied under this section for a specified number of years may be renewed in the same manner as a tax for current operating expenses or for permanent improvements levied under section5705.21of the Revised Code. A tax for current operating expenses or for permanent improvements levied under this section for a continuing period of time may be decreased in accordance with section5705.261of the Revised Code.

(H) The submission of a question to the electors under this section is subject to the limitation on the number of elections that can be held in a year under section5705.214of the Revised Code.

(I) A school district board of education proposing a ballot measure under this section to generate local resources for a project under the school building assistance expedited local partnership program under section3318.36of the Revised Code may combine the questions under division (D) of this section with a question for the levy of a property tax to generate moneys for maintenance of the classroom facilities acquired under that project as prescribed in section3318.361of the Revised Code.

(J)(1) After receiving the county auditor's certifications under division (A) of this section, the board of education of a qualifying school district, by a vote of two-thirds of all its members, may declare by resolution that it is necessary to levy a tax in excess of the ten-mill limitation for the purpose of paying the current expenses of the school district and of partnering community schools, as defined in section5705.21of the Revised Code; that it is necessary to issue general obligation bonds of the school district for permanent improvements of the district and to levy an additional tax in excess of the ten-mill limitation to pay debt charges on the bonds and any anticipatory securities; and that the question of the bonds and taxes shall be submitted to the electors of the school district at a special election, which shall not be earlier than ninety days after certification of the resolution to the board of elections, and the date of which shall be consistent with section3505.01of the Revised Code.

The levy of taxes for the current expenses of a partnering community school under division (J) of this section and the distribution of proceeds from the tax by a qualifying school district to partnering community schools is hereby determined to be a proper public purpose.

(2) The tax for the current expenses of the school district and of partnering community schools is subject to the requirements of divisions (B)(3), (4), and (5) of section5705.21of the Revised Code.

(3) In addition to the required specifications of the resolution under division (B) of this section, the resolution shall express the rate of the tax in mills for each one dollar of taxable value and in dollars for each one hundred thousand dollars of the county auditor's market value, state the number of the mills to be levied for the current expenses of the partnering community schools and the number of the mills to be levied for the current expenses of the school district, specify the number of years (not exceeding ten) the tax will be levied or that it will be levied for a continuing period of time, and state the first year the tax will be levied.

The resolution shall go into immediate effect upon its passage, and no publication of it is necessary other than that provided in the notice of election. The board of education shall certify a copy of the resolution, along with copies of the auditor's estimate and its resolution under division (A) of this section, to the board of elections immediately after its adoption.

(4) The form of the ballot shall be modified by replacing the ballot form set forth in division (D)(3) of this section with the following:

"Levy an additional property tax for the purpose of the current expenses of the school district and of partnering community schools, that the county auditor estimates will collect $_____ annually, at a rate not exceeding ______ mills for each $1 of taxable value (of which ______ (insert the number of mills to be allocated to partnering community schools) mills is to be allocated to partnering community schools), which amounts to $______ for each $100,000 of the county auditor's market value, for ______ (insert the number of years the levy is to be imposed, or that it will be levied for a continuing period of time)?

(5) After the approval of a tax for the current expenses of the school district and of partnering community schools under division (J) of this section, and prior to the time the first collection and distribution from the levy can be made, the board of education may anticipate a fraction of the proceeds of the levy for the current expenses of the school district and issue anticipation notes in a principal amount not exceeding fifty per cent of the estimated proceeds of the levy to be collected during the first year of the levy and allocated to the school district. The portion of levy proceeds to be allocated to partnering community schools shall not be included in the estimated proceeds anticipated under this division and shall not be used to pay debt charges on any anticipation notes.

The notes shall be issued as provided in section133.24of the Revised Code, shall have principal payments during each year after the year of their issuance over a period not to exceed five years, and may have a principal payment in the year of their issuance.

(6) A tax for the current expenses of the school district and of partnering community schools levied under division (J) of this section for a specified number of years may be renewed in the same manner as a tax for the current expenses of a school district and of partnering community schools levied under division (B) of section5705.21of the Revised Code. A tax for the current expenses of the school district and of partnering community schools levied under this division for a continuing period of time may be decreased in accordance with section5705.261of the Revised Code.

(7) The proceeds from the issuance of the general obligation bonds under division (J) of this section shall be used solely to pay for permanent improvements of the school district and not for permanent improvements of partnering community schools.

Last updated October 3, 2025 at 1:18 PM

Legislative History

Effective: January 1, 2026 | Latest Legislation: House Bill 96 - 136th General Assembly