(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 do all of the following:
(1) Raise a specified amount of money for school district purposes by levying an annual tax on school district income;
(2) Issue general obligation bonds for permanent improvements, stating in the resolution the necessity and purpose of the bond issue and the amount, approximate date, estimated rate of interest, and maximum number of years over which the principal of the bonds may be paid;
(3) Levy a tax outside the ten-mill limitation to pay debt charges on the bonds and any anticipatory securities;
(4) Submit the question of the school district income tax and bond issue to the electors of the district at a special election.
The resolution shall specify whether the income that is to be subject to the tax is taxable income as defined in division (E)(1) or (2) of section5748.01of the Revised Code.
On adoption of the resolution, the board shall certify a copy of it to the tax commissioner and the county auditor no later than one hundred five days prior to the date of the special election at which the board intends to propose the income tax and bond issue. Not later than ten days of receipt of the resolution, the tax commissioner, in the same manner as required by division (A) of section5748.02of the Revised Code, shall estimate the rates designated in divisions (A)(1) and (2) of that section and certify them to the board. Not later than ten days of receipt of the resolution, the county auditor shall estimate and certify to the board the average annual property tax rate 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) On receipt of the tax commissioner's and county auditor's certifications prepared 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 adopt a resolution proposing for a specified number of years or for a continuing period of time the levy of an annual tax for school district purposes on school district income and declaring 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 specified permanent improvements and to levy an additional tax in excess of the ten-mill limitation to pay the 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 section3501.01of the Revised Code. The resolution shall specify all of the following:
(1) The purpose for which the school district income tax is to be imposed and the rate of the tax, which shall be the rate set forth in the tax commissioner's certification rounded to the nearest one-fourth of one per cent;
(2) Whether the income that is to be subject to the tax is taxable income as defined in division (E)(1) or (2) of section5748.01of the Revised Code. The specification shall be the same as the specification in the resolution adopted and certified under division (A) of this section.
(3) The number of years the tax will be levied, or that it will be levied for a continuing period of time;
(4) The date on which the tax shall take effect, which shall be the first day of January of any year following the year in which the question is submitted;
(5) The amount of the estimated average annual property tax levy, expressed in mills for each one dollar of taxable value and dollars for each one hundred thousand dollars of the county auditor's market value, as certified by the county auditor under division (A) of this section.
(C) A resolution adopted under division (B) of this section shall go into immediate effect upon its passage, and no publication of the resolution shall be necessary other than that provided for in the notice of election. Immediately after its adoption and at least ninety days prior to the election at which the question will appear on the ballot, 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 of the proper county. The board of education shall send to the tax commissioner a copy of the resolution adopted under division (B) of this section and certified to the board of elections. The board of elections shall make the arrangements for the submission of the question to the electors of the school district, 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 majority vote indicating approval of the school district income tax, the bond issue, and the levy to pay debt charges on the bonds and any anticipatory securities. The board of elections shall publish the 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 the board of elections operates and maintains a web site, it 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 questions to be submitted to the electors;
(2) The rate of the school district income tax;
(3) The principal amount of the proposed bond issue;
(4) The permanent improvements for which the bonds are to be issued;
(5) The maximum number of years over which the principal of the bonds may be paid;
(6) 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;
(7) The time and place of the special election.
(D) The form of the ballot on a question submitted to the electors under this section shall be as follows:
"Shall the ________ school district be authorized to do both of the following:
(1) Impose an annual income tax of ______ (state the proposed rate of tax) on the school district income of individuals, for ________ (state the number of years the tax would be levied, or that it would be levied for a continuing period of time), beginning ________ (state the date the tax would first take effect), for the purpose of ________ (state the purpose of the tax)?
(2) 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?
(E) If the question submitted to electors proposes a school district income tax only on the taxable income of individuals as defined in division (E)(2) of section5748.01of the Revised Code, the form of the ballot shall be modified by stating that the tax is to be levied on the "earned income of individuals residing in the school district" in lieu of the "school district income of individuals."
(F) 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 in favor of it, the income tax and the applicable provisions of Chapter 5747. of the Revised Code shall take effect on the date specified in the resolution, and the board of education may proceed with issuance of the bonds and with the levy and collection of the property taxes to pay debt charges on the bonds, 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.
(G) After approval of a question under this section, the board of education may anticipate a fraction of the proceeds of the school district income tax in accordance with section5748.05of the Revised Code. Any anticipation notes under this division 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.
(H) The question of repeal of a school district income tax levied for more than five years may be initiated and submitted in accordance with section5748.04of the Revised Code.
(I) No board of education shall submit a question under this section to the electors of the school district more than twice in any calendar year. If a board submits the question twice in any calendar year, one of the elections on the question shall be held on the date of the general election.
Last updated January 1, 2026 at 4:10 AM