Quality education, our children’s future, and a tax adjustment are on the ballot with the BGCS operating levy. I strongly urge residents to vote YES for the BGCS levy. It is a fiscal, academic, and civic responsibility to provide adequate funding for children’s education.
Education directly impacts students’ future earning power, employment, and well-being. It is the road to the middle class and the most important measure to get people out of poverty. Children who have not had sufficient educational resources face a greater likelihood of dropping out of school, unemployment, relying on social-welfare programs and imprisonment, and these financial costs will be borne by the individual and society. A YES vote for the levy is a vote for children, their future, and society’s economic future.
The new levy (.75%) is necessary because the last operating levy (.5%) was passed in 2010 (14 years ago) and the revenue from the 2010 levy simply cannot keep up with the increased costs of inflation. A school bus, for example, costs $50,000 more than in 2010. No entity can continue to pay 2025 costs with 2010 dollars.
The cumulative inflation rate in the U.S. for the past 10 years was 32.5% with a 3.18% yearly rate. With financial diligence, the BGCS expenditures only increased 2.4% yearly, but the revenue from the 2010 operating levy increased by only 1.75%. This results in unsustainable deficit spending just to maintain current operations.
Read the very detailed BGCS Treasurer’s Reports at https://www.bgcs.k12.oh.us/district/treasurer. It currently costs $106,000 per day to operate the BGCS but ten years ago, it was $79,000. The 2023-24 General Fund Expenses totaled almost $39 million. Because of the outdated 2010 levy, the predicted deficit (expenditures over revenue) in 2024-25 is -$3.2 million and it will be -$9.3 million in 2030-31. This erodes the cash balance, resulting in a deficit by 2028-29. Cutting funding by millions of dollars would be devastating to students’ achievement, well-being and their future earning power.
82% of the operating expenses are for the 450 staff members that serve 2,700 students. The remainder of the expenditures are for transportation, textbooks and curriculum materials, computers, equipment, supplies, utilities, maintenance, insurance, etc.
Personnel include teachers, reading and math specialists, speech/language pathologists, special education, gifted and talented, preschool, psychologists, mental health services, etc. Behavioral and mental health are major issues in schools and society and early intervention is essential. Future adults must have skills and the behavioral/mental health to be employable in a world that is rapidly advancing.
Small class size, with teacher quality, are strong predictors of student achievement because students receive individual attention. Reading/language arts proficiency at grade 3 is a critical predictor of a student’s future success. BGCS’s broad range of curricular programs and co-curricular experiences will help every student find a niche to develop their unique skills and knowledge that will serve them well as adults. Finding a niche also enhances self confidence, a sense of belonging, teamwork, and communication.
BGCS is currently providing quality learning opportunities as evidenced by their 4.5/5 state rating (ranked 2nd in the area only behind Perrysburg), the breadth of the Program of Study and co-curricular opportunities, and the range of learning specialists to meet the needs of all students.
BGCS must pass this operating levy to maintain adequate funding levels supporting education. Comparing the 15 school districts in Wood County, BGCS currently has the 4th lowest total school tax paid by residents. (https://www.bgffs.com/faq). The proposed levy would put BGCS in a middle ranking of the 15 schools.
The proposed levy is based on Adjusted Gross Income (AGI). For an AGI of $50,000, the new levy costs just less than $1/day. Social Security income is not taxed, and some individuals do not file income tax because their income is below the minimum AGI. Vote YES so students will have an increased probability of success in life. The future economic and well-being of students and society depends on adequate funding of K-12 education.
Linda Lander
Bowling Green
