PAULDING SCHOOLS 2026 LEVY INFORMATION
0.75% 5-YEAR PERMANENT IMPROVEMENT INCOME TAX
The Paulding EVSD Board of Education has decided to place an income tax of 0.75% for permanent improvement on the ballot for the November 2026 General Election. This levy differs from the one proposed in the fall of 2025 in that this levy will only be for a period of 5 years. This webpage is intended to provide information about why the Board has placed an income tax levy for permanent improvement on the ballot.
Purpose of the Levy
This levy will generate revenue that will be needed to maintain and improve District buildings, equipment, and facilities and replace needed curriculum and technology.
Maintenance costs are starting to rise, and District buildings range in age from 20 to 70 years old. The membrane roofing is approaching the end of its lifespan. The boilers in the high school and Oakwood Elementary are 37 years old and 23 years old, respectively. The Oakwood Elementary boilers are malfunctioning and requiring increasing maintenance. Much of the remaining large HVAC equipment is approaching the end of their lifespan and will need to be replaced soon. The copper plumbing at the Paulding campus is starting to degrade, and pin holes have started appearing. Bleacher inspections have reported needed repairs, with new issues being reported on each new inspection. The flooring, entry doors, and exterior of the building need repairs, and the parking lots are going to need redone. Maintenance vehicles are 10 and 14 years old, and three vans used for student transportation are 8, 10, and 12 years old. In January 2026, a new van was bought to meet the transportation needs of our students instead of a school bus because the permanent improvement fund could not cover both expenses. The levy will also cover curriculum and computer/technology costs to provide needed materials for our teachers and students. Currently, the General Fund pays the majority of these costs in addition to the district's operating costs. The levy would take some of the burden off of the General Fund.
Paulding EVSD contracted with K-12 Business Consulting to develop a capital plan that analyzed the remaining useful life of all of the District's facilities and equipment. This capital plan covers everything- roofing, building envelope/masonry, mechanical equipment (boilers, chillers, HVAC components), asphalt and concrete, maintenance and custodial equipment (floor scrubbers, carpet extractors, etc.), transportation (buses, vans, mechanic equipment, etc.), flooring replacement, athletics and grounds maintenance, building furniture, curriculum, and educational technology. The plan looks 20 years into the future and determines what items would be replaced and what cost to budget for. The plan projects that some items, like curriculum and educational technology, are going to be replaced more than once. Other items, like metal roofing, would not need to be replaced during this 20 year period since it has a 50 year life expectancy, and should be able to last for the next 20 years. Annual costs in the capital plan are projected to be $1,597,616, while current annual permanent improvement revenue is only $409,894. Projected maintenance costs exceed revenue levels by an average of $1,187,719.33 per year. Maintenance will need to be deferred if the General Fund is not able to pay for it.
Below is a summary of the anticipated funding needed for each category in the Capital Plan over the course of the next 20 years:
|
DESCRIPTION |
20 YEAR TOTAL |
PERCENT OF TOTAL |
|---|---|---|
|
Building & Facilities |
$11,639,664 |
36% |
|
Transportation |
$9,115,000 |
29% |
|
Curriculum & Technology |
$7,047,160 |
22% |
|
Grounds Maintenance & Athletics |
$4,150,000 |
13% |
|
Total |
$31,952,324 |
100% |
The full capital plan can be found at the following link: PEVS CAPITAL PLAN
Anticipated Use of Levy Money
The Ohio Department of Taxation provided a certification of how much revenue the levy is anticipated to generate- about $2 million per year, or $10 million over the 5 year term. The Board has identified the items listed below as highest priority, and will use levy proceeds to address these needs as funding allows:
|
DESCRIPTION |
TOTAL |
|---|---|
|
Pay Off Debt that funded Emergency HVAC Repairs |
$3,000,000 |
|
Replace Roofs |
$1,000,000 |
|
Replace Entry Doors |
$100,000 |
|
Replace Plumbing and Fixtures |
$500,000 |
|
School Buses |
$750,000 |
|
School Parking Lot Repaving |
$300,000 |
|
Replace HS Gym Bleachers |
$750,000 |
| Build Locker Rooms and Pave Stone Lots at Athletic Fields | $2,400,000 |
|
Replace Staff Computers |
$150,000 |
| Replace HS Gym Floor and Resurface Track | $1,050,000 |
|
Total |
$10,000,000 |
Types of Levies
There are two main ways that school districts can levy taxes- income tax and property tax. Property taxes assess taxes based on the County Auditor's assessed value of property. Income taxes are assessed based on a taxpayer's income. Income taxes are based on a person's financial means and ability to pay (income), whereas property taxes are based on property values that might not necessarily reflect the taxpayer's ability to pay.
Two common types of tax levies are operating levies and permanent improvement levies. Operating levies bring in revenue with fewer restrictions than permanent improvement levies. Operating levies can pay for any operating cost that a school district incurs. Permanent improvement levies can only pay for permanent improvement, maintenance, and equipment costs. The proposed 0.75% permanent improvement levy cannot pay for salaries and benefits for any employee. The proceeds from this levy will go back into the buildings and equipment that will provide the environment that our staff and students need for the learning process.
Cost
The proposed levy, if passed, would be 0.75% of all income. For someone earning $40,000 per year, this income tax would cost $11.54 per biweekly pay period.
Taxable Income
The proposed levy is a traditional income tax (as opposed to an earned income tax). The State of Ohio will only allow Paulding EVSD to levy one type of income tax, and will not allow a change. Because the 1991 income tax was a traditional income tax, all subsequent income tax levies must also be traditional income tax levies. The traditional income tax base is broad, and mirrors the Ohio taxable income used for state taxes.
Levy and School Funding History
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, PEVS placed several property tax levies on the ballot, and voters approved a total of 30 mills on a continuing basis that are still collected today. Because of the State of Ohio's tax reform in the 1970s, the district can only collect 20 of the 30 mills approved by voters. An emergency levy has been renewed and has provided about $420k in operating income since it was first approved. Over the last 40 years, that levy has brought in the same amount every year, and inflation has significantly reduced how far that money goes. In 1991, the district passed a 1% income tax, which is still in place today. From 2000 to 2023, a half mill property tax levy for maintenance was passed as the local funding portion of the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission school construction project. In 2023, that levy expired, and the District experienced a reduction in funding for maintenance and permanent improvement just as the buildings started showing their age and needed more work to stay in service. Paulding EVSD has not had new taxes since the 2003 OFCC project, and hasn't had new operating money since the income tax passed in 1991, a 35 year streak.
The State of Ohio used to pay a higher share of school districts' costs, but the state legislature reduced that amount. In 1998, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the State was not funding schools at a high enough level, when the State was paying for 45.7%. This year, the State is only paying 32.2% after making cuts to the Fair School Funding Plan, which amounts to an estimated $4 million less per year for PEVS. The State of Ohio also passed property tax reform measures that are reducing property tax collections by $1.3 million in the 2026-2027 fiscal year and $942k every year going forward. The PEVS General Fund receives about $5 million less every year because of recent legislation cutting State funding and property tax revenues.
PEVS has been fortunate to be awarded one-time grant awards totaling $1,606,964 that have helped bridge the gap from 2019 to 2025, but these are one-time grants that PEVS won't have moving forward. The district also issued $2.5 million of debt as a lease purchase agreement, which places Paulding Elementary as collateral for a loan to fund emergency repairs to the HVAC systems at Paulding and Oakwood. These repairs are needed to keep the heat and air conditioning working; without them, the staff and students face heat and humidity concerns and risk frozen pipes in the winter. Annual payments of $269k will further hurt the PEVS General Fund's financial position.
Debt payments, state funding cuts, state property tax cuts, maintenance costs, and debt payments are all paid out of the General Fund. The General Fund is the district's life savings, and the board recognizes that the tax dollars entrusted to PEVS should be managed responsibly. When deficit spending occurs, cuts have to be made or revenue needs to be increased. Paying for those costs with this levy would significantly improve the General Fund's financial position.
Tax Rates and Local Funding Per Pupil
Comparing current tax rates of school districts in Defiance, Paulding, Putnam, and Van Wert counties, of those 20 schools, Paulding EVSD has the 8th highest income tax (tied), 9th highest permanent improvement property tax millage, and 17th highest total operating millage. However, Paulding has the 4th highest student count among those same school districts, which contributes to having the 5th lowest property tax revenue per pupil and 6th lowest local revenue per pupil (local revenue includes both property and income taxes).
Additional tax rate information can be found at the following link: CURRENT SCHOOL DISTRICT TAX RATES
More Information
The entire Paulding Exempted Village District team wants the community to be well informed of the needs of the school district. While this webpage has a wealth of information, we cannot anticipate all questions. Below are resources that can provide additional information. Please review the resources below, and reach out to Superintendent Chris Etzler (c_etzler@pauldingschools.org) or Treasurer Jacob Thiel (j_thiel@pauldingschools.org) if there are questions over any of the information included, or if additional information is needed to understand the levy proposal. Please understand that, under Ohio’s election laws, District personnel acting in their official capacities may only provide neutral, factual information relating to the levy.
PEVS CAPITAL PLAN
DISTRICT TAX RATES AND LOCAL FUNDING PER PUPIL
INFORMATIONAL FLYER
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS