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 May 2026 Primary 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.
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.
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, if passed, would be 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.
Purpose of the Levy
The purpose of this levy is to generate revenue that the Board anticipates will be needed to maintain and improve District buildings, equipment, and facilities and replace needed curriculum and technology. From 2000 to 2023, a half mill 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. One-time grant awards totaling $1,606,964 have helped bridge the gap from 2019 to 2025, but grant funding is not guaranteed moving forward.
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, and the chillers for the Paulding campus currently have less than half of the designed cooling capacity. The Oakwood Elementary boilers are malfunctioning and requiring increasing maintenance. Air handler units in both Paulding and Oakwood are reaching the end of their lifespan. 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. Oakwood's fire suppression system will need a new pump within a year. Bleacher inspections have reported needed repairs, with new issues being reported on each new inspection. 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.
In order to get a full picture of everything the District needs, 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 idea was to look 20 years into the future and determine what items would be replaced and what the cost would be so that we could begin to budget for those costs. The plan projects that some items, like curriculum and educational technology, are anticipated to need to be replaced more than once. It is anticipated that other items, like the metal roofing on a portion of our buildings, 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 expenses to maintain current assets exceed current revenue levels by an average of $1,187,719.33 per year.
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
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
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 |
|---|---|
|
Repair and Replace HVAC Equipment |
$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 Coed Locker Room 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 |
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