Dear Parents and Community Members,
The start of a new school year is just a few weeks away and our staff is eager to welcome our students back to school. If you have children in our district, I look forward to seeing you at Open House and for those of you who have not been on campus for awhile, please consider coming back to attend an athletic event or concert this fall. Homecoming is always a great time to reconnect and will be celebrated on September 27th.
School Levy to be on November Ballot:
In July, The Firelands Board of Education voted unanimously to place a 1% earned income tax on the November 5th ballot. If passed, the issue would raise an estimated $3.3 million annually, beginning in January 2025. It has been 13 years since the last time the Firelands Schools passed new operating funds. Our annual revenue has remained flat at roughly $21.5 million in actual dollars since 2021 and is projected to remain flat at that level through 2027. Meanwhile, inflation has driven the ‘value’ of those dollars down, causing the district to, in practice, lose spending power.
Simply put, the levy is critical to ensuring that the Firelands Schools can continue funding essential day-to-day school operations. This funding will be used for our ongoing expenses, most notably: classroom materials and technology, extracurricular activities, transportation services, and the retention of our high-quality teaching and student support staff. It would not be used for any capital projects, such as building or maintaining school facilities.
The proposed earned income tax will apply to ONLY the wages, salaries, and other compensation and net earnings generated from self-employment, to the extent the income is included in modified adjusted gross income of the resident.
Many people in our community own their houses/properties, but live on various types of fixed incomes – like seniors, retirees, disabled residents, etc. Those fixed incomes are excluded from the earned income tax. The income tax specifically EXCLUDES all other types of income and deductions, such as those from interest, dividends, pensions, capital gains, inheritances/bequests – as well as excluding income from Social Security, disability and survivor benefits, child support, direct gifts, workers’ compensation, welfare benefits, etc.
For additional information about the earned income tax levy, please contact either District Treasurer Keri Angney at
[email protected] or me at
[email protected] or by phone at 965.5821.
With Much Appreciation,
Mike Von Gunten