Bowling Green City Schools will ask voters to fund a new high school.
At a special meeting Tuesday, the board of education unanimously decided to place a $49 million bond issue and 0.5% income tax on the November ballot.
The two issues will collect $70 million over 30 years, said board President Jill Carr.
She said it is a split of 70% property tax and 30% income tax.
Fanning Howey architects in March gave an estimate of $48.2 million to $58 million to build a new high school.
The board came to a consensus at a special meeting in May that $70 million will be needed for the project, given the new economic pressures.
District financial adviser David Conley asked at that meeting if the board members thought this November was the right time for the levy.
“The longer we wait, the more expensive it gets,” board member Ginny Stewart replied.
Conley, with Rockmill Financial Consulting, also attended Tuesday’s 45-minute meeting.
“He was just helping us to understand the process of getting on the ballot,” Carr said.
According to Conley, a 3.9-mill property tax will be needed for 30 years with the 0.5% income tax increase for seven years.
His calculations showed the property tax would cost $136.39 annually for the owner of a home valued at $100,000. Someone with the district’s median income of $66,215 would pay $331 a year in income tax.
The income tax would end after seven years, leaving just the property tax collection, Conley said.
A maintenance fund is built into the income tax collection.
“I think it’s an excellent decision,” Carr said on Wednesday. “We need a new high school.”
A district facilities advisory committee recommended a new high school at a community forum in March. Ninety-five percent of the committee, which started meeting last summer, agreed that building a new high school was the way to go.
It could be built to the west of the existing building.
There was a split decision of 50-50 among committee members whether to have one or two elementaries.
Efforts to pass a bond issue for one consolidated elementary failed in three attempts.
There is a need for new elementaries, Carr said, but the community thought differently.
“It’s a great need in this community,” she said. “Our facilities need work and need replacement.”
Passsage will move the district forward, said board member Tracy Hovest.
“It’s been five years in the making,” she said, referring to the first attempt for a renovated high school/new elementary issue that first appeared on the November 2017 ballot.
“The 70/30 split allows everybody to have skin in the game. We’re not just reliant on property owners. … It’s the fairest and most reasonable request.” Hovest said.
She said she knows arguments will be made about the money request.
“It’s always going to be too much for somebody. That’s where people need to weigh the costs and benefits,” Hovest said.
The obvious benefit is for the students and teachers, who deserve a plan to learn and teach in a school that is designed around how students learn today, she said.
“It’s not just about Bowling Green City Schools, it’s about the Bowling Green community,” Hovest said. “It’s very exciting and I’m optimistic. I think this could be a catapult to moving us forward.”
This funding option is filed through the state tax commissioner, with a deadline of July 26, and then filing with the board of elections on Aug. 10.
Carr said the board hasn’t gotten to the point of hiring an architect.
It was announced in May that if funds are approved in November, there would need to be six to eight months for the design phase. It is expected bids will be awarded in November 2023.
