Frequently asked questions

The money collected through this levy represents 4% of what the district spends annually on things like employee salaries and benefits, educational services, supplies, transportation, and utilities, etc. Simply put, it allows the district to pay for all of the services it provides for our students. The district needs this money to be able to continue to provide these things for students.

This levy WILL NOT INCREASE property taxes for anyone! That being said, property owners will continue to pay for this levy, that first passed in 1994, if the issue passes on November 5th. This levy costs homeowners about $5.10 per month per $100,000 of home value. (Please note that this includes a 12.5% tax credit that is applied by the state for this particular levy.)

It bears repeating that this levy WILL NOT INCREASE property taxes for anyone! First, get the correct value of your property by using the auditor’s property search feature. Click Here to find that value. Once you have found your “Total Value” on the auditor’s site, you can use the levy impact calculator on their homepage. Click Here to be directed to that page. Use the drop-down menu to choose Brunswick City School District (Renewal) and enter your “Total Value” where it says “Property Value.” Click on the calculate button. You will be able to see what you pay for this levy and that this levy WILL NOT change what you currently pay. PLEASE NOTE: The calculator does not currently reflect the 12.5% tax credit that homeowners get on this levy! So the cost you see there is actually about 12.5% more than you actually pay.

That’s a common misconception. This levy collects a FIXED amount of $3.2 million per year and it CANNOT collect more than that. So, even if everyone’s property values double, we won’t pay more for this levy. In fact, as our community grows with new houses and businesses, the cost that we all pay for this levy decreases because there are more taxpayers paying into that fixed $3.2 million.

Ballot language is mandated by law. The Renewal levy raises $3.2m annually, no more, no less. The ballot uses an estimated millage number but does not take into account the 12.5% homeowner tax credit reimbursed by the State. We are currently working with the county auditor’s office to ask that they explain this on their levy impact calculator.

Brunswick City Schools has a long-standing tradition of being good stewards of the community's monies (tax dollars) as evidenced by the consecutive years they have achieved the State Auditor’s Award for excellence in financial reporting, transparency and accountability. Revenue from voted levies remain constant over time, so it would not be wise or responsible to utilize reserves to maintain our day-to-day operations. Having ample reserves is not only an accounting best-practice, but prudent to help offset unexpected reductions in state or federal contributions or increases in expenses. Even though the district is the second-largest employer in Medina County, it carries one of the lowest reserve balances of all schools in the county, and among most schools in our area. It is also important to understand the renewal levy represents monies the District currently uses to operate its day-to-day operations servicing over 6,000 students in our community.

By law, this is the LAST opportunity the community will have to renew this operating levy which the fiscal forecast (budget) uses to support day-to-day operations of our nine school buildings. Should the levy fail, it would be considered lapsed, meaning the District would begin seeing a reduction in revenue beginning immediately in January 2025. If the District would put the levy on at a subsequent time, it would be considered a ‘new’ levy and homeowners would NOT be eligible for the 12.5% residential tax credit they currently receive on this levy. In other words, the same levy put on at a later date would actually cost our homeowners more!