Western-Star.com

Little Miami Local Schools will hit the May 2 ballot with its fourth bond request in two years. Voters reject the last request by just 62 votes out of nearly 8,500 cast in November.

This request would raise $62.5 million for the district at 4.25 mills for 28 years; it will cost $130.16 more each year for a home valued at $100,000.

If approved by voters, Little Miami will build an addition to the high school, a junior high next to the high school, a new intermediate school, convert the existing junior high and intermediate complex into a fourth elementary school and renovate the elementary schools.

That plan would expand capacity to 4,800 students in a district growing by 250 students each year. Currently, enrollment is at 3,625 students; the district would reach capacity in five to eight years, if growth trends continue.

"The whole philosophy behind this plan is to build the cores so that (when the additions are needed), we can re-engage the community at that time and plan appropriately," said Superintendent Dan Bennett. "It's a flexible plan that can take on growth no matter how slow or fast it comes."

School board members voted Tuesday to roll back the current property tax levy for operating expenses and convert 3 mills of property taxes from the general fund for operating expenses to permanent improvement uses. The district will operate at the lowest legal amount of 20 mills; the state would then fund the schools with three more mills, which equal $1 for each $1,000 of assessed property value.

School officials hope to keep Little Miami off the ballot as long as possible with this plan.

If voters reject the bond proposal on May 2, Little Miami officials said they would consider adopting class sizes of 24-26 students in kindergarten through fourth grade and 25-27 in fifth through 12th grades. They also would consider reconfiguring the high school schedule to a six-period day, cut busing costs, increase pay-to-play for all extracurricular activities ($175 for junior high students and $225 for high school students participating in sports) and redrawing attendance lines to more evenly spread students among the elementary schools.

Other long-term considerations include using art and music classrooms for grade level class space, eliminating teaming at the junior high, restructuring school days and schedules to accommodate growth, offering only the minimum transportation required by law, utilizing elementary gymnasiums for classroom space, eliminating electives, reducing curriculum to state minimum offerings and changing policies about early graduation.

"When we re-engaged the community after last February, we brought many residents in to take a look at what our needs were, what our issues were ? and what our future looks like. Based upon that process, this was the best plan that not only accommodates in terms of our future ? but also is fiscally responsible," Bennett said.

Voters appears evenly split.

Panther Pride, the pro-bond issue political action committee, has mailed information to voters, concentrated campaigning in Hamilton Twp. subdivisions, completed phone bank calling, put up yard signs and participated in door-to-door activity in support of the bond issue.

Supporters also will rally at 3 p.m. April 30 at Little Miami High School.

"Our goal in any campaign is to educate as many people as we possibly can about the need for in this case the bond issue," said Julie Perelman, Panther Pride campaign chairwoman. "Our next biggest goal is to encourage the voters to get to the polls. We structure a lot of campaign activities to help people understand how important that one single vote is."

Citizens Against Unfair Taxes, another political action committee, opposed the last bond issue on the basis that the funding of schools through property taxes is unfair. The group has since officially disbanded, according to the Warren County Board of Elections. However, some former members remain active in fighting the bond request. Former treasurer Bill Nicholson of Morrow said that the "people who were against it before are still against it."

"The position that (CAUT) had last year is that the current system is completely unfair and mostly unfair to the school kids themselves," he said. "Because of the system that Columbus has saddled the schools with, the schools are chronically going to be underfunded and always trying to play catch up," Nicholson said. "It is unfair to landowners because the property tax does not take in to account one's ability to pay it."

Nicholson said he would consider an earnings or sales tax a fair solution to the school's funding problem.

Contact Megan Gildow at (513) 696-4524 or mgildow@coxohio.com