Frequently Asked Questions

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Yes. On November 29th, 2023, at a special meeting of the Fairfield City School District Board of Education, the Board approved a resolution to initiate placing a continuing operating levy on the March 19th, 2024 ballot. The resolution calls for a 6.9-mill continuing operating levy. The Board approved the second required resolution to proceed with placing the levy on the ballot at the December 14th regular meeting.

An operating levy can be used for day-to-day expenses, such as salaries, benefits. utilities, supplies/materials, transportation, and programming. 

The unit of value for expressing the rate of property taxes in Ohio is the “mill.” A mill is defined as one-tenth of a percent or one-tenth of a cent (0.1 cents) in cash terms. Millage is the factor applied to the assessed value of property to produce tax revenue.

1 Mill = $1 for every $1,000 of appraised value.

The owner of a home valued at $100,000 will pay approximately $242 a year. It is projected to provide a positive cash balance for the District through June 30th, 2029.

*To calculate the estimated tax, the current market value of a property is multiplied by 35% to arrive at the property's taxable value.

The taxable value is then divided by 1,000 and multiplied by the millage amount. 

Formula = $100,000 x (.35/1000) x 6.9

To find the accurate appraised value of your home, look at the county auditor's website: https://www.butlercountyauditor.org/

To sustain operations and avoid a financial deficit.

The new values for the year 2023 are projected to generate a property increase for the Fairfield City School District in the amount of $1.9 million for fiscal year 2024. This amount accounts for a 4% increase in property taxes paid to the Fairfield City School District. 

For fiscal year 2025, the District is projecting a $1.5 million or 3% increase in property tax revenue.  This increase in property taxes is projected to be offset by a $1,000,000 decrease in state school funding revenue for fiscal year 2025.

Why no windfall in property taxes for Fairfield City School District?

• House Bill 920 was passed in 1976 to prevent inflation from increasing voted taxes.  The law specifies that the application of the tax reduction factors cannot cause a school district’s effective current expense millage rate to fall below 20 mills.  When the district reaches the 20 mill floor, the millage will not decrease any further, which causes a school district to see additional funding for all increases in valuation that occur after reaching the 20-mill floor.  This results in increases in property taxes to residents of the school district at the 20-mill floor.  Fairfield is not at the 20-mill floor, so tax reduction factors are applied and the District does not receive any additional revenue from the voted tax levies.

• The District only receives additional tax revenue from new construction and from “inside” or “unvoted” millage.  For Fairfield City School, this “inside” millage amounts to 6.9 mills.  (Local governments, like the city, township, county and schools, under the state constitution, are permitted to share in taxes up to 1% of a property's assessed value without a vote of the people.  Those unvoted 10 mills are referred to as inside millage because they are “inside the constitutional provisions for mileage that does not require voter approval.”)

The last operating levy was a 6.5-mill continuing operating levy passed by voters in November 2011. It was projected to last 2-3 years and has lasted 12+ years. 

Reduction in staff

• Restructure the middle school schedules to eliminate five (5) teaching positions for an estimated cost savings of $313,000. *Restructuring the middle school schedule will require hiring four (4) additional educational assistants, which is projected to cost $149,000.
• Eliminate four and one-half (4.5) teaching positions at the freshman school and high school campus for an estimated cost savings of $282,000.
• Restructure the curriculum department to eliminate three (3) positions for an estimated cost savings of $188,000. ​
• Eliminate .5 administrative positions for an estimated cost savings of $54,000. This is in addition to the one (1) administrative position eliminated prior to the start of the 2023-2024 school year.

Reduce transportation to state minimum:

• There will be no changes to special needs transportation services in grades PreK-12.
• Transportation services for general education students in grades 9 & 10 will be eliminated. This also includes chartered non-public and community schools.
• Only those students whose residence is more than two (2) miles from their school, including chartered non-public and community schools, are eligible for transportation regardless of sitters, daycares, etc.​
• Butler Tech shuttles to and from FHS will not change.​
• The District will explore transportation services for non-public schools, including the potential to declare transportation to certain chartered non-public and community schools impractical.
• Start times for some schools will change.​ Creekside and Crossroads: 7:45 a.m. - 2:15 p.m.; ​Compass, South and East: 9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.; Central, West, and North: 9:15 a.m. - 3:45​ p.m.
• Elimination of 22 bus driver positions, .5 administrator, and .5 office staff.
• The number of bus drivers/chauffeurs will be reduced from 62 to 40. ​ 

Pending Board of Education approval, November 5, 2024.

Visit the Butler County Auditor's Office website: https://www.butlercountyauditor.org/

The levy will affect property taxes only. 

Property owners would see the new tax rate in 2025.

All property owners in the Fairfield City School District pay FCSD property taxes.

The District would start collecting new revenue in 2025.