LEVY RENEWALS ON NOVEMBER BALLOT
Our district will be placing two levy renewals on the upcoming November 3, 2026 ballot. Both levies are renewals, and therefore do not create a new tax and do not increase the voted millage rate, but instead continue existing funding that supports day-to-day school operations and services for our students.
Both renewal levies are explained below in order to help ensure that clear, accurate information about what each renewal funds, the timeline involved, and what the ballot language will generally include so resident taxpayers can make an informed decision.
One of the renewal levies is a .5 mill Education Technology levy. This levy is a five year levy which was first passed in 2017 and provides approximately $110,000 in annual funding. It is the main supplier of funding for the district’s student technology equipment and programs. The funding from this levy primarily provides Chromebooks and their 1:1 use for all students from kindergarten through 12th grade. A portion of the anticipated ballot language to be used will look substantially as follows: “A renewal of a tax for the benefit of the Genoa Area Local School District for the purpose of providing education technology….”
The other renewal levy on the ballot is a $1.3 million Fixed Sum levy (previously known as an Emergency levy). This levy is also a five year levy which was first passed in 2022. Its funding is primarily used for General Fund expenditures that include such items as salaries, benefits, various building maintenance items, purchased services, instructional supplies as well as utilities and bus fuel to name a few. A portion of the anticipated ballot language to be used will look substantially as follows: “Shall a fixed-sum levy renewing an existing levy be imposed by the Genoa Area Local School District for the purpose of paying current expenses of the district….”
As a reminder, renewal levies do not increase voted tax rates. School levies are capped in such a way by legislation that their revenue collection does not automatically increase with inflation or rising property values. Instead, the amount of revenue generated by a levy when originally passed remains relatively fixed year over year even when a levy is renewed in later years.