ORANGE TOWNSHIP — Voters who live within the Mapleton Local School District will decide on May 2 whether or not they want a sliver of their income tax to benefit education.
On the ballot for the first time in Mapleton’s history will be an additional 0.75% income tax levy, which is expected to generate just north of $1 million a year over five years.
Those that make $50,000 a year will be taxed $31.25 a month should the income levy pass.
Income from retirement, social security, pensions, interest and dividends and other related income cannot be taxed with the income levy.
As of January 2023, 210 out of 611 school districts across Ohio impose an income tax, according to the state Department of Taxation.
Without the extra money, district officials have forecasted deficits in future budgets. Superintendent Scott Smith said a deficit of $44,333 could occur this year without the levy. The gap grows to $159,646 in 2024, $294,000 in 2025 and nearly $484,000 in 2026.
If voters approve, it will be the first levy passed in 32 years.
The district tried to pass a five-year 3.2 mills property tax levy last May. It would have generated $500,000 annually, but it failed by 32 percentage points, according to Ashland County Board of Election records.
Smith said funds raised from the tax will be used to “avoid deficits as well as to maintain or even expand opportunities for students related to Student Services, Special Education, Gifted Education, Family and Community Engagement, Literacy and STEA2M (science-technology-engineering-arts-agriculture-mathematics).
“It is extremely important for the district to have the ability to sustain and ultimately create new opportunities for our students in order for them to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills required to achieve their goals in an ever changing world,” Smith said in a press release about the tax.
A failed income tax levy would mean cuts to the district, officials have said.
Potential reductions include cuts to staff, field trips and the Little Mountie STEM Preschool. It would also likely mean increases to academic and athletic fees and fees associated with extracurricular transportation.
The district will hold two public meetings before the May 2 primary.
The first will be held at Polk Community Center at 7 p.m. on April 25. The second meeting will be held at Nova United Methodist Church at 7 p.m. on April 27.
