SOUTH POINT – Residents who support a proposed 4.

Monday, August 30, 1999

SOUTH POINT – Residents who support a proposed 4.84-mill property tax levy for village schools are already planning how they will convince other voters to vote yes this November.

The bond levy will provide $7.1 million in local matching funds to $23.4 million in Ohio School Building Assistance funding, said Rick Waggoner, South Point superintendent.

The money will be used to construct a new high school and consolidated elementary school, as well as to renovate the current high school into a middle school, Waggoner added.

"Our big thing is communication," Waggoner said. "We will get out pamphlets, and we are going to have community meetings. We will encourage everyone to come out and hear the full story and verification from the county auditor."

The expected millage should not cause local residents to experience too much of a property tax increase, and Waggoner said he wants to spread the word.

"In 1980, we passed an 8-mill levy for $4 million to build a new high school," he said. "For a person who owned a $50,000 home, that was an additional $122.85 in property taxes a year. Now, we’re asking for a 4.84-mill levy. Property owners will only have to pay an additional $74.32 a year for that same $50,000 home, and we will be getting eight times as much. To me, that’s a good deal."

The current property tax levy also is about to expire and will give residents a little bit of a tax break, Waggoner added.

"We did have 8 mills in 1980, but we only have 0.5-mill of that left on the books," he said. "And the auditor has told us that that levy will be able to be removed before this levy ever goes into effect. And that’s good news."

Through community involvement and public meetings, Waggoner said he hopes all of the area’s residents will begin to see exactly how much of a good deal this state Building Assistance funding is.

"We’re in the process of forming our bond levy campaign committee," Waggoner said. "Anyone who is interested in serving on the committee I encourage them to call me."

The school district will need as much help as possible, Waggoner added.

Board members did not find out until Aug. 10 that the bond levy would be on the November ballot, and as Labor Day approaches, they realize they don’t have that much more time to plan, he said.

"Hopefully, in the next month, we will have a committee set up, we’ll have our meetings and then it will be time for the election," Waggoner said.

Anyone who is interested in serving on the committee or who has questions concerning the levy may call Waggoner at 377- 4315 or 1-888-828-6124.