The Greene County School District is informing the public of a special measure that will be on the ballot this November.

Every ten years, voters in the Greene County School District get to decide whether or not to keep a specific funding mechanism of property taxes called the Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) funds. Superintendent Brett Abbotts explains that state law allows for districts up to $1.34 per $1,000 on taxable valuation and how the district has been good stewards of taxpayer money.

“The one thing that I would really like to point out is that the highest we’ve ever been was actually this past school year was at $1.03. So we never even maximized that out and actually for FY (fiscal year 20)24 we’ll be down to $1.01 per $1,000 (valuation). So we’re actually decreasing that, again, just as we need it.”  

Abbotts points out PPEL funds allow for purchases and improvements to buildings, buses and technology. Some of the more current uses have been the installation of the new middle school playground equipment, two new buses to replace older models, a roof replacement at the middle school and the soon to be demolition of the former district office building. He talks about some of the technology that PPEL has been used for.

“And then of course with the technology that’s in all of our classrooms. We’re 1:1 with all of our students with (Google) Chromebooks. And teachers, of course, we have really kind of state of the art technology, audio-visual equipment, (and) some software in all of our classrooms.” 

Voters will be asked whether or not to keep PPEL for another ten years during the November 7th city and school elections.