NELSONVILLE, Ohio — At its first meeting of 2026 on Thursday, Jan. 15, the Nelsonville-York City School District Board of Education discussed a new state law aimed at curbing property taxes.
Recently signed into law, HB 309 “expands the county’s budget commissioner’s authority to reduce property tax levies to avoid unnecessary or excessive collections,” board member Lacey Douglas said at the meeting.
“An unnecessary collection is defined as, those beyond the reasonably anticipated financial needs after accounting for current fund balances, projected expenditures and other available money sources,” Douglas said.
HB 309 is directly connected to Ohio’s 20-mill-floor law, which guarantees all public school districts a minimum of 20 mills in property tax revenue for operating expenses, even if property tax rates would otherwise decrease.
A mill is a tax rate equal to $1 for every $1,000 of assessed property value.
Under the 20-mill floor, rising property values can result in increased tax collections without voter approval.
Over 400 school districts in Ohio are around the 20-mill floor, including Nelsonville-York, Board President Micah Covert said.
“When people say school districts are taking too much money, remember — this is the cheapest you could ever pay in school district taxes,” Covert said.
“All this property tax discussion and anything that’s happening in education and higher education is coming from very select portions of this state and unfortunately, now it’s getting the rest of us,” he said. “These are our kids and what we take in 20 mills of property taxes would be an 8% income tax, so when they don’t have an answer for what happens when all of our taxes go away, just remember.”
The board also discussed a push for financial committees across Ohio to complete their five-year plans by February, prompting conversation about upcoming committee meetings.
The board’s annual organizational meeting also occurred Thursday, during which Albert Brooks was elected vice president.
Brooks chose to serve the board in order to “try and help our students and staff have all the tools needed to be successful inside the school walls and in the public,” according to Nelsonville-York’s board website.
At the organizational meeting, board member compensation was set at $125 per meeting, and regular meetings were scheduled for the second Wednesday of each month.
The regular meeting closed with Covert thanking board members in recognition of January as Board Appreciation Month.
“It is a small but important part of what we do here, so I thank you,” he said.
The next Nelsonville-York City Board of Education meeting will be 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 11, in the junior high/high school cafeteria at the Nelsonville-York City Schools campus, 1 Buckeye Drive, Nelsonville.
Coverage of the Nelsonville-York City Board of Education is underwritten by a grant from the Nelsonville Community Foundation.
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