MEIGS COUNTY, Ohio – When outgoing Meigs Local Schools Superintendent Scot Gheen met with incoming superintendent Shawn Bush, he was straightforward about the condition of the school district.
“I told him, ‘I’m handing you the car keys, but the car’s missing two wheels,’” Gheen recalled.
Bush said his immediate focus will be on stabilizing the school district financially without negatively affecting students.
“What makes me concerned is that we’ve been deficit spending for a while,” he explained. “And I want to make sure that while we’re operating with fiscal responsibility, I also want to make sure that we provide the best opportunities we can for students.”
To address the financial shortfall, the school district has already implemented staffing cuts. There was also a failed tax levy on the ballot last November.
The proposal on this year’s ballots is different: instead of a property tax, voters in the Meigs Local School District will be deciding on a one percent income tax to support the district.
Income x 0.01 = additional annual tax under proposal
The tax would apply only to individuals who live within the school district and earn a wage. It would not affect retirement or investment income, nor Social Security benefits.
“We heard a lot of people talking about it’s only your landowners and your property owners paying this tax,” Bush said regarding last year’s ballot measure. “With an earned income tax, it kind of spreads that among the residents in the community within the district.”
School officials stated they expect the levy to generate approximately $1.7 million annually, collected over five years starting January 1, 2027.
Bush emphasized that the funds are necessary “basically, to sustain what we have with our educational programs.”
“It will help with fuel costs, maintenance on our facilities,” he added. “It will provide educational opportunities, whether it be within the high school or within our primary school across the board.”
If the levy fails, the school district will have to operate with existing resources.
“We’re going to have to make the hard decisions on what’s sustainable and what’s not sustainable,” he said. “We would continue to operate within our means as far as our financial situation and our funding mechanisms.”
“As far as what we will offer, things will not change as far as programming, probably K-8, but there might be changes to course offerings at the high school,” he continued. “Class sizes might go up, but we’ll still provide a quality education to our students.”
For more details about the levy, visit the school district’s website. The final day to vote in Ohio is May 5.
