COLUMBUS (WCMH) –The Columbus Board of Education voted unanimously Thursday to place a 6.92 combination levy/bond request on the upcoming November 8 ballot.

According to the school board, if approved by voters, the levy would cost to the owner of a $100,000 home an additional $242 each year. That represents a 10 percent increase on the total property tax bill for residents within the Columbus City Schools district boundaries.

With the levy’s approval, the District would implement a five-year plan to expand Pre-Kindergarten, place more social workers and licensed nurses in schools, add support for special education students, reduce class sizes by increasing educators in classrooms, enhance student safety, and provide more career-technical education opportunities to a greater number of students.

The ballot measure also includes the dedication of bond dollars to begin addressing a more-than-$200 million backlog of building maintenance, repairs, and replacements across the District.

“We have a couple hundred million dollars worth of deferred maintenance and this will put a big dent in that deferred maintenance,” explained Columbus City Schools Superintendent Dr. Dan Good. “We listen to our parents. And we listen to our faculty and staff and we listen, we watch the news. And we know that the social emotional and physical safety of our students is at the top of the list of those things parents want and would support.”

The Board will ask for $125 million in bonding authority for capital improvements, such as repairs and replacements to roofs, electrical systems, classroom technology, walls and ceilings, playgrounds, and school buses.

The request also includes $4.4 million earmarked annually for an ongoing yearly program of maintenance, repair, and replacement, aimed at preventing future backlogs of major capital expenditures.

The district says it will have additional information about the levy request online at ccsoh.us.