After a unanimous vote by the Lakota Local Schools Board of Education Tuesday night, the school district will proceed with putting a 37-year, $223 million replacement bond issue on the November 3, 2026, ballot.
If approved, the new 2.20 mill bond issue will cost about $77 per every $100,000 of home value. It would not begin collecting until 2029, after an existing 2.23 mill bond expires in 2028. Lakota says the new replacement bond will not increase taxes.
The tax revenue will be used to implement the first phase of Lakota's new Master Facilities Plan, which will renovate and improve many of the district's buildings to accommodate growing enrollment.
Lakota is one of Ohio's largest public school districts. At the start of the 2025-2026 school year, enrollment reached 17,348 students, and leaders anticipate enrollment growing to over 19,000 by 2033. The district says it's already over capacity by 771 students.
The Butler County school district attempted to pass a $506 million bond issue for a district-wide redesign in Nov. 2025, but it failed with voters. Following the election, board members decided to split the massive redesign into two phases, with phase one focused on revamping and expanding buildings for grades 6-12. Phase two will focus on kindergarten and elementary school buildings.
The first phase will cost $300 million, with Lakota Schools paying $223 million and the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission contributing $77 million.
Members of Lakota's Board of Education expressed confidence that this new, more modest version of the bond issue will succeed in the fall. Newly elected member Ben Nguyen originally opposed last year's bond issue, telling WVXU at the time the project was unjustified and would be too much of a burden on taxpayers. Following Tuesday's vote, Nguyen shared his support for this version, praising his fellow board members for continuing to seek new revenue for the district's future.
"In the past 20-30 years, lowering class sizes, master facilities has been a discussion," he said. "I'm thankful for the boldness of this Board to actually pursue a plan."
Lakota board members and administrators say they developed the new proposal after hosting community feedback sessions in early 2026.
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