Greenon Local Schools will ask voters in May to approve a revised construction plan that would fund a new junior/senior high school and the renovation of Indian Valley Middle School.

Greenon board members approved a combined $26 million bond issue and .5-percent earned income tax Thursday night for the May 7 ballot. Voters rejected a larger bond issue in November, leading to a community survey.

“We listened to the community loud and clear that the last one was clearly too much for them to support,” said Superintendent Dan Bennett. “It is the same master plan, but we are going after a segmented portion.”

The new plan calls for seventh through 12th grades to attend a new building on the current Greenon High School site, said Bennett. The renovated Indian Valley building would become an elementary school and Enon Elementary would be used as an early childhood center.

It is a partnership with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission, which would pay for $13.3 million of the project. This is the last chance for the community to approve the local portion of the plan before the state funding is no longer guaranteed, said Bennett.

“This is our last opportunity to take advantage of the (OFCC) dollars,” he said.

The 4.95-mill bond issue will last 38 years and would cost $151.59 for the owner of a $100,000 home, according to Treasurer Ryan Jenkins.

The 0.5 percent earned income tax excludes pensions and unemployment pay and would cost $200 a year for every $40,000 of income. The five-year tax would raise money for operations.

“We heard … from our community that it was important that we also at this time get the necessary dollars to operate, and that’s what that .5 percent earnings tax does,” said Bennett.