Carlisle school officials want water to be added to state law that now says districts can profit from contracts with private companies for mineral rights on school-owned land.

School officials want to investigate if they could profit from bottling and selling water from an aquifer the district sits on in this small Warren County village.

Superintendent Larry Hook said it is an answer he is eagerly awaiting from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.

“Right now, under law we don’t have the ability to sell it and make a profit,” Hook said. “But we got to thinking what if we could bottler it or hire a company to bottle it for us, would there be significant enough dollars to make it worth it?”

Hook said he could not estimate how much the district could benefit financially from the idea, but felt it was definitely worth exploring.

“There is only way in Ohio right now to make significant dollars to operate and that is through tax dollars,” Hook said. “This is a little out of the box thinking, but wouldn’t it be neat to have another way of increasing revenues to the district without asking for more taxes?

“If we could make $1 million, it is a million we don’t have now,” he continued. “The potential is there, but it isn’t going to happen overnight. It is going to take time.”

The Carlisle School District is seeking a 4.9-mill property tax levy that will generate approximately $812,000 annually for five years. It will cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $150 a year, or $12.50 a month.

The district has been in fiscal caution since 2008, according to Hook, who also added that $1.5 million has been cut from the budget.

He also said that last year the district received its first-ever district-wide excellent rating from the state.

“We’ve taken a gigantic step to get the district going forward,” Hook said. “A step back now is not an option.”

All the more reason to explore potential solutions, according to Franklin Twp. Trustee and Carlisle resident Beth Callahan.

Callahan jump started the idea of bottling and selling the water from the aquifer in an effort to come up with a way to help the district financially without additional taxes.

“The big argument would be if it affected the aquifer in any way,” Callahan said. “But it is already being affected by businesses and other local municipalities pulling water from it and we aren’t getting a dime for it. We can sit back and let it go on, or we can start using it and get something for it.”

Carlisle schools have three 75-foot wells tapped into the aquifer that serve each of the district’s buildings. The cities of Franklin and Springboro, as well as Warren County, also have wells tapped into the aquifer located within the school district’s boundaries.

Hook said the water currently pumped into the school buildings is treated with chlorine and is tested daily.

“We have to send some off for testing periodically and they tell us it is some of the clearest water they test,” Hook said. “If you can do it with oil, why not water?”

State legislation was passed earlier this year that would allow school districts to contract with private parties for the mining of iron ore, stone, coal, petroleum, gas, salt and other minerals on district lands in the wake of plans to drill for natural gas in eastern Ohio.

However, the legislation does not include selling water, so the answer Carlisle is waiting for could be as simple as having water added to the existing law, or as difficult and time-consuming as having to write their own law.

“I’m in the business of schools,” Hook said. “I can’t lose sight of what is legal in school funding for this school system and providing the best opportunity for the children here. I’m cautiously optimistic, but I know if we don’t do anything then nothing will come of it.”