A shipyard sign indicating a local fee. (Photo: WEWS.)
More than 70 school levies were imposed in Ohio in May’s primary elections, and districts say their proposed tax increases are the result of expected budget cuts by state legislators.
Schools across the state are cutting jobs and programs.
“We’re not just colleagues, we’re family,” said Julie Garcia, president of the Lorain Education Association. “Seeing your family lose their job and go through this is truly devastating.”
In April, more than 100 teachers in Lorain City Schools were notified that their positions were being eliminated.
As the district faces more financial uncertainty, some families worry about what else could be cut. The district has already cut 60 other positions.
They had to reconcile $18 millionwhich also meant eliminating some programs such as dance, choir and health. They also had to reconfigure their primary schools.
But to stop the purge, the district and 73 others imposed fees on the ballots.
“Eighty percent of our budget is employees. So, in terms of fees, that’s where most of the funding you ask your community will go,” said Maggie Niedźwiecki, superintendent of Lakewood City Schools.
Schools say state funding cuts are the reason ballot fees are so high.
How we got here
The Ohio Supreme Court ruled in 1997 in DeRolph v. State that the way the state funds schools was unconstitutional and relied excessively on property taxes.
Over the next three decades, lawmakers changed the policy to try to fix the unconstitutionality.
The Ohio Education Association, as well as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, held it unconstitutional until the early 1920s.
However, some Republicans argue that because they no longer apply the overturned policy and because nothing else has been found in court to be “unconstitutional,” they argue that it cannot, by definition, be deemed unconstitutional.
Now, the nonpartisan research group Policy Matters Ohio has found that K-12 schools are underfunded by nearly $3 billion over the next two years.
Prior to the 2025 budget, Ohio had been on track with the Cupp-Patterson Fair School funding plan since 2021.
The plan was expected to take six years to implement and is expected to change the way public money is given to K-12 schools. This would provide additional support to local neighborhoods so they could rely less on property taxes.
The first two years were partially financed and the second two years were fully financed.
Last year, lawmakers fought for months over the plan, with House leaders vehemently opposing it.
Ultimately, the plan was partially funded over the last two years, but with significant cuts in expected funding.
Matt Huffman, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives from Lima, Ohio, called the formula “unsustainable.”
“The idea is to hold individuals accountable for the work they are paid to do,” Huffman said.
He and other GOP leaders have argued that schools need to do a better job of managing the money they already receive.
“Stop complaining about the state every time it can’t pay for the staff it hires or collect pensions from the state that chooses to pay,” said Ohio House Finance Chairman Brian Stewart, R-Ashville.
Lawmakers said there were cases of clear bloat by administrators. We have determined that the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) may fit this claim.
To address solemn financial problems, CMSD is consolidating schools and closing buildings. In April, 150 teachers and about 120 professional assistants were laid off.
However, Cleveland employs 177 directors and deputy directors, 25 executive directors and a nine-person leadership team.
Our investigation found that the leadership team alone earns approximately $1.9 million, including CEO Dr. Warren Morgan, who will earn $299,250 for the 2025-26 school year.
Teachers argue that a district with multiple administrators is the exception, not the norm.
Other lawmakers say another reason for budget cuts is that they shouldn’t reward underperforming districts.
“We need to make sure that the money they receive is somehow connected to reality, providing at least an improvement,” said Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon.
Schools argue this is a Rule 22 – when districts receive less funding, they will perform worse and have less to offer. Underperforming schools complain that they cannot improve without funding.
Huffman has repeatedly recommended private schools as an option, committing more than $2 billion to the state’s school voucher program in the two-year budget.
“School choice helps a lot with that if you’re in a place where there are available schools that people can go to: a better atmosphere, a better school, maybe for safety reasons or other reasons,” Huffman said.
And now Republicans are narrowing it down to another way schools can raise money.
Property taxes are increasing every year and to provide relief, the types of fees allowed have been circumscribed.
Both schools and property tax relief advocates were unimpressed with lawmakers’ efforts, which both groups said would not actually provide legitimate relief.
If voting considerations are not met, schools will be forced to do so tough decisions.
“If we fail and have to try to balance the budget through cuts alone, it will mean closing the school,” said Josh Englehart, superintendent of Painesville Local Schools.
Of the 74 school levies, 36 districts have a property tax, 33 have an income tax, four have bonds and one has a merger proposal.
“We would have to take a look at our academic program and staff,” Niedźwiecki said, if her charge was unsuccessful.
She added that some AP courses and STEM programming may be rejected.
“We would have to increase class sizes,” Niedźwiecki said.
Some Republican Party leaders have suggested consolidating school districts, but no actual proposal has yet been presented.
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This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and are published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication on other news outlets because it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.
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