What's at stake this election in Northeast Ohio? Sports and extracurriculars for kids in Streetsboro. Educators' jobs in Lorain. And falling deeper into state oversight in Barberton.
Some Northeast Ohio school districts say their financial outlooks are looking dire if voters do not approve levies on the ballot this May. Many schools throughout the region have already had to submit budget reduction plans to the state this year, with advocates blaming the state for failing to adequately fund public schools.
Lorain City School District is cutting more than 160 jobs, many of them teachers, due to losing almost $6.7 million in state, local and federal funds over the last year.
Superintendent Jeff Graham said the district's 11-mill levy on the ballot is important, potentially saving at least 30 of those jobs. But he acknowledged it's just a bandage for the district's broader funding woes.
"We're over 80% funded by the state. And when the state cuts its funding like it did and the federal government cuts its funds like they did, yeah, it has a major impact on us," Graham said. "And the tough part about it... is how do you plan? How do you plan anything? We thought we were in good shape financially. We passed a couple of renewal levies in November. Our plan was to put on a midsize levy in the spring and this May. And then all of a sudden the wheels fell off."
Tensions around funding are high, locally and across the state
The Republican majority in the Ohio Legislature has argued it's providing more school funding than ever before for public schools in its current budget. John Fortney, director of communications for the Ohio Senate Majority Caucus, in a statement Thursday, highlighted state data showing that even though schools have lost enrollment, their expenses are still rising.
“For far too long school districts have complained to voters about not having enough money — threatening to cut athletic programs and other extracurricular activities," Fortney said. "Now that the game of leveraging levies at the taxpayers’ expense is over, they continue to malign the General Assembly for linking funding to enrollment and requiring results for the billions invested in K-12 education. Should the property tax repeal make the ballot and pass, these districts will only have themselves to blame for the consequences to come.”
But individually, some schools like Lorain lost millions in the last state budget, while the state also cut funding designated for urban schools to catch them up under the state's Fair School Funding Plan.
Advocates like Julie Garcia, president of the Lorain Education Association, the teachers union, argue it's anything but fair.. She hearkened back to several Ohio Supreme Court rulings, prior to the Fair School Funding Plan, which declared Ohio's school funding system to be unconstitutional.
"The Supreme Court said, you need to fund schools and they've never done it. And then (school) vouchers, you know, that's just basically welfare for the rich," she said.
The tight financial situation has led to contentious local board meetings since Lorain announced its planned budget cuts. Public comment periods have been filed with staff sharing their concerns about the district's trajectory, including Garcia. Garcia said she'll soon be retiring and she's concerned with how administrators will use her taxes if they are increased.
"The levy's gonna cost me about $485 a year, if it passes. What are we gonna get for that $485?" Garcia said. "Am I gonna get more administrators? Or are teachers and counselors gonna come back so that the students have the services that they need? I don't think our district has a plan for what will happen if that levy passes."
State lawmakers have similarly sought more scrutiny of schools' finances, with county budget commissions now empowered to cut schools' property taxes they deem "excessive."
But Lorain Superintendent Jeff Graham said the district has already cut its operations to the bone, with layoffs also occurring last year. Although the district's plan calls for cutting 16 administrators and112 staff represented by the teacher's union, Graham said that equates to 30% of central office staff and around 20% of teaching staff. He said the district doesn't want to be in the position of laying off staff.
"This is a calling, people come to this profession to serve kids and to educate, but it's also how they feed their families, it's how they provide insurance, health care and so it's incredibly personal," he said.
High stakes across the region
A handful of Northeast Ohio school districts with tax increases on the ballot have already made significant cuts. Barberton City Schools was placed under fiscal oversight by the state earlier this year, after the district forecasted it would be running out money in the near future.
The Summit County district submitted a budget reduction plan to the state calling for cutting almost 90 positions, many of them teachers. Superintendent Jason Ondrus said more could be on the way if voters don't approve its 11-mill levy. Not far away, voters at Norton schools are being asked to consider a 1.5% earned income tax levy. Norton officials have said the district will be ending its open-enrollment policy and could lay off up to 35 staff. It's not clear how the income tax could affect those cuts, as officials did not respond to a request for comment.
The last two levy attempts by Streetsboro City Schools have failed. The district has said it will need to cancel all middle school, freshman and junior varsity sports starting fall 2026 if a levy doesn't pass, along with potentially other extracurricular activities. Levy committee chair Jim Curtin, a parent who volunteered for the advocacy group, says losing those opportunities will have a major negative impact locally. He has two kids himself in Streetsboro schools.
"We lose stuff like the arts and things for kids to do, it's going to affect the larger community," Curtin said.
He said he understood people are concerned about rising property taxes. But he said the state has not given the district much choice.
"This economy is tough and (with) people on a fixed income, it's a big deal for people and we understand that... I think a lot of people are angry at the district and what we want to show them is that it's not the district, it's that we've lost so much funding from the state that they have no other choice than to go to for these levies," he said.
Income taxes the answer?
A large number of schools in Northeast Ohio, especially in suburban areas with higher property values, have placed earned income taxes on the May ballot, with some considering it a more palatable option for voters tired of property tax increases. Almost half of all schools' requests to increase taxes are income taxes this May.
Parma City School District is one of the largest schools seeking an income tax, with failed property tax levy attempts stretching back to 2011. Wadsworth City Schools also has an income tax on the ballot.
Inflation and state funding are two of the top issues facing the school district, as in districts across the state, said Wadsworth treasurer Doug Beeman.
“We do not see a lot of increase on our local revenue unless we pass a new levy or we have new construction or new properties being built within our district,” Beeman said, “and the state has not increased our funding over the past 10 years.”
Beeman said he thinks voter concern over rising property tax, and stagnant school funding, will lead to more income tax attempts for schools across the state.
“You're going to see, in 2026, a lot of schools proposing income taxes, either a traditional income tax or an earned income tax,” Beeman said.
