There are more than 70 school levies on Ohio’s May primary ballot, as districts say proposed tax increases stem from state lawmakers cutting their expected budgets.
Schools across the state have already reduced jobs and programs.
“We’re not just colleagues; this is family,” Lorain Education Association president Julie Garcia said. “And so to see your family lose their job and go through this, it’s really devastating.”
In April, more than 100 Lorain City Schools teachers learned their positions would be eliminated.
As the district faces ongoing financial uncertainty, some families worry about what additional cuts may follow. The district had already eliminated 60 other positions.
To close an $18 million gap, officials also cut programs like dance, choir, and health, and restructured elementary school configurations.
To prevent further reductions, the district joined 73 others in placing levies on the ballot.
“Eighty percent of our budget is staffing. And so, when it comes to a levy, that is where the majority of the finances you ask from your community will go,” said Maggie Niedzwiecki, superintendent of Lakewood City Schools.
School leaders say the surge in levies reflects reduced funding from the state.
How we got here
In 1997, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled in DeRolph v. State that the state’s school funding system was unconstitutional because it relied too heavily on property taxes.
Over the next three decades, lawmakers repeatedly adjusted policies in attempts to address the ruling.
The Ohio Education Association and lawmakers from both parties continued to label the system unconstitutional until the early 2020s.
However, some Republicans argue that because the state no longer uses the invalidated system—and no new system has been ruled unconstitutional—the current approach cannot be considered unconstitutional.
Meanwhile, the nonpartisan group Policy Matters Ohio reports that K-12 schools will be underfunded by nearly $3 billion over the next two years.
Before the 2025 budget, Ohio followed the Cupp-Patterson Fair School Funding Plan, introduced in 2021.
The plan was designed as a six-year rollout to change how public funds are distributed to K-12 schools, giving districts more support and reducing reliance on property taxes.
The first two years received partial funding, while the next two were fully funded.
Last year, lawmakers debated the plan for months, with House leadership strongly opposing it.
Ultimately, lawmakers only partially funded the final two years, making significant cuts from what districts had expected.
Lima Republican Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman called the formula “unsustainable.”
“It’s about holding individuals responsible for the jobs they are paid to do,” Huffman said.
He and other Republican leaders argue that schools must better manage the funds they already receive.
“Stop complaining to the state every time they can’t pay for the staff that they’ve hired or the pension pickups on the public side that they’ve chosen to pay,” said Ohio House Finance Chair Brian Stewart, R-Ashville.
Lawmakers also point to cases of administrative excess. The Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) may reflect that concern.
As part of efforts to address financial challenges, CMSD is consolidating schools and closing buildings. In April, the district laid off 150 teachers and about 120 paraprofessionals.
However, Cleveland employs 177 principals and vice-principals, 25 executive directors, and a nine-member leadership team.
An investigation found that the leadership team alone earns about $1.9 million, including CEO Dr. Warren Morgan, who will make $299,250 during the 2025–26 school year.
Teachers argue that such examples are exceptions rather than the rule.
Some lawmakers also say funding cuts reflect a reluctance to reward lower-performing districts.
“We need to ensure that the money they are getting is tied to, in some ways, making sure they’re delivering at least improvement,” said Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon.
School officials counter that this creates a Catch-22: reduced funding makes it harder for districts to improve, limiting what they can offer students.
Huffman has repeatedly promoted private schools as an alternative, directing more than $2 billion in the state’s private school voucher program over the two-year budget.
“School choice helps that a lot, if you’re in a place that has available schools that folks can go to: a better atmosphere, a better school, maybe it’s for security or other reasons,” Huffman said.
At the same time, Republicans have restricted another funding tool for schools.
Property taxes have continued to rise, and in response, lawmakers have limited the types of levies districts can pursue.
Both school leaders and property tax relief advocates have criticized these measures, saying they fail to provide meaningful relief.
If voters reject the ballot issues, districts say they will face difficult choices.
“If we’re unsuccessful and if we have to attempt to balance the budget through cuts alone, that’s going to be the closure of a school,” said Painesville City Local Schools Superintendent Josh Englehart.
Among the 74 levies, 36 districts are seeking property tax levies, 33 are proposing income tax levies, four involve bonds, and one combines multiple approaches.
“We would have to look at our academic programming and our staffing,” Niedzwiecki said if her levy fails.
She added that some AP courses and STEM programs could be eliminated.
“We’d have to raise our class sizes,” Niedzwiecki said.
Some Republican leaders have suggested consolidating school districts, though no formal proposal has been introduced.
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