What's on the chopping block? 'Hard discussions' ahead after 9 local school levy failures

Nine Cincinnati-area school districts will have to make some difficult decisions in the months ahead after voters rejected the majority of local school issues on Tuesday.

Across the state, voters approved 73% of the school tax issues on ballots in the 2022 general election, according to the Ohio School Boards Association. Comparably, in southwest Ohio 25% of school issues passed.

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The three local school issues that passed were at Cincinnati Public Schools, Kings Local Schools and Lebanon City Schools.

Lebanon's levy passage will allow the district "to focus on future planning with a consistent revenue stream that will grow as the community grows," Lebanon superintendent Isaac Seevers said in a statement to the community Wednesday morning.

"The results of this levy are a demonstration of our community’s trust in the district and your support for our students," Seevers wrote.

Other districts did not receive the same support. Six levies and two bond issues were defeated at the following districts:

• Loveland City School District levy failed 54% to 46% in Hamilton County. There are also voters in Warren County where the levy failed 54% to 46% and in Clermont County where the levy passed 50.5% to 49.5%.

• Winton Woods City School District levy failed 62% to 38%.

• Northwest Local Schools bond issue failed 64% to 36%.

• Franklin City Schools levy failed 55% to 45%.

• Blanchester Local Schools levy failed 62% to 38% in Clermont County. Most voters on this issue live in Clinton County, where the levy also failed 53% to 47%.

• Felicity-Franklin Local Schools levy failed 55% to 45%.

• Goshen Local Schools bond issue failed 61% to 39%.

• Talawanda City School District levy failed 66% to 34%.

• Ross Local School District levy failed 61% to 39%.

What do levy failures mean for local students and families?

More than 20% of Franklin City School's operating budget comes from the tax levy, district superintendent Mike Sander told The Enquirer via email on Thursday. The levy's failure puts the district back to the level of funding it operated under in 2005.

"In retrospect," Sander wrote, "we didn't share our message as well as we should have, although we did try to show clearly how we're using our operating funds, and that we've kept the promises we made when the 2014 levy passed.

"Over the next few months, we will have to look at everything we do to see what we can eliminate, hoping for the best, but planning for the worst."

Class sizes could be affected, Sander wrote. But he said the district's goal is to "minimize the impact on students as much as possible."

Sander said he anticipates the board of education will put the levy issue back on the ballot in May.

"The next time, we'll need to do a better job of convincing the community that we are not asking for any more than we need," he wrote.

Other districts with failed levies released statements this week acknowledging changes ahead.

Winton Woods superintendent Anthony Smith said he will work with the district's treasurer to find out "what needs to be reduced and eliminated" to balance the district's budget, and present that information to the school board by its January work session.

Loveland City School District superintendent Mike Broadwater said the district will be taking feedback from the community after its levy failed and work with administrators in the coming months "to decide the next steps to address the district's ongoing financial challenges."

At this point, Broadwater noted, no decisions have been made about future funding requests or budget cuts.

"There will be hard discussions in the upcoming months," Ross Local Schools wrote in a statement to its community on Wednesday. "We look forward to working with the Ross community as we chart this course."

What about rural communities?

District leaders also understand the economic pressures families are facing due to inflation.

"While there is always apprehension for additional taxes," Blanchester Local Schools superintendent Randy Dunlap wrote to The Enquirer, "the timing of our request under the current circumstances could not be worse."

But the state's funding model leaves most school districts, including Blanchester, "left with no choice" but to ask communities to pass tax levies, Dunlap said. The levies allow schools to improve - or even just maintain - opportunities for students.

Ohio's funding model for schools depends partially on local funds and population. Dunlap said their financial problems will continue to increase in Blanchester's rural community as the district's enrollment declines. The district is on fiscal watch by the state.

"Our goal will be to look at every possible expense and revenue piece that we have in order to minimize the impact on students while staying fiscally solvent and avoiding additional state mandates," Dunlap wrote.

Dunlap said he is eager to see the direct financial impact on small rural schools as the state revamps its funding model and hopes "that it is truly 'fair funding.' "

But some of the burden will remain on the community.

"I am hopeful that the economy will come around and our community will feel a little more comfortable with their own finances and willingness to further support our students," Dunlap wrote.

Building projects on hold at Northwest, Goshen schools

Bond issue failures at Northwest Local School District and Goshen Local School District mean crucial building projects due to overcrowding and poor facility conditions are on hold.

"Without the support of the bond issue, phase two of our master facility plan cannot move forward at this time," Northwest superintendent Darrell Yater said in an email to The Enquirer.

That phase was set to address the maintenance needs of the district's aging buildings, one of which is 92 years old and another is 99. The bond issue failure also puts a pause on replacing four schools and renovating another building.

The district needs to pass a bond issue in order to receive credits and additional funds from the state which make the project "the most cost-effective for the community," Yater wrote.

"Due to the age and condition of our buildings, there are immediate needs that must be addressed," Yater wrote. "Currently, we do not have the funding necessary to address all of these facility needs, so we will evaluate and prioritize our most significant needs first."

Similarly, Goshen's building project to address the community's rapidly growing population was going to be fully funded by the bond issue. The plan to build a new elementary school, classroom additions to other buildings and improve campus safety and traffic routes is no longer possible.

District superintendent Darrell Edwards said Goshen is estimating gaining about 600 students over the next 10 years.

"We will have to continue to work with our community to find a long-term solution," Edwards wrote to The Enquirer in an email. "Since we are out of room, there certainly will be an increase in the number of students in classrooms as these families move into our district until we have a long-term solution."

He wrote to the community, stating the district "is at a critical point in its history" and that the board of education will soon discuss its next steps.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: School levy failures mean 'hard discussions' ahead says superintendent