Why Ohio Schools Rely on Levies and Tax Issues

Background

Ohio’s constitution dictates that its schools must be adequately and equitably funded. But the state has spent the better part of the last 20 years arguing about what that means.

The way school funding is set up, public schools get some money from the state, some from the federal government, and the rest from local tax dollars.

That means schools must turn to voters in their districts to approve most of their local taxes. Usually, those are property-tax levies, though sometimes they’re income taxes. And for construction, districts put bond issues on the ballot.

This setup is supposed to ensure schools are fully funded, but the Ohio Supreme Court has said three times that the system is unconstitutional. And one other time, it gave the system only a conditional endorsement.

The state high court first ruled that Ohio’s school funding model is unconstitutional in 1997 in DeRolph v. State. The court ruled that Ohio’s reliance on local tax dollars leaves too much to the chance of where someone is born and raised. Property-rich districts could provide an education that property-poor districts could not afford. The court said the inequality plays out worst in urban and rural schools.

Since then, Ohio has repeatedly tried to adjust its school-funding model. And Gov. John Kasich now plans to introduce a new plan in 2013.

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May 8, 2013

“Better Than Normal” Results for School Levies

About 90 percent of the requests for renewal levies were approved in yesterday’s elections, as well 42 percent of requests for new money. “For a primary election, results were a little better than normal,” says Damon Asbury, who follows levies for the Ohio School Boards Association. He says usually about 30 percent of new levy requests [...]

May 7 Ohio School Levy Results

Kim Keegan / Flickr Ohio voters approved most school district requests to renew existing tax levies in Tuesday’s special election. But the majority of requests to impose new taxes appeared headed for failure, according to the unofficial election results available Tuesday evening. Those results are similar to the pattern in past elections. There were nearly 140 school [...]

May 1, 2013

Your Guide to Voting on May 7 Ohio School Levies

There are 138 school tax issues on the ballot for the May 7 special election. (There are also other tax issues and local office elections on the May 7 ballot.) About three-quarters of districts on the ballot are asking voters to approve property tax levies. Others are asking voters to approve income taxes, taxes to [...]

April 22, 2013

Why It’s So Hard for Rural Schools to Pass Levies

Carrollton Schools in rural Carol County hasn’t passed a levy since 1977. Union Local Schools in rural Belmont County hasn’t passed an operating levy since 1976. And the mid 1990′s was the last time officials at Warren Local Schools in rural Washington County managed to pass a levy for new funds to run the district. [...]

April 9, 2013

Medina Schools Consider Canceling Levy In Wake of Criticism of Superintendent’s Perks

It all started when the Medina school board quietly — very quietly — approved a raise of $83,000 for Superintendent Randy Stepp, bringing his total compensation up to $186,000. Then the Medina Gazette reported on other benefits the district provided to Stepp, like repayment of $172,000 in old student loans, tuition for an MBA and [...]

January 4, 2013

Student Says Ohio’s School Funding Formula is “Not Fair”

In a blog post on Huffington Post, an Ohio high schooler spells out what she’s sees as the problems with the way the state funds its schools: inequality and instability. Mica Caine, a junior at Pickerington High School, cites the well known Ohio Supreme Court Case, DeRolph v. State of Ohio, from 1991 that found [...]

November 7, 2012

Ohio School Levy Results Follow the Rules, Except for Cleveland and Akron

School levies have been notoriously tough to pass in the last several years as voters struggled with an economy that has been slow to recover. Typically, schools that ask for a renewal of an existing levy get it, while schools that want extra money are turned down. This election mostly followed the rule, though many [...]

November 6, 2012

Results for Ohio School Levies, State Board of Education and Teachers Running for Statehouse

Early returns show homeschooled 24-year old leading Ohio state Board of Election race.

November 5, 2012

Your Guide to Election Day November 2012: Where to Vote, What’s on the Ballot Besides Obama vs. Romney and What it Means

Hunter Martin / Getty Images Tuesday is Election Day 2012. Today and tomorrow are your last chances to cast your ballot for president, federal offices, state offices and local issues and levies. Seven state Board of Education seats are up for grabs, a dozen teachers are running for the statehouse, and nearly 200 school issues are [...]

October 31, 2012

Cleveland Levy Campaign Spending Tops $1 Million

A school levy campaign takes “hours of fundraising, door knocking and rallying,” WCPN’s Michelle Kanu reports. Also, money: Regardless of the strategy, levy campaigns come with a price tag – sometimes a hefty one. State law prohibits using public dollars for campaign activities so district leaders often spend months fundraising. The latest campaign finance reports [...]