LORAIN COUNTY, Ohio — School districts across Ohio are anxiously waiting for direction from state lawmakers so they can balance their future budgets. The impact of the proposed changes could affect each district differently.
News 5’s Tiffany Tarpley spoke with the superintendents of Elyria City Schools and North Ridgeville City Schools about what's next after House lawmakers had enough votes to override Governor Mike DeWine's veto.
If the Senate agrees, school districts will no longer be able to put emergency or substitute levies on the ballot or request an increase or renewal of a current levy.
“If it stands with the senate moving forward and there’s no alternative legislation put in place, North Ridgeville City schools will lose $12 million beginning in 2029, which is 20-percent of our operating budget and I’m not sure that the legislature, who are representing different areas within our state, understand the different ramifications to each school district,” said North Ridgeville Superintendent Roxann Caserio.
“In a community like North Ridgeville, who really wanted to keep their taxes low, that substitute levy offered our current taxpayers the opportunity to pass the same amount of money that they had been paying but to allow new construction to come online and contribute to the district.”
Both superintendents said if the change happens, the consequences would be devastating. Additional cuts to busing, programming, and much more could be on the table.
"We're actually taking some precautionary measures right now and I've asked all our departments to look at how they can potentially reduce between 10-20 percent, [and] what that looks like," said Caserio.
There’s concern that public education is under attack. These superintendents are hoping to work with lawmakers to find a better solution.
"If we keep the children at the center of every decision we make, we can never go wrong and I feel like that is why we're fighting the fight," said Elyria City Schools Superintendent Ann Schloss.
“We always try to stay as far away from the kids, as we say, and the programs but when you’re talking, for us, it would be almost $20 million with the new money we’re asking for in November, that didn’t pass in May, that is 20% of our budget, as well, there is no way to cut yourself out of that.”
Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman (R) has said the goal of these proposed changes is to provide property tax relief.
“They don’t quite know what they’re voting on because everybody wants to vote yes for the kids but later on they find out how high their taxes went,” he said.
It's unclear when Ohio senators will vote, but there are reports it will happen this fall.
