OHIO — The upcoming presidential election could prove to be good news for school districts looking to pass levy and bond issues placed on the November ballot.

What You Need To Know

  • Over 140 issues are on the ballots across the state 
  • More than 60 are asking for more money and at least 70 are up for renewal
  • Cleveland Metropolitan School District has one of the largest levy/bond issues on the ballot  of in the state, but businesses could help offset that cost if passed 
  • Wayne County Northwestern School District could see lost dollars if a repeal of a 1.25% income tax is passed
  • Pike-Delta-York Local School District faces a 10% cut to its budget if the ballot initiative fails 

In districts like the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, the needs boil down to construction repairs, building renovations and money to cover things like employee salaries and utilities.

For those in the area, that equates to $394 per $100,000 of home appraised value more each year; however, since there are a good number of businesses there, campaign levy experts like Jerry Rampelt, founder of Support Ohio Schools Research Foundation, said business owners will help to offset the cost.

“In a place like Cleveland or Columbus or Cincinnati, there's a lot of industrial and commercial property. They're taxed along with homeowners. Sometimes you have in suburbs there's very little commercial retail and it's primarily homeowners who are paying the taxes," he said.

Yet in this case, it's spread out. So while businesses may have a large footprint, they don’t vote, but they do pay the tax.

In Reynoldsburg City Schools, what’s needed could put them further in the red if voters don’t pass the issue on the ballot. Right now, voters are determining whether to make sure the district has the dollars needed to cover basic operating expenses. It’s been functioning in the red for some time. That’s because of inflation, property value increases and a spending deficit.

“This is the 1st time since 2010, if it passes that they have additional revenue for the operating expenses,“ Rampelt said.

Career technical schools are raising some eyebrows as those are not typically on the ballot, but also because of the impact that many will see if issues fail. Springfield Clark Career Technical Center in southwest Ohio and the Erie, Huron and Ottawa Vocational Education Center, which is 50 miles west of Cleveland have levies on the ballot. 

Both:

  • Serve students from multiple school districts
  • Continue to turn away high school students and adults 
  • Are desperate need of upgrades to labs and buildings

In EHOVE’s case, it covers multiple counties. Looking at the bigger picture, Rampelt said, the money for the upgrades wouldn’t just help students but adults and the economy.

“These are really important for workforce development, job retraining, both for adults and preparing students for the workforce," he said.

While it’s clear many districts are in great need, Rampelt expects there to be higher passage rates especially for districts asking for new dollars because presidential elections have tended to be more favorable for school tax issues.