In Hamilton, for example, residents have been asked repeatedly to approve funding just to maintain basic operations. Nearby Ross Local Schools tried to pass a 9.44‑mill levy costing the average homeowner more than $800 a year. The Ross levy didn’t promise new programs or improvements but just postponed the next financial crisis. The voters ultimately said no. Moral of the story, stop using homeowner wallets locally as meaningful reform in Columbus.
The Dayton area faces the same problem, just on a bigger scale. Districts from Beavercreek to Huber Heights have placed some of the largest operating levies in recent history on ballots, with costs running into the hundreds of dollars per homeowner each year. Even when levies pass, districts often return for more, because the underlying state funding formula hasn’t kept pace with inflation, staffing costs, or the true cost of running schools. The problem is not small according to an analysis from the Dayton Daily News that found wide disparities in district finances. The report showed some schools have enough reserves to operate a year, while others are constantly on the brink. Yet taxpayers continually are asked for more money.
Springfield’s situation shows just how whacky the system has become. Last year, the Springfield City Schools placed a multi‑million‑dollar levy on the ballot but due to state timing rules and a court ruling, the district wouldn’t even collect the funds if voters approved it. The Springfield School Board has set another levy for this year.
The problem is structural. Ohio’s school funding formula ties a significant portion of education costs to local property taxes, creating a patchwork system where wealthy areas can often raise funds more easily, while middle-class and less affluent areas struggle. For good reason, recent changes at the state level have restricted the types of levies districts can even put on the ballot, eliminating emergency and substitute levies many districts relied on.
For property owners, this levy cycle is more than an abstract policy debate. Renewal levies, even those that don’t increase rates, lock taxpayers into paying year after year pass without improvements in student outcomes. And new-money levies, which are harder to pass, often fail leaving schools scrambling. Families, already stretched by inflation and other taxes, shouldn’t have to be the perpetual solution for systemic funding failures.
This pattern has gone on long enough to know the solution isn’t more levies. Ohio needs a state funding formula reflecting the true cost of education. This needs to include special education and less reliance on local property taxes with more equitable state support. Although, with this needs to be stricter transparency measures so that every dollar raised is used efficiently and used for the core curriculum needs.
Schools and residents in Ohio deserve better than repeated levy requests. School funding is far too important to be reduced to a series of ballot campaigns. Property owners shouldn’t be the default backstop for a problem that should be addressed by state policy. Until lawmakers act, each new levy is just another reminder that the system is broken, and it’s time to demand real reform.
Rob Scott, a Republican, is the Kettering Clerk of Court, attorney, and small business owner. Contact him at rob@robscott.us.
