The importance of state funding to Ohio’s public schools.
By Linda Stocum
Parma City School District’s levy failed on Election day with a vote of 53 percent of citizens against issue 7.
The 4.5 mill levy, if passed, would have been the first time since 2011 that the district had more money coming into the schools.
Sean Nuccio, the treasurer for the Parma City School District, said the levy would not affect any of the current courses the district offers.
“The levy was for programs we wanted to bring back and programs we wanted to add,” Nuccio said. “Right now we don’t have any plans to cut because the levy failed.”
The levy would have cost an owner of a $100,000 home $13.12 a month totaling to about $159 a year. This levy not passing brings up the issue of the three renewal levies that Parma City Schools have for the election ballot over the next three years.
“People get levy fatigued if you keep trying to add new levies while you have renewal levies coming up,” Nuccio said. “They don’t understand the difference between these levies. So sometimes you could get what they call voter’s fatigue.”
Bellow is an explanation of the different school levies that exist in Ohio.
Voter fatigue is when a problem or issue is on the ballot so often that the voters begin to react negatively when seeing it on the ballot.
“We have a levy that we put on the ballot in May [2018] that failed. So we put it on [Election Day], and it failed. Now we have a renewal levy coming up in May [2019],” Nuccio said. “If we put another operating levy on the ballot and a construction levy on the ballot to build new schools, there are just so many levies in a short period of time, and voters just get turned off.”
How can Ohio’s public schools avoid this issue?
In North Royalton City School District, another district within Cuyahoga County combined three renewal levies into one 16.5 mill levy. It passed with about 55 percent of the vote.
Biagio Sidoti, the treasurer for the North Royalton City School District, acknowledged how important it was to make sure the renewal passed.
“Well it secures the revenue that we are currently receiving for the next ten years and maintaining the state’s support that is associated with that revenue which is about $2.5 million,” Sidoti said.
Sidoti explained how the North Royalton School District decided to combine the levies.
“There was a lot of conversation centered around the three into one and the large number, but we had faith in the voters being educated voters,” Sidoti said. “They understand what renewals are and they understand the word renewal does not come with increased taxes regardless if property taxes do go up.”
Ohio public schools rely heavily on local taxes to fund schools. Below is a chart showing the percentages of who funds what for public schools.
So the Parma City School Districts report shows they are expected to make up 1.1 million in deficit through levies.
Here is the report.
“We have to find other ways to raise the money, and it’s tough sometimes,” Nuccio said. “We have older people on fixed incomes who don’t have the money to pay these property taxes, but still have all of these costs for the programs we have to use to educate our students.”
The district works with the community to try to get votes to attempt to get levies passed.
“We try to get the vote out by reaching out to young families who can vote for the levy to make up for the people who are not going to vote for the levy,” Nuccio said.
Until the Ohio Department of Education changes the way public schools are funded, this struggle will continue. Public schools will continue to work hard until then to keep finances on track.
“We shape that budget using our resources the best that we can,” Sidoti said.
