Ohioans refuse to pay more taxes, as school levies fail in northeastern part of the state

Ohioans in the northeastern part of the state generally refused to support school levies that would have raised homeowners’ taxes, resulting in the levies’ failure on Nov. 4.

Out of the 38 school ballot issues, 23 passed and 15 failed. According to News 5 Cleveland, the renewal levies that were not intended to raise taxes passed 18 out of 20 times, while the ones intended to raise them failed seven out of 10 times.

“It breaks my heart because I know what we do for our students and families. And any time you have to look at making cuts, no matter where the cuts are, it’s going to affect something,” Ann Schloss, the superintendent for Elyria City Schools, told the Cleveland station.

Even though people in the Elyria City School District didn’t pass the levies, the Shaker Heights City School District did.

“I just wanna acknowledge and commend our community for their overwhelming support of the Shaker School District, particularly in today’s day and age,” David Glasner, Shaker superintendent, told News 5 Cleveland.

Glasner added that his district was able to pass the levies because it has “an incredible community” that always supported its public schools.

“[The community] really understands how valuable public schools are, not just to the students and families who are in them, but to the broader community as a whole and really, I would say, kind of an even bigger picture to our country and the health of our democracy,” he added.

Many people acknowledged that the primary reason the levees failed was that Ohioans believe the taxes are too high, specifically the state’s property taxes.

As a result, Republican politicians in the Ohio House attempted to address this issue by passing a budget plan that would deliver property tax relief.

“It’s vitally important that as elected officials, members of the state legislature listen to the voices of Ohioans and address their priorities – and this budget delivers on that promise,” Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives Matt Huffman, R-Lima, said. “By providing meaningful and record tax relief, investing in education, and focusing on Ohio families, we are building a stronger future for our state.”

One group, Citizens for Property Tax Reform, went as far as advocating for abolishing property taxes. Ohio Education Association president Scott DiMauro, Executive Director of the Ohio Township Association Heidi Fought and Butler County Auditor Nancy Nix opposed the elimination of property taxes.

“To eliminate property taxes would completely pull the rug out of the public schools and other public services all across the state,” DiMauro previously told WBNS-TV.

Huffman previously said that the schools would need to be more fiscally responsible if their levies fail.

“An understanding that schools have to be more precise in their spending,” he told the station. “They’re not going to be able to hire, especially on the administrative side, the people they’ve hired before.”