With Cuyahoga County property owners potentially facing significant property value increases in the sexennial reappraisal, and taxes increasing with them, residents of at least six school districts are also being asked to vote on new tax levies this November.
Parma City School District also had a school levy on the ballot until mid-July, when it dropped its attempt after hearing complaints from residents about how much their property taxes might increase.
In July, Cuyahoga County released an estimate showing all school districts will receive additional revenue from property taxes due to the property value increases, although it’s a relatively small amount compared to their overall budgets. Meanwhile, Lisa Rocco, director of operations for Cuyahoga County's Fiscal Office, cautioned that any additional tax levies approved by voters would be based on 2024 property values.
Still, the fact that property taxes will increase for many in Cuyahoga County means challenges for school districts seeking additional tax increases this year.
When asked about those challenges, Cleveland Metropolitan School District CFO Kevin Stockdale in an email said the estimated increase in property tax revenue - about $5.8 million - is equivalent to a little less than 2% of CMSD’s local property taxes.
“This will be the first increase due to changes in appraised values since 2021, so the increase is much lower than inflation,” he said.
On average, the estimated amount of new revenue for school districts in Cuyahoga County from the property reappraisal is just 1.8% of their total yearly budgets.
“We included an estimate of property value changes in the May Five Year Forecast that is close to where we are now,” Stockdale said. “Despite this increase, we face a structural deficit with annual budget deficits beginning this fiscal year and increasing into the future.”
Strongsville City School District’s Board of Education voted August 1 to approve placing an operating levy on the ballot after a levy renewal was defeated in the spring. The school district is seeking a smaller amount than had been on the ballot previously, 4.9 mills compared to 5.9 -mill attempts in spring 2024 and November 2023; in general, the district sees the levy as a replacement of a five-year new levy that voters passed in 2019.
The district was able to drop that levy millage slightly due to the new revenue it's estimated to receive and hopes that will encourage residents to vote yes, said Laura Wolfe Housum, vice president of the Strongsville Board of Education. Board President Richard Micko during the Aug. 1 meeting said the levy is "continuous," meaning it will continue in perpetuity.
"As we've said before, levies cost money; whether they win or lose, this current cycle is costing the district - which means it's costing the taxpayer - $100,000," he explained.
A political action committee in Strongsville had opposed previous school levy attempts, calling on the district to reduce the amount it is asking voters to approve, pointing to the district's strong financial reserves. However, the district's five-year forecast shows it running out of cash completely by the 2028 fiscal year.
Many school districts throughout the region are facing similar deficits following the end of pandemic relief, and some, like Cleveland, have made cuts already to try to trim their expenses. The state is currently in the third year of a six-year phase-in of the “fair school funding plan,” which has increased state funding for public schools gradually, but, suburban school districts like Strongsville and Westlake still rely more heavily than other districts on local property taxes under that formula due to higher property values in their area.
"We’re still trying to explain that it's not a one-for-one increase. If you see a 49% increase (in property value), that doesn't mean your taxes are going up 49%; that’s the biggest thing that people are missing."Lisa Rocco, director of operations, Cuyahoga County Fiscal Office
Westlake City School District has not sought a new tax levy from taxpayers since 2007, Superintendent Scott Goggin said. The county estimates the district will receive an additional $2 million per year with the property value increases, which Goggin said is a significant amount.
"When you have that increased revenue in there, in our specific situation, it really could impact when we go back for a levy," he said.
Property owners can still dispute the county's valuation on their properties. That means the new tax revenue school districts will receive is not yet set in stone. Rocco, with Cuyahoga County, added that increases in property values does not mean residents' taxes will increase by the same amount; some property taxes might actually decrease if property values increase less than the average.
"We’re still trying to explain that it's not a one-for-one increase," she said. "If you see a 49% increase (in property value), that doesn't mean your taxes are going up 49%; that’s the biggest thing that people are missing."
The county has a calculator online that lets residents determine what their new taxes could look like.
