Unofficial school levy results showed two successes for the school districts in Northeast Ohio's largest cities: Voters approved combined bond issues and levies at Cleveland Metropolitan School District and Akron Public Schools.
Elsewhere, new tax requests— for bond issues or operating funds — faced stiff headwinds. All requests for new taxes failed at Lorain County school districts, including at Avon Lake City School District and Lorain City School District.
School districts in Northeast Ohio say they have been hit hard by challenging economic forces again this year, including rising costs, the end of pandemic relief funds and a state school funding system that some argue is overly reliant on property taxes.
Cleveland, Akron and other districts made cuts earlier this school year, and say success will allow them to stave off further hemorrhaging.
Shari Obrenski, president of the Cleveland Teachers Union, thanked voters for their support.
"The passage of this levy means that while the district is still facing some significant financial challenges, we are not facing catastrophic financial challenges at this time," she said. "We will be able to continue to provide the services — the education that our kids deserve."
Strongsville City School District's third levy ask in a row was rejected by voters, while voters at Medina City School District narrowly approved a school levy there after multiple past failures.
The ballot results come with Cuyahoga, Stark, Lorain, Lake, Huron and Erie counties all in the process of adjusting property values through the state's sexennial property reappraisal process. Those reappraisals have resulted in potential tax hikes for many, although school levies approved by voters this year will not be based on the reappraised property values.
Other counties in the region like Summit saw those tax increases take effect this year following reappraisals in 2023.
A NEO Voter Voices poll in October commissioned by Ideastream Public Media, Signal Cleveland and WKYC found voters were more likely to reject any asks for new money.
Here are unofficial results for school districts in the region with new taxes on the ballot.
Cuyahoga County
- Cleveland Municipal School District saw success with its 10-year new, 8.61-mill property tax to fund operations, which included renewal of a 2.65-mill expiring bond issue.
- Mayfield City School District voters voted up a 5-mill continuous (meaning it's a permanent tax) levy on the ballot to fund operations.
- Richmond Heights Local School District voters rejected a 1.25% income tax and a 3.24-mill, 37-year bond issue. The bond issue would have funded a new elementary school, which the superintendent has said is "not structurally sound" and needs new water fountains, an air filtration system and has needed costly repairs in recent years to fix the roof and pipes.
- Strongsville City School District's 4.9-mill continuous levy on the ballot meant to fund operations failed. This ask was technically a lower amount than the 5.9-mill 2019 tax levy the district had in place until voters defeated a renewal attempt in November 2023 and March 2024. The district encountered opposition from a local Republican group.
Geauga County
- Kenston Local School District's new 1-mill, 5-year levy to fund permanent improvements was voted up.
Huron County
- Norwalk City School District voters approved a 5.4-mill, 37-year bond issue, meant to build a new kindergarten-through-eighth grade elementary school that will replace six buildings that Treasurer Joyce Dupont said are aged and need replacement. The district has a previous bond issue that is falling off the tax rolls starting next year.
Lorain County
- Avon Local School District voters turned down a 3.98-mill, 37-year bond issue to fund construction of a new elementary school and athletic facility, by a heavy margin, 32% to 68%.
- Avon Lake City School District's 6.59-mill, 37-year bond issue was rejected. The bond would have funded construction of new elementary and middle schools and improvements to the high school, along with a 1-mill levy to fund upkeep of buildings. Avon Lake City School District's 4.22-mill, 10-year levy to fund emergency requirements also failed.
- Columbia Local School District voters turned down a 4.88-mill, 37-year bond issue on the ballot to fund renovations to the high school and the kindergarten-through-eighth-grade building, along with building a new two-story athletic complex, The Chronicle reports. The plans were to renovate and add onto the high school and do the same at its kindergarten through eighth-grade building and build a two-story athletic complex.
- Voters at Lorain City School District voted down a 4.97-mill, 5-year levy to fund permanent improvements, meant to fund upgrades to school facilities and invest in career technology learning and early childhood education facilities. The ask came as one bond issue rolls off taxes this year, and another is set to roll off next year, according to the district website.
Medina County
- Medina City School District's 7.8-mill, 10-year levy on the ballot to fund emergency requirements was narrowly approved by voters, by about 200 votes. The district's last two levy attempts failed, and it says it's already made significant cuts this school year.
- Voters at Buckeye Local School District did not approve a 37-year, 3.92-mill bond issue to fund school facilities.
Portage County
- Ravenna City School District's new five-year, 8.31-mill tax to fund emergency requirements was unsuccessful. Its last two attempts failed. The district has been placed under fiscal caution by the state.
Richland County
- Mansfield City School District's combined school levy was unsuccessful with voters by a significant margin, almost 70% to 30% in favor. It included a 1%, five-year income tax as well as a 5.6-mill, five-year new levy on the ballot to help fund operations.
Summit County
- Akron Public Schools' 1.29-mill, 37-year bond issue and its 7.6-mill continuous levy to fund operations saw success at the ballot.
- Mogadore Local School District voters did not pass a 5.9-mill, five-year new levy to fund operations on the ballot this school year. The small school district has seen three levy failures over the last two years.
- Several other races in Summit County and Portage County did not yet have enough votes counted to call as of early Wednesday.
Multi-county requests
Voters in Richland, Holmes and Ashland counties voted down a 9.743-mill, 37-year bond issue for the Loudonville-Perrysville Exempted Village School District to build and furnish a new pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade building, along with a .5-mill continuous levy to fund maintenance of the building.
Voters in Harrison and Carroll counties voted down a new 4-mill, continuous levy on the ballot for Conotton Valley Union Local School District to fund permanent improvements. The district said it needed to put the levy on the ballot to pay for a new athletic center it built because the owners of the Rover Pipeline — which runs through the district — have appealed the pipeline's total value, reducing tax revenue for the district.
Firelands Local School District's 1% continuous income tax on the ballot to fund operating expenses was voted down by voters in Erie and Lorain counties.
This story will be updated.
