Despite an overall improvement in levy success rates compared to last May, just a third of Northeast Ohio school districts' attempts to increase taxes were successful during the May primary this year.
Parma City School District and Elyria City School District were among those that weren't successful. Parma hasn't had a new levy approved by voters since 2011, while it's been since 2010 for Elyria.
Parma Superintendent Charles Smialek and Elyria Superintendent Ann Schloss both said they're not immediately planning any cuts due to the levies not passing, but both districts face tough financial outlooks on the horizon. Both will likely place another levy on the ballot in November to avoid cuts, Schloss and Smialek said in separate interviews.
If the next levy attempt doesn't pass in November, cuts will need to be made across Parma's district, Smialek said.
"You're talking about fewer elective choices, which means even a shorter school day potentially for high school students," Smialek said. "High school busing can be on the table again —higher class sizes in elementary schools and really across the board. And then obviously, pay for play, not just a nominal fee of a couple hundred bucks, but if you really look at the costs, you know per sport... you could be up into the high hundreds or even low thousands in terms of what we would be charging students to participate."
Elyria would need to look at cuts to busing and potentially larger class sizes if the next levy doesn't pass, Schloss said.
Smialek and Schloss both said their districts have been financially responsible. Elyria has been cutting positions by attrition over time to keep its finances in good shape, Schloss said. But she said the district also wants to keep expanded programming and staff in place to support students who continue to struggle academically and emotionally, even after pandemic relief funds from the federal government have dried up.
"Families are in crisis," Schloss said. "Students have those same needs. Just because COVID went away doesn't mean they don't have those same needs."
Elyria's five-year forecast submitted to the state last fall shows the district spending at a deficit over the next five years. Parma's outlook is more dire, with its forecast showing it running out of money completely, about $17 million in debt, by the end of the 2028 fiscal year.
Elsewhere in the region, Streetsboro City School District shows it $2.8 million in the hole at the end of the 2028 fiscal year, after an operating levy failed during the May primary.
Other districts where bond issues failed will need to delay rebuilding aged facilities, including at Vermilion schools in Lorain and Erie counties and Buckeye school district in Medina and Lorain counties.
Statewide, levies fared better in the May 2025 primary than in the 2024 primary, the Ohio School Boards Association said in a news release, with 64% being approved compared to 52% in May 2024. Support for new taxes also grew, up to 40% approval from just 13% last spring.
Many community members are likely still feeling the financial hit from increased property taxes after historic jumps in property values after recent reevaluations, Schloss said.
"That hit them at the same time as the levy. And we understand. We're asking for a heavy lift. But understand, that is the way we're funded," Schloss said. "I think they understand that."
A handful of school districts that were under financial watch by the state did see levies approved last week, including Ravenna, Mogadore and Springfield schools in Summit and Portage counties.
Some school districts are still facing big cuts despite levies approved by voters last November, including the Cleveland and Akron school districts.
Smialek and Schloss both expressed concern about Ohio House Republicans' proposal for the state budget, still being considered by the Ohio Senate. That budget proposal eliminates about $345 million in additional funding Northeast Ohio districts had expected under the Fair School Funding Plan. Even under that plan, Smialek noted suburban districts like his, with a higher tax base, are required to rely on local taxpayers for funding.
"The reality is, despite any notion of a fair school funding act, we still rely on our local taxpayers," Smialek said. "Local property taxes account for 75% of our general funds. We're always, until that dramatically changes, we're always gonna have to be looking for help from our friends and neighbors."
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine's version of the budget does include the Fair School Funding plan, but even then, the estimates of funding are based on outdated numbers from 2023, Schloss noted.
