Voters pass Cincinnati Public Schools’ $66.3M school levy

Cincinnati voters have decided to approve Issue 4, a property tax levy projected to raise $66.3 million a year for Cincinnati Public Schools, according to WCPO projections.

This is the first new operating levy passed for the district in nearly a decade.

Supporters of the levy said it was critical to keep CPS financially stable, while opponents argued that now is the wrong time to ask taxpayers for more money.

The Cincinnati Board of Education voted in July to place the measure on the ballot.

The now-passed levy will run for five years. It will cost someone earning $100,000 annually approximately $245 per year.

The levy came after the board approved cuts affecting more than 100 positions in an effort to close a projected $58.6 million budget deficit. District leaders told us the reductions included layoffs, retirements and vacant positions across multiple departments.

CPS also previously warned that the district was facing rising operational costs, declining enrollment and the expiration of federal COVID-19 relief funding that had temporarily stabilized finances.

District officials said without the passing of the levy and additional revenue, CPS would face deeper reductions in staffing and programming in future budget cycles.

The district was placed in fiscal caution status by the state of Ohio in September. Fiscal caution is different from a fiscal emergency. If the district reaches fiscal emergency status, the state would take control of the districts money and decision-making.

But district leaders say the state-required recovery plan cannot factor in the outcome of that levy vote meaning potential cuts must be planned independently of the now-passed levy.

Despite CPSs victory with the levy, the district must now submit a recovery plan to the state by Nov. 30.