Cleveland school levy appears to have passed; what about other NE Ohio school districts' levies?

Unofficial school levy results are rolling in for Northeast Ohio districts; notably, Cleveland Metropolitan School District's tax levy and bond issue passed, at least according to the Cleveland Teachers Union.

Early voting totals show Akron Public Schools' school levy and bond issue also with a substantial lead, but, Summit County is still counting ballots. Elsewhere, all new tax requests — for bond issues or operating funds — failed in Lorain County, 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 have already made cuts. Schools like Mogadore, Ravenna, Medina and Strongsville have had multiple failed previous attempts, with more cuts on the way if their levies fail again.

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 other school districts in the region with new taxes on the ballot.

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.he 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.

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.

Cleveland school levy appears to have passed; what about other NE Ohio school districts' levies?

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