Here is a number worth knowing: 113. That is how many school levies appeared on Ohio ballots in November 2025. Nearly 60 of those came from Northeast Ohio districts. And according to the Ohio School Boards Association, districts across the state are already lining up for another run at voters this fall.
The levy conveyor belt is not slowing down. Frankly, it is speeding up. Consider this your official notice of what’s coming — and your summer reading and research assignment.
How Ohio Pays for Education
Ohio schools are funded through a combination of local, state, and federal dollars. The state's share has been shrinking for years — dropping to 36.5% this year and projected to fall to roughly 32% in the next budget cycle. As the state pulls back, the gap doesn't disappear. It gets quietly reassigned to your property tax bill.
That is not an accident. It is a structural problem that no yard signs or emotional levy campaigns can fix. It requires a top-to-bottom overhaul of how Ohio funds its public schools — and that overhaul has not happened.
Taxpayers didn't create Ohio's property tax crisis, and they shouldn't have to fix it — but if the State House keeps punting the issue down the road, voters might do it for them. A constitutional amendment to eliminate property taxes in Ohio probably won’t land on the November 2026 ballot, but the movement has momentum, and if the day comes when the amendment passes, there’s no adjusting it after the votes are counted.
The Dollar Mill
A mill in Ohio equals $1 for every $1,000 of a property's assessed value. On a $200,000 home — assessed at 35 percent, or $70,000 — one mill costs you $70 a year. Districts often ask for five, eight, or even ten mills at a time. And when they tell you it's just the cost of a cup of coffee a day, put the cup down and pick up a calculator.
Ohio homeowners have already been blindsided by property tax bills that bear little resemblance to what they were paying just a few years ago. That crisis has not been resolved. Piling more mills on top of a broken system before the state fixes its own funding formula is not leadership — it is can-kicking.
The District Office
Administrative costs in Ohio schools have grown steadily while enrollment has headed in the opposite direction. Ohio public school enrollment dropped 4% between 2015 and 2020 and is projected to fall another 2.8% by 2030 — yet staffing levels at the administrative level have not shrunk proportionally. Some districts, like Hamilton City Schools, lost nearly 10% of their students in just four years.
Before you vote on a levy, ask how many people worked at the district level ten years ago versus today. The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce publishes staffing data by district — it's public, it's searchable, and the comparison may surprise you.
Here are some links that will help: Staff Data by District and District Profile Reports (includes staffing, enrollment, and spending comparisons)
On buildings — this is a repair and restoration economy. Ohioans are keeping their cars longer, fixing what they have, and making do. School districts should be asking the same questions before drawing up plans for new construction. Restore, repair, modernize. Save the ribbon-cutting for when the books are balanced.
Performance
Finally, check the grades, but before you do, you should know that Ohio doesn’t grade school districts anymore. The state swapped its A-F school grading system for a 1-to-5-star rating — because apparently what struggling school districts really needed was to feel more like a restaurant on Yelp.
Still, look at the state’s star rating. Is the district performing? Even though A-F would be easier, money without measurable outcomes is just spending. So again, think of Yelp – would you eat there?
In all seriousness, schools matter enormously. But until Ohio fixes the structural funding problem it created, the burden can’t keep falling on property taxpayers who are already at their limit. From the schoolhouse to the firehouse, everyone must do right by the public right now. The extras need to wait.
You have all summer to do the research, Ohio. Turn it in on Election Day.
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