Westerville superintendent urges lawmakers not to strip districts’ cash balances amid proposed 25% cap

Angie Hamburg, superintendent of the Westerville City School District, told the Ohio House Finance Committee on April 8 that a proposed amendment to suspend property tax collections for school districts with unreserved cash balances above 25% would quickly force deep cuts and likely require districts to seek levies every year.

Hamburg said Westerville, which serves nearly 15,000 students across Franklin and Delaware counties and employs nearly 2,000 people, is using cash balances to smooth a multiyear funding gap caused in part by federal ESSER funding winding down and by state funding changes. “Only looking at a year of the forecast. No business can function by reducing revenue while increasing services. The only band aid we have right now is our cash balance, and like many districts, losing it abruptly would be catastrophic for us,” Hamburg said.

She told representatives the district has used one-time cash to cover recurring needs as it shifts positions funded with ESSER back onto the general fund and to cover a drop in state aid. Hamburg said the district lost $4 million in state share this school year, saw about $2.7 million in increased property-tax receipts after recent reappraisals, and estimates missing more than $29 million in revenue due to incomplete implementation of parts of the funding formula. “We were able to use our cash to help with that deficit,” she said.

Hamburg described the district’s operating scale and cash-flow timing when asked by Representative Glassburn: Westerville spends about $638,000 per day and receives property-tax settlements twice a year, which produces large intra‑year swings in available cash. She said the district’s unreserved balance supports multiyear forecasting, signing longer contracts and maintaining an investment-grade bond rating: “We are AAA. The last time that we sold bonds, we passed a bond issue in 2019 and sold bonds to build a new middle school and elementary.”

Committee members pressed Hamburg on transparency and levy planning. She said the district’s treasurer reports carryover regularly to the board and to a standing finance committee that includes community members and chamber representatives, and that the district had banked $25 million in Ohio Facilities Commission credits through an expedited local partnership. Hamburg said the district had moved some cash into operating after a failed levy and now projects its five‑year forecast remains positive through 2029 only with those reserves.

Hamburg also told lawmakers that special education costs are rising sharply. She said the district added eight specialized elementary classrooms this year to accommodate preschoolers with greater needs, and that certain outside placements can cost six figures plus transportation. “We are deficit spending,” she said, and warned that removing the district’s ability to use cash would force immediate program cuts or repeated levy requests.

Why it matters: The chair set this committee meeting as the final hearing before the House planned to adopt an omnibus amendment and advance the state operating bill. Committee discussion of the proposed 25% cash-balance trigger came as many districts rely on one-time reserves to manage the end of federal relief funds, increasing the chance for near‑term budget stress if the amendment were enacted.

Hamburg answered questions from multiple members, including Representative Piccolantonio, Representative Hoops, Representative White and Representative Young, on community listening sessions, how Westerville’s funding differs from districts on the 20‑mill floor, and how cash balances affect credit ratings and payroll timing. She said the district’s cash plan was intended to bridge the forecast until the district could secure additional levy revenue and to avoid cutting services immediately.

The hearing record shows Hamburg’s testimony and committee questions were part of the seventh hearing on House Bill 96; the committee recessed and later returned to consider an omnibus amendment and a vote on the amended substitute House Bill 96.