Linda Bloom, president of the Northmont Board of Education, and Tony Thomas, superintendent of Northmont City Schools, appeared at a Clayton City Council meeting to ask residents to support a 3.44‑mill operating levy that the board says would generate $3,500,000 for the district.

Bloom said the district has failed to secure larger levies in two recent elections and stressed local action is now the most practical option. "We truly do. And this district is filled with amazing students, staff, teachers, and community members who care deeply about the more than 4,700 students we serve," Bloom said.

The levy and why it matters: The board previously placed a 7.82‑mill levy on the May 2, 2023 ballot that the district said would have generated about $5.85 million and a 5.5‑mill replacement on the Nov. 7, 2023 ballot that the board said would have generated just over $4,000,000; both failed. The board approved the 3.44‑mill request and a corresponding reduction plan to take effect only if voters reject the new levy, the presenters said. Tony Thomas said the 3.44 mills is "the least amount of millage Northmont has asked for" and described the figure as a transparent proposal equivalent to $10 per month for a $100,000 home.

What the district has already done and what it proposes: Thomas told the council the district previously closed Inglewood Elementary to save about $1 million per year and cut "over 40 positions" after the levy defeats. Additional savings already realized, he said, include consolidating a central office and preschool location to save roughly $100,000 a year through leasing.

The reduction plan presented to the council — described by district officials as contingent on the levy failing — includes several specific measures:
- Seek $300,000 in annual savings through attrition by hiring less‑experienced replacements when veteran employees leave.
- Reevaluate busing requirements (district officials noted the district is not required to bus students in grades 9–12 or students living within two miles of a building). Thomas said changes to some routes could save about $130,000 annually but raised safety concerns for young children who would need to cross busy roads.
- Eliminate all nonroutine extracurricular field trips and restrict bus use to home‑to‑school transportation, a change the district estimated would save about $170,000 a year.
- Reduce athletics and extracurricular offerings by consolidating teams (for example, combining two eighth‑grade softball teams into one), eliminating freshman teams and supplemental contracts for club supervisors. Thomas said that would mean some activities now run by volunteers or staff would not be possible without paid adult supervision.
- Close elementary school buildings for after‑school and weekend activities while maintaining YMCA before‑ and after‑school care and for‑profit rentals of facilities such as the stadium and auditorium.
- Increase participation fees and preschool tuition to raise revenue: officials said high‑school participation fees would rise from $120 to $240 and preschool tuition would increase to $200 per month.

Officials urged voter registration and outreach. Thomas and Bloom said they have been meeting with residents across the district and planned another community forum on April 16 at the Northmont Auditorium; information is available at northmontschools.net/levy, they said.

Questions from council and audience members focused on safety and logistics. When asked whether students travelling to away events in personal vehicles would expose the district to liability, Thomas said the district uses permission forms and noted state rules limit how many nonfamily students may ride together; "there would be a lot of that," he said, referring to parental arrangements to get students to events. A council member asked about class sizes; Bloom said many elementary classrooms have reached 28 or 29 students and that some high‑school instructional groupings have grown substantially.

Context and constraints: Bloom and Thomas placed the local levy request in a broader state funding context. Bloom said Ohio has been required by court rulings to reform school funding but that recent changes have not produced enough state support for Northmont. She described the Fair School Funding Plan as a model tied to 2022 inputs that has not kept pace with current costs, and she said recent state spending on private‑school vouchers reduced funds that otherwise might have supported traditional public districts. Bloom said the district is participating in the Vouchers Hurt Ohio lawsuit and maintains involvement with the Coalition for Equity and Adequacy in School Funding.

No formal council action was taken during the presentation; the appearance was a public information presentation and question‑and‑answer exchange. District officials emphasized the reductions described would only occur if voters reject the 3.44‑mill levy.