District warns state property tax proposals could cut $8.5 million from Lakewood schools
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Summary
Treasurer Zeman briefed the board on the state budget process and House Bill 335, saying proposals to eliminate inside millage could cost Lakewood about $8.5 million annually and jeopardize jobs and services.
Treasurer Zeman updated the Lakewood Board of Education on June 16 about the Ohio state budget process and proposed property-tax changes in legislation the transcript identifies as House Bill 335.
Zeman summarized the path: the governor’s budget, House Bill 96 and a Senate omnibus amendment to HB96 have progressed to a conference committee. He said conference members would meet to reconcile differences and expected a final report by the end of the week or early next week.
Zeman described House Bill 335 as a vehicle for property-tax reforms discussed in 2024 and said it would remove a portion of the historic unvoted millage (“inside millage”) that school districts and other local subdivisions receive. He said Lakewood City Schools receives about 5.03 mills of that inside millage and that elimination of those mills would amount to roughly $8.5 million a year for the district. Zeman said statewide impacts could be significant, citing an estimate that more than 20,000 jobs statewide might be lost if inside millage were rolled back.
Zeman framed the proposed cash-balance and inside-millage changes as shifting local tax revenue away from districts and urged community engagement. He said the district would testify before the House Ways and Means Committee and urged residents to contact conference committee members he named: from the House, Brian Stewart, Michael DeVita and Rose Sweeney; from the Senate, Jerry Serino, Brian Chavez and Paula Hicks-Hudson. (Transcript spelling preserved where provided.)
Board members asked whether a 60% levy approval threshold remained part of discussions; Zeman said elements varied across proposals and some capacity and property-sale provisions were included in different versions. He characterized the packages as a serious threat to local school funding and called for community outreach, phone calls and direct contact with legislators.
Zeman described the proposal as potentially requiring the state to take money “on the back of public education” and said such changes would affect not only schools but cities and libraries that share inside millage. He urged stakeholders to remain engaged in the conference process.