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Board approves May financial cleanup and moves to place renewal levy on the ballot
Summary
Trustees approved the district's May financial reports and related year-end transfers and appropriation adjustments, and voted to proceed with submitting a renewal levy to voters under Ohio Revised Code —705.194—705.197; board members emphasized outreach and factual community information.
The Garfield Heights City School District Board of Education on June 16 approved May financial reports and associated end-of-year transfers and appropriation adjustments, and voted to move a renewal levy to the ballot under Ohio law.
The board approved (by roll call) the May financial report and related appropriation adjustments after district financial staff explained that May included a three-pay-month payroll cycle and that transfers and a year-end cleanup were required to balance multi-month grants. A district speaker explained the move to a 24-pay schedule beginning in fiscal 2026, and said IDEA special-education funding had been exhausted about two months earlier.
Board members then approved a resolution "determining to proceed with the submission to the electors of the school district of the question of the renewal of an existing tax levy pursuant to section 5705.194 to 5705.197 of the Revised Code." The motion to proceed was made by Miss Thomas, seconded by Miss Morrison, and passed on roll call (Miss Thomas, Miss Morrison, Miss Cox and Doctor King voted yes; one trustee was excused). A district finance official advised the board that renewing the existing levy preserves a 12.5% state rollback credit that would be lost for any new identical levy passed after 2012; the official said renewal will not raise a resident's levy rate and that the community should see tax relief as an expiring bond levy falls off the tax roll.
Superintendent Dr. Reynolds urged coordinated, factual community outreach ahead of the levy vote, saying misinformation in past campaigns had harmed outreach efforts and that district leaders would be available to provide state-cleared information to the community. The board did not change the levy amount; the resolution instructs staff to place the renewal on the ballot with the same language previously reviewed by the board.
Separately, the board voted to enter executive session to consider employee compensation and collective bargaining strategy; the motion passed on roll call and the board stated no action would be taken afterward.
