West Geauga board told state funding, levy changes could cost district millions

West Geauga Local School District finance staff told the board on Monday that proposed changes in the Ohio legislature to the school funding formula and local levy rules could reduce district revenue and force new levy decisions.

The district’s presenter said the Senate’s substitute to House Bill 96 would continue the Fair School Funding Plan final phase-in but would not update base input increases, leaving base costs frozen at 2021 levels while adding a new layer of performance-based funding tied to state report-card results.

The presentation matters because the bill would also change how local levies are counted and replace some longstanding fixed-fee emergency and substitute levies with continuing operating levies, a shift that the presenter said could remove about $6,000,000 the district currently raises through emergency levies — roughly 25% of salaries and benefits — and cost taxpayers more because replacement levies would be new continuing levies without rollback relief.

“We get $6,000,000 through those emergency levies, so if those are now eliminated ... that’s about 25% of our salaries and benefits,” the finance staff member said.

Nut graf: The proposed changes would tighten county budget commission oversight, add mandatory disclosure of cash balances in ballot language, change the levy-placement vote threshold to two-thirds at the meeting when the board votes, and introduce performance-based bonuses that could increase funding for higher-performing districts while leaving others behind. The district said those combined changes create uncertainty about near-term revenue and may require planning for a replacement operating levy before emergency levies expire on Jan. 1, 2026.

Most important details

- Carryover/cash-balance threshold: The presenter said the bill moves the carryover balance threshold that triggers reductions from 30% to 50%; if a district’s carryover exceeds 50%, the county budget commission could suspend levies.

- Emergency/substitute levies: The presenter said replacement fixed-fee emergency and substitute levies would be eliminated effective 01/01/2026. The district currently receives about $6,000,000 from those levies.

- Effect on taxpayers: Because replacement revenue likely would be a new continuing levy, the presenter said the district would lose the state rollback benefit on that revenue (about a 12.5% rollback on that levy), which would increase costs to taxpayers compared with the current fixed-fee structure.

- Performance-based funding: The presenter described additional funding tied to state report-card “stars” and indicators (testing, attendance, other measures). The district’s estimate was an increase of about $400,000 in 2026 and about $600,000 in 2027 compared with current receipts of about $5,200,000, assuming the performance measures hold. The presenter cautioned that performance funding could widen gaps because higher-performing (and often wealthier) districts would get bonuses while lower-performing districts could fall further behind.

- Ballot and levy process changes: The presenter listed several new constraints: mandatory disclosure of cash balances in ballot language; prohibition on combining a renewal and an increase on the same ballot; a two-thirds vote threshold of the board members present at the meeting to place a levy on the ballot; and limits on shifting inside millage to other funds.

Board reaction and next steps

Board members asked for timing and technical clarifications — for example, whether the county would be required to review a three-year forecast rather than a five-year forecast and how the tax budget and levy calendar would be affected if the law takes effect in January 2026. The presenter said the Senate planned to finalize its bill by June 13 and that legal staff and the treasurer would analyze mechanical effects and election timing.

The presenter said the district has written to senators and would continue outreach with education associations and the Alliance Group; the board was advised to monitor the bills’ progress and be prepared for compressed timelines if the legislation is adopted.

Ending: Board meeting materials show the district will continue investigating timing, legal implications and options for replacing emergency levy revenue; no formal board action on levies was taken at the meeting.