Nordonia Hills board sends 5-mill continuing operating levy to May ballot after rejecting 8-year emergency measure

The Nordonia Hills City School District Board of Education voted 4-1 on Jan. 28 to place a 5-mill continuing operating levy on the May ballot after rejecting an 8-year emergency levy that failed unanimously.

The board’s decision follows two hours of staff presentations and committee reports outlining budget shortfalls and possible cost-saving options, and more than an hour of public comment largely urging a continuing levy. Superintendent Wright told the board the district is already deficit-spending and warned that ‘‘that’s when our cash balance is below 0. That’s when we can’t make payroll.’’

Why it matters: A continuing operating levy would become a permanent source of local revenue unless voters later repeal it; an emergency levy would have provided a time-limited infusion and required renewal after the specified term. Public commenters and several board members argued continuity is needed for stable, long-term planning, while some board members had supported the emergency option as a politically smaller ask.

What the board heard and debated: Administrators and committee chairs presented possible savings and structural changes the district is…