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Talawanda board warns state override could remove emergency levy tools, shifts focus to voter outreach
Summary
Mr. Wyatt, the district’s legislative liaison, told the Talawanda City School District board on Aug. 12 that a recent Ohio House override of Governor DeWine’s veto would remove replacement and emergency levy tools, a change he warned would force more frequent ballot requests and reduce local budget flexibility.
Mr. Wyatt, the board's legislative liaison, told the Talawanda City School District Board on Aug. 12 that a recent vote in the Ohio House to override Governor Mike DeWine's veto would remove the district's ability to use replacement and emergency levies.
"This override eliminates our ability to use emergency levies and replacement levies," Mr. Wyatt said. "Think of it as taking away both your emergency brake and your steering wheel from a car speeding toward a cliff." He warned that the change would force districts into "a constant levy cycle" and make long-term planning difficult.
The liaison said the override came amid what he described as a larger push in the legislature to expand private-school vouchers and reduce funding to public schools. "Every dollar diverted to vouchers is a dollar taken from public schools that educate 85% of our children," Mr. Wyatt said. He also cited figures he said illustrate administrative and transportation costs associated with voucher programs: $250,000,000 annually in administrative fees and $75,000,000 in transportation costs statewide, statements he attributed to his outreach and constituent conversations.
Board members and staff discussed practical impacts on Talawanda. Mr. Otto, the district's financial liaison, described how House Bill 920 would affect the district's inside millage and the so-called 20-mill floor, estimating that one mill equaled roughly $1,100,000 and that changes could put about $4.7 million of current revenue at risk if the inside-millage provisions were locked to historical dollar amounts.
"With House Bill 920, it ramps down the millage so that we do not collect any more dollars than what that millage equated to when it was originally voted," Mr. Otto said, and he called the potential effect "a big if" but one the district must plan for.
Board members urged swift outreach to state legislators. Mr. Wyatt asked residents to contact state senators and to build coalitions with neighboring districts to oppose the changes. Several board members said they planned to invite state senators to visit Talawanda schools to show local needs.
Why it matters: Board members said loss of replacement levies and emergency funding would constrain Talawanda’s ability to respond to enrollment shifts, infrastructure needs and unplanned expenses. The district said it is preparing internally for scenarios with reduced local revenue and recommended that community members raise the issue with state and county officials.
What the board did: This item was a report and discussion; no formal motion or district-level policy change resulted from the presentation.
Sources: Remarks by Mr. Wyatt (legislative liaison), Mr. Otto (financial liaison) and exchanges among board members during the Aug. 12, 2025 regular meeting of the Talawanda City School District Board of Education.
