A broad coalition of superintendents, career-technical leaders, auditors and county treasurers told the House Ways and Means Committee that the substitute version of House Bill 186 would impose significant, immediate revenue reductions for many Ohio school districts and joint vocational school districts if the bill’s retroactive provisions remain in place.

Hannah Cubbins, legislative director for Americans for Prosperity Ohio, said supporters view HB 186 as "a permanent change" that limits school property-tax increases to the rate of inflation and adds transparency requirements at the county level. "House bill 1 86 limits increases in school district property taxes to the rate of inflation," she said, describing the bill’s goals of predictability and broad-based taxation.

But representatives of affected districts and joint vocational school districts argued the substitute’s retroactive application would claw back revenues that districts had reasonably forecasted and planned around. "Remove the retroactivity portion of the bill and return to the original version of the bill," Mike Kern, superintendent of Fairless Local Schools, told the committee. Kern said Fairless faces about $1.9 million in reductions in the first year and roughly $6 million cumulatively under the substitute’s timeline.

Career-technical leaders described large projected losses to joint vocational and career-technical centers. Scott Wodicka, superintendent at Ashtabula County Technical and Career Campus, said losses to JVSDs exceed $61,000,000 in tax year 2025, $87,000,000 in 2026 and $90,000,000 in 2027 under the substitute. He and other career-tech witnesses said those reductions would limit expansion of in-demand programs and could force program cuts, reduced student access, and fewer specialized offerings.

Roger Reynolds, a former Butler County auditor now testifying as a proponent, urged indexing the floor to an appropriate inflation measure and noted concerns about one-year valuation rules that produced spikes in some counties; he said he favored a CPI-based index tied to a floor to avoid windfalls. "I’m a proponent of seeing house bill 86 pass with a 20 floor cap with an index to the to 1 of the CPI indexes," Reynolds said during questioning.

County Treasurer Catherine Kellich, incoming president of the County Treasurer’s Association of Ohio, warned of administrative complications if mid-year, retroactive rate changes are implemented. She said mid-year adjustments would confuse taxpayers, complicate escrow and prepayment systems, and create problems for lenders and title companies handling real-estate closings. "Mid year changes create taxpayer confusion in billings," Kellich said, and county treasurers would face difficult reconciliation and refund issues.

Representatives of rural and Appalachian districts said retroactivity would be particularly harmful to small districts that are already operating with low per-pupil spending and narrow cash reserves. They urged the committee to enact non-retroactive reforms and consider phased or glide-path approaches to avoid abrupt fiscal shocks.

Committee members and witnesses discussed alternatives, including limiting the bill’s retroactivity, using a glide path, or providing state backfill or transition funding to ease the impact on districts and career-technical centers. No formal committee action occurred during the hearing; members indicated willingness to continue negotiations and additional testimony will be considered in future meetings.