Perrysburg superintendent warns pending Ohio bills would curb local tax growth and squeeze school budgets

Dr. Katie Anstead, Perrysburg Schools superintendent, told the Board of Education on Nov. 24 that inflation-adjusted state funding for Ohio public schools is now the lowest since 1997 and that state choices since 2019 have shifted new state dollars toward charter and private school tuition subsidies.

"Since universalizing ed choice in 2019, state investment in public schools has dropped by 16%," Anstead said, and she told the board that the district’s long-term finances remain vulnerable even after the district’s recently passed levy.

Why it matters: Anstead described four bills she said were sitting on the governor’s desk — House Bills 129, 186, 309 and 335 — and summarized how each, as passed by the legislature, would affect local levy revenue or property tax treatment. She said changes would include allowing county budget commissions more authority to reduce levies, capping certain inside millage increases, and changing how emergency and…