The Mount Healthy City School District Board of Education voted to submit a 0.75% school district earned income tax to the May 2026 ballot after an extended presentation and public discussion about the district’s finances.

Superintendent Dr. Sarah Wilson and interim treasurer Kristen Yancey told the board the district is operating under a state-designated fiscal emergency and needs a sustainable revenue source. Wilson said the district has been underfunded for years and that the board and staff must identify additional revenue to meet operating costs: "we are in a fiscal emergency currently," she said.

The board reviewed two options. A continuing property-tax levy of 5.95 mills would improve the forecast but still leave work to do, the presentation showed. The alternative — a 0.75% earned income tax applied to wages and self-employment income — would generate roughly the same revenue and, the presenters said, keep the district’s bottom line positive through the forecast period.

Treasurer Kristen Yancey explained estimated household impacts: "for $50,000 income earned income, it would be $375 a year," she said, adding that the tax is collected from paychecks and would appear as small amounts per paycheck.

Board members and several attendees debated fairness and turnout effects. One board member raised concerns that a payroll-based tax could place a greater burden on working families while retirees — who made up an estimated 60–65% of recent voters — would not pay. Another board member argued the earned-income tax would be more likely to pass and provide needed revenue.

After public comment and discussion, the board made a motion to add the earned-income resolution to the agenda and then to approve the resolution to proceed to the board of elections. The motion carried on a roll-call vote with all recorded votes in favor.

Next steps: the district will submit the certified resolution and the Ohio Department of Taxation certification to place the question on the May ballot; staff indicated the submission deadline is roughly 90 days before the election (around early February).