Parma City school board reviews levy and budget-cut scenarios, schedules follow-up meeting

The Parma City School District Board of Education on Feb. 26 reviewed a series of budget models showing how a proposed 1.75% school district income tax and different schedules for stopping three emergency levies would affect the district’s five-year forecast and cash reserves.

Staff presented seven scenarios that mixed varying levels of cuts (commonly modeled at $15,000,000 or $10,000,000 over multiple years), different income-tax assumptions and alternative timetables for ending levy collections. "So the second scenario is if we have $15,000,000 in cuts over 3 years and no new money," said Sebastian (board member), summarizing one of the staff models.

Why it matters: district staff said the board’s 60-day cash policy amounts to roughly $25 million–$26 million in unreserved fund balance, and the models show the district could fall below that threshold in later years under several scenarios. Staff noted a certified revenue estimate of about $50,300,000 for the proposed income tax, which affects how much the district would need to cut or rely on reserve carryover.

Staff and board members debated how to balance cuts against reserve drawdown. One staff presenter urged the board to weigh the unreserved fund balance before committing to deep cuts: the transcript shows carryover examples of roughly $40 million–$47 million in some models, which staff said might allow the board to reduce proposed cuts. At the same time, staff cautioned that relying too heavily on reserves risks triggering state oversight if multi-year forecasts remain negative. Staff described the state process as requiring a detailed corrective plan within 60 days if the district is found to be in fiscal watch.

Board members pressed for concrete illustrations of the local impacts of different cut levels. Staff offered an illustrative conversion of dollars to positions: "We can't afford to lose 75 teachers," one staff member said when discussing a hypothetical $4,000,000 reduction equivalent to roughly 75 positions in the model; board members asked for additional scenarios that show how class sizes and programming would change at $5 million, $10 million and $15 million cut levels.

Next steps: the board asked staff to return with two refined scenarios for comparison: a baseline five-year forecast without new revenue and at least one model that presumes passage of the 1.75% income tax and reduced cuts. The board agreed to hold a special meeting in the two weeks before March 12 to review the updated scenarios and instructed staff to draft resolution language memorializing the board’s preferred approach. Draft resolutions would be available for discussion at the regular March meeting, with the possibility of adopting a formal board resolution afterward.

Formal action: the meeting concluded with a motion to adopt resolution 2026-02-77 to adjourn, which passed on a roll-call vote with the responding members voting yes and one member absent. The board did not take any formal vote on the levy or on specific cuts at this meeting.

The board’s next finance-focused discussion is scheduled at the special meeting the board agreed to hold before or on March 12, with potential follow-up action at the March regular meeting.