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State Rep. Chris Glassburn and Brooklyn superintendent cite funding squeeze as threat to schools
Summary
During a visit to Brooklyn City Schools, State Rep. Chris Glassburn said state funding for public education has fallen markedly and that recent tax cuts and voucher expansions have shifted money away from districts. He and Superintendent Dr. Ted Kallaire discussed levies, consolidation and local impacts.
State Rep. Chris Glassburn told Brooklyn City Schools officials that the state’s share of public-education funding has fallen sharply, placing pressure on small districts to either cut services or raise local revenue. "Under our state constitution ... that's education," Glassburn said, arguing the state historically covered roughly the mid-40s percent of K‑12 costs and that the share has slid to about 35% this year and could fall to 32% next year.
Glassburn, a member of the state budget and ways-and-means committees, said recent state tax policy has contributed to the shortfall. "It was about $2,000,000,000 of income tax cut for people making over a $100,000" he said, describing that package as revenue the legislature chose to allocate to tax reductions rather than to maintaining a larger state contribution to school funding.
The superintendent, Dr. Ted Kallaire, framed the local consequences: Brooklyn will soon face renewal levies to maintain services, and neighboring districts are already reporting cash-flow changes. Kallaire said Cuyahoga County's decision to stop property-tax advances will force some districts to "really look at some short term loan processes just to make payroll." Both he and Glassburn said that dynamic is increasing pressure on district budgets.
The conversation turned to school-voucher expansions. Glassburn described vouchers as a mixed experiment that originally aimed to create competition but said the most recent expansion largely funded families already sending children to private schools. "Only 4% of the kids that got the latest expansion of these vouchers were attending public schools prior," he said, and he warned that statewide voucher growth shifts finite resources away from public districts.
Kallaire raised questions about levy rules and voter confusion. Glassburn explained that Ohio's roughly 600 districts are governed by a baseline property-tax framework (sometimes described as 2% or 20 mills) and said rising property values and complex levy classifications have made the system hard for voters to understand.
The pair also discussed proposals and ballot activity that could reshape local revenue. Glassburn said a petition drive planned to propose abolishing property taxes could, if enacted, produce immediate and dramatic funding gaps: "Property taxes raise about $30,000,000,000 statewide," he said, compared with about $25,000,000,000 from income and sales taxes combined. He characterized an immediate repeal without replacement revenue as capable of causing "a catastrophic reorganization of government."
On the question of consolidation, Glassburn said many shared services already exist (vocational programs, limited joint arrangements) but that full mergers are "a generational decision" requiring detailed planning, spare capacity and political will. He flagged state policy limits — such as rules on rebuilding capacity sized to current enrollment — that reduce the feasibility of wholesale absorption of one district by another.
The visit concluded with Glassburn describing local successes in securing funds for Brookly n projects and urging continued, candid communication between districts and state lawmakers. The podcast ended with Kallaire thanking the representative for the visit and conversation.
