Mar. 9, 2020 -- The CH-UH Board of Education unanimously agreed at their regular meeting on March 3 to review the District’s levy millage ask in the event that state lawmakers take meaningful action on EdChoice resulting in significant financial relief to the District.

“While it’s impossible to predict the future, if Issue 26 passes on March 17 and our lawmakers subsequently announce EdChoice legislation that provides meaningful financial relief to our district, then I will recommend we immediately convene the Lay Finance Committee to review how such legislation would affect our financial position going forward,” said Board President Jodi Sourini. 

“If we are able to provide any relief to our local taxpayers, I’m committed to collecting only what’s absolutely necessary,” Sourini added.

Sourini opened the topic up for discussion and the Board unanimously committed to reviewing any EdChoice legislation carefully to determine if the District would be able to collect a lower millage amount than what will appear on the ballot March 17.

Because the levy ballot language reads “at a rate not exceeding 7.9 mills,” collecting less than 7.9 mills is certainly a possibility.

“We will need to be 100 percent confident that legislation has been passed that guarantees us significant financial relief,” said Chief Financial Officer Scott Gainer. “While taking more tax money than we need would be fiscally irresponsible, promising to take less without confidence would be equally so.”

The deadline for requesting a levy with the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections was December 18. On January 31, the State Legislature decided to delay the EdChoice enrollment period in order to begin discussions on making changes to the program. This meant that the Board of Education was required to vote to put a levy on the ballot prior to this news. Ohio schools continue to wait for such legislation, and relief, from the state, with an April 1 deadline looming.

The funding model of EdChoice has caused significant financial distress for the CH-UH City School District. Because of a state funding freeze and several other changes made by legislators over the summer, the District has lost an estimated $7.2 million to EdChoice vouchers this year. If it weren’t for EdChoice, the District would not be on the ballot this year. Issue 26, as it currently stands, would cost taxpayers an additional $23 per month for every $100,000 of their home’s value.

As the March 3 discussion continued, the Board also agreed to research the costs and District staff time commitment of a performance audit by the state auditor’s office.

“Although our district is committed to annual cost-savings of at least $750,000, a performance audit could identify areas where we can save that money,” Sourini said. “But because we would have to pay the auditor’s office to conduct the audit, we need to be sure that the potential results are worth the investment.”