Cincinnati business leaders asked Cincinnati Public Schools officials to forget about passing a property tax levy this year – even though the levy is already on the ballot, letters obtained by The Enquirer reveal.
The business leaders said the CPS levy was "ill-advised," coming at the same time as a levy for children's services on the November ballot.
Hamilton County voters in the Cincinnati Public Schools district will decide on two levies related to children this year: a renewal and increase of the current children's services levy and a new levy for the school district.
- The children's services levy is 5.61 mills and will cost property owners $121 per $100,000 of property value annually for four years.
- The schools levy is 7 mills and would cost property owners $245 per $100,000 of property value annually for five years.
The Cincinnati Regional Chamber endorsed the children's services levy the day Hamilton County commissioners voted to place it on the ballot, but did not take a public position
on the CPS levy. Letters to CPS officials from Brendon Cull, chamber president and chief executive officer, and Gary Lindgren, president of the Cincinnati Business Committee, illuminate why.
Here's the back and forth.
Business leaders: 'concerns have only continued to grow'
In a Sept. 14 letter addressed to CPS Superintendent Shauna Murphy and Brandon Craig, school board president, Cull and Lindgren said there was a "significant amount of pushback" to the CPS levy when it was presented to the chamber in August and those concerns "have only continued to grow."
"The rushed process, the initial decision to pursue an income tax levy before flipping to a property tax, the still developing strategic plan and the lack of a broad coalition to support the plan or a levy effort are all reasons for concern," Cull and Lindgren said in the letter.
The business leaders asked CPS to pause the plan for a new levy in 2026 and instead work on a plan for a potential levy campaign next year.
Cull and Lindgren listed their reasons for asking CPS to delay the levy efforts:
- They said it's not clear that parents, taxpayers and other stakeholders would have time to give feedback.
- They said CPS had not yet fully communicated its spending plan for the over $66 million raised with the levy and it would be an "enormous burden for homeowners, renters and businesses."
- Cull and Lindgren expressed concern over "limited information shared on new spending iniatives," specifically the renovation of the Jacobs Center.
- They said CPS has not completed a facilities master plan, which lays out the needs and long-term goals for the district's buildings.
- The business leaders said they have a "singular mission" to support the children's services levy, which they described as a "must-pass levy."
- "It is worth noting that the County deeply engaged with business leaders to adjust and right-size the levy, resulting in broad support and confidence in the policy decision related to the levy—something CPS did not choose to do this year," Cull and Lindgren said.
Craig: 'I do not see a reason to leave the present course we are on'
Craig responded to the letter via email eight days later and said he did "not see a reason to leave the present course we are on at this time."
Craig said the district must establish a standard that 90% of students attend a school with a three-star rating or higher by 2030 on Ohio's annual school report cards, which grade districts on a five-star scale. This year, about half of the district's schools – 32 out of 63 – earned three-star ratings or higher.
And that will require "difficult choices, careful stewardship, and, ultimately, new revenue," Craig said.
Craig said the money is crucial, not just "nice to have," and without it the district will be limited to providing the absolute necessities without investing in improving student outcomes or modernizing school buildings.
"To borrow a phrase from President Ronald Reagan, Cincinnati can be that 'shining city on seven hills.' And if we are going to build it, it will take all of us," Craig said.
School board accused of siding with business leaders in initial levy vote
The district's decision to place a property tax before voters came after a turbulent Aug. 3 board meeting, days before the filing deadline, where the school board reversed its initial vote for an income tax. There, teachers' federation members accused the board of prioritizing the political interests of Cincinnati leaders in pushing for a tax on residents' income over a tax on property.
A property tax would more evenly distribute the burden across district residents and commercial entities, federation President Julie Sellers previously told The Enquirer. In contrast, an earnings tax takes the tax burden away from commercial property owners and places it on to workers, "the employees who are making $15 an hour. Is that fair to working families?" she told The Enquirer.
Property taxes are the funding model historically used by CPS.
Campaign finance data from the 2025 general election shows that a political action committee tied to Cincinnati business leaders donated to several of the school board members' campaigns, including over $4,000 to Craig's.
'Our hope is that you will pause the effort'
Cull and Lindgren sent another letter on Tuesday, Oct. 13, again asking CPS officials to pause the levy effort.
"We continue to believe this is an ill-advised levy both from an amount and timing perspective," the leaders said.
They reiterated the need to give stakeholders information about how the levy money will be spent and the need for a facilities master plan and said the 7-mill levy could "limit economic growth in our region."
"Our hope remains that you will choose to pause your effort to seek a levy this year and instead work with a broad coalition of stakeholders to create a transparent and right-sized plan for new public investment in CPS," Cull and Lindgren said.
Is it too late?
The deadline to file local ballot issues was Aug. 5 and early voting started on Oct. 6, but CPS officials could still decide to withdraw the levy from the ballot.
Sherry Poland, the director of the Hamilton County Board of Elections, said if that happened, there would be a notice about the withdrawal posted in every polling place and sent with every absentee ballot.
The Board of Elections would not count the votes on the levy.
Regional politics reporter Erin Glynn can be reached at eglynn@enquirer.com, @ee_glynn on X and @eringlynn on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati business leaders asked CPS to 'pause' levy this year
