As a Republican state senator who has been heavily involved in state-level school funding and co-chairman of the Joint Committee on Property Tax Review and Reform, I support the Cincinnati Public Schools levy. I did not reach this decision lightly. I understand Ohio's property tax burden and the frustration many residents feel about it.
But the numbers are difficult to ignore. CPS lost $22 million in state funding over the biennium. During the most recent budget cycle, with the help of the Legislative Service Commission, I examinedhow Ohio compares nationally in state per-pupil funding for public education. Using the latest data available, from fiscal year 2023, Ohio ranked 37th in the nation and last among our neighboring states.
levy asks are big. The stakes for Cincinnati kids are bigger
Even if the Fair School Funding Plan had been fully implemented by fiscal year 2023, rather than phased in over six years, Ohio still would have ranked last among neighboring states, just behind West Virginia, and only 30th nationally.
In terms of local per-pupil funding for public education, Ohio ranks 15th, ahead of all our neighboring states except Pennsylvania. Looking at all sources − local, state and federal − Ohio is middle of the pack at 24th. This should come as no surprise. If state-level funding is insufficient, it must be made up somewhere; that somewhere is through local property or income tax levies.
More state changes coming
CPS will also lose local money from changes in property tax law at the state level. The legislation is complicated and very technical, but the key theme is that all property tax increases will be capped at consumer price index inflation through each appraisal cycle, requiring local governments and school districts to go to the ballot more often. For CPS, it will ultimately amount to at least $11 million per year in losses, and they must plan accordingly. Moreover, these changes will likely harm the district’s bond rating, which will make borrowing for school facilities construction more expensive.
Even if state and local funding were to remain flat, it’s still a cut. Inflation impacts everything, including the cost of public education. This levy generates roughly $66 million per year, and inflation will begin to eat away at its purchasing power every year. Couple that with the state likely cutting more public education funding for large, urban districts next budget cycle − as well as more property tax relief paid with local dollars, similar to the package passed at the end of 2025 − and a levy is actually a fiscally conservative and prudent course of action, as opposed to making draconian cuts and going into fiscal emergency.
The state must become a better partner
It seems like common sense to tie funding to academic outcomes, but economists have warned that this can be counterproductive and harmful to public education, particularly for districts with significant pockets of poverty. Does anyone seriously believe that if we swapped the personnel from Sycamore Community Schools with that of CPS, that suddenly CPS would be a top-performing district and Sycamore would be failing?
Of course not, and that is because education outcomes and family wealth are very highly correlated. Funding outcomes instead of need leads to: widening inequality, grade inflation, and segregation by wealth. The Fair School Funding Formula was designed specifically to ensure that inputs were used instead of outputs for these very reasons.
Improving performance at CPS is going to require solving many problems that aren’t directly related to classroom instruction: poverty, housing insecurity, hunger, special education, transportation, English-language learners, etc. None of these are easy to tackle.
However, it starts with passing this levy and ends with the state being a better partner.
Louis W. Blessing III, R-Colerain Township, is serving his second term in the Ohio Senate. He currently represents Ohio's 8th Senate District, which encompasses a portion of Hamilton County.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio's school funding problem makes the case for the CPS levy | Opinion
