Over the past several weeks, I have spent a lot of time in my weekly updates talking about school funding, property taxes, and decisions being made at the Statehouse. I know this topic can feel technical and, at times, overwhelming. However, I also believe it is one of the most important issues facing public schools right now, including Orrville City Schools.
The short version is this: Ohio has recently put new property-tax laws into effect that will change how school districts receive local tax revenue over time. At the same time, the state is continuing to fund public schools using older FY2022 cost data in the school funding formula, even as districts face today’s operating realities. That creates a real disconnect for school districts across Ohio.
In plain language, schools are being told what it should cost to educate students based on older numbers, while districts are dealing with today’s higher costs for salaries, benefits, utilities, transportation, instructional materials, and services. That is not unique to Orrville. It is something districts all across Ohio are dealing with right now.
One of the biggest concerns involves districts that are on the 20-mill floor, which includes many rural and smaller community school districts. Under prior law, those districts could continue to receive growth in certain local property tax revenues as property values increased. The new legislation changes that and limits some of that future growth. That does not mean schools suddenly lose all of their funding overnight, but it does mean districts may not receive the same revenue growth they would have counted on in the past. For many school systems, that is a significant long-term concern.
How many districts could be affected? This is not a small issue affecting only a handful of school systems. State estimates show that 211 unique Ohio school districts are expected to be directly affected by the new 20-mill-floor calculation change during the first three tax years after the law takes effect. More broadly, the issue reaches much farther across the state: one statewide analysis found that 371 of Ohio’s 611 school districts were on the 20-mill floor in 2024, and the Ohio Legislative Service Commission has reported that 93% of Ohio’s rural and small-town districts are on the 20-mill floor. That helps explain why these changes matter so much to districts like Orrville and to many other communities across rural Ohio.
That is why I continue to bring this up. This is not just a conversation about numbers on a spreadsheet. This is about how the state’s decisions affect the services we provide to students, the supports we can offer staff, and the financial planning required to responsibly operate a school district. It is about making sure our community understands that schools are being asked to do more in an environment where revenue growth is becoming less predictable, and state funding is not fully reflecting today’s costs.
For Orrville, we will continue to be thoughtful, transparent, and responsible. We will keep studying the impact of these changes, continue communicating with our community, and continue advocating for a school-funding system that is fair, current, and sustainable for all public school districts—especially rural districts and communities like ours.
As always, thank you for taking the time to stay informed. These issues matter, and I will continue doing my best to explain them clearly as we move forward together.
— Dr. David Toth
Superintendent, Orrville City Schools