CINCINNATI — Cincinnati Public Schools is asking voters to approve a new earned income tax levy this November after the board voted 5-2 to place the measure on the ballot.
The 0.75% earned income tax would apply to residents who live within the district, and district leaders say a failed levy would mean deeper cuts for the third straight year.
Board President Brandon Craig said the district has reached a point where budget cuts are no longer sustainable without new funding.
"We are now at a point where that's not really an option, and we saw that this year with some of the positions that were directly facing students. Next year's cuts would be worse if we did not pass a levy," Craig said.
The board considered three options before settling on the earned income tax. CPS Treasurer Michael Gustin explained at the meeting how the tax would be applied.
"So if you live in Cincinnati, work in Cincinnati, you're going to pay it. If you live in Cincinnati, work in Blue Ash, you're still going to pay the same amount. If you live in Blue Ash and work in Cincinnati, you will not pay it all," Gustin said.
The earned income tax would not affect retirees, those receiving Social Security or those living on investment income. It targets working income only, meaning residents who both live and work in Cincinnati would be the primary group affected.
In June, the board cut 100 positions to address a $58.6 million budget gap. Craig said the cuts over the past two years have been focused on minimizing the impact on students, but that is no longer possible.
"We don't have operations stuff. We don't have pens and paper and paper clips to take out of our budget. What we have are staff, because the majority of our budget is staff," Craig said.
The district is also in the middle of developing a strategic plan, which leaders hope to finalize before the new school year begins. Craig said the levy, if passed, would help protect programs including Montessori schools and career and technical education opportunities.
WATCH: Cincinnati parents call for transparency as CPS approves new levy
The last levy
The current ask comes 10 years after CPS last went to voters. According to WVXU, CPS had not had a new levy since 2008, and district officials had been told they could be facing large deficits in the near future when the previous levy was put together.
At the time, a coalition of educators and social service professionals called Preschool Promise had spent four years working on a plan to pay for preschool for every 3-year-old and 4-year-old in the area.
In May of that year, CPS and Preschool Promise came together on a plan they believed would address two needs at once — a $48 million, five-year tax levy that split revenues between the two organizations. Under the agreement, CPS received $33 million a year, while $15 million went to Preschool Promise. The United Way was chosen to oversee the spending of that $15 million.
The measure, known as Issue 44, was a 7.93 mill levy for a period of five years that cost the owner of a $100,000 home an additional $278 per year.
More than 60 organizations in the city came together to endorse it, and approximately $1.2 million was spent to promote the issue.
Craig said the district has worked to stretch that funding as long as possible, noting the levy before Issue 44 came eight years prior to that measure.
"We've even made a better stewardship of those dollars to extend that life cycle even further," Craig said.
He said the district does not take the financial burden on residents lightly.
"We recognize and appreciate that those costs for many of our residents are not easy at times, so we don't take that lightly. We don't take that responsibility lightly. That is why we are working so hard to improve the quality of education every student receives," Craig said.
Craig also addressed concerns about equity across the district.
"That's why we're really focused on improving the equity of education throughout the district, so that your zip code doesn't determine the quality of education you get in the city of Cincinnati," Craig said. "We have to be prepared to show that we're going to be a good fiscal steward of those dollars. We're prepared to do that."
Community calls for transparency
Christian Davis, founder of the Cincinnati Parent Empowerment Network, attended the board meeting and said the atmosphere in the room reflected just how difficult the situation has become for board members.
"It definitely felt like some of our board members were walking on eggshells. You could tell that they really are in a hard place right now. On one side, they are really trying to earn the community's trust and earn buy-in from the community, but at the same time, they also know that funding is very tight," Davis said.
Davis said the district faces a significant trust gap with the community, and that gap is rooted in a lack of financial transparency.
Davis said that lack of clarity is making it difficult for many residents to justify a yes vote, even as some supporters of public education are likely to back the levy regardless.
"Those that really are true champions of public education are going to support the district, but it's really gonna boil down to can the district gain the confidence from the community in less than 100 days," Davis said.
Davis also noted that a significant portion of Cincinnati residents send their children to charter or private schools, which could complicate the path to passage. She called on the district to use the roughly 99 days before the election to increase community engagement and open its books to public scrutiny.
Avondale parent Carlos Davis also raised questions about how levy funds would be used, pointing to the positions and programs already eliminated.
"If they're getting cut, where is the extra money going? Where is the money the levy is putting forth? Where is it going?" Carlos said.
Carlos said he wants the district to clearly show residents how money is distributed across schools. He also raised concerns about the removal of school-based therapists, saying many students depend on those professionals as their only source of emotional support.
Craig said the district's focus heading into the new school year will be on showcasing its schools and programs, with a separate community effort to inform and support the levy running alongside that work. He said a separate effort outside of the district, in accordance with state law, would be put together to inform residents and support the levy ahead of the November vote.
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