CINCINNATI — Reading Community City School District will break ground next month on an expansion of its Career Technology Education space, thanks to a $2 million state grant that Gov. Mike DeWine announced two years ago.
When renovations are completed, a second-floor space above the Reading High School library will be equipped with advanced manufacturing tools and new construction equipment to help students earn professional certifications and jobs.
But Reading Superintendent Damon Davis fears one thing could be missing from the space: teachers.
That’s because a new rule, added to the state’s two-year budget bill by the Ohio House last month, could require Reading to send $8.6 million in cash reserves back to taxpayers.
WATCH: How Career-Tech programs are changing lives in Reading
“I keep a letter on my desk that was written as a letter of encouragement from Governor DeWine,” Davis said. “In that letter, he wishes us the best of luck in our district as we expand opportunities. This legislation completely contradicts expanding opportunities for our students.”
Reading isn’t the only district facing a loss of funding due to the new rule, which limits Ohio school district cash reserves to 30% of the prior year’s operating expenses. The WCPO 9 I-Team analyzed state data for the 2024 fiscal year and found 36 districts in Hamilton, Butler, Warren and Clermont counties were over the 30% cap. They face a total budget impact of more than $350 million if the restriction remains in the state budget.
Davis said Reading had a 72% cash reserve in June 2024 because voters approved a new 10-year tax levy in 2022 and the district is trying to manage its cash to avoid asking for another levy before 2032. Draining those reserves now could damage its bond rating, force budget cuts or require a new tax levy to sustain the workforce training programs it started with its state grant.
“Our community, this is something that they voted for,” Davis said. “This is something that they support and something that they expect for their children. By the state coming in and taking over local control of communities, their voice doesn’t matter at this point.”
Two Reading High School seniors can vouch for the value of the district’s job training programs.
Lawrence Harris earned two professional certifications for his construction and advanced manufacturing skills. He also received resume and interview coaching that led to a job offer at Atricure, a medical device maker.
"I felt very prepared, actually. I was nervous before, but when I got there it all kinda eased down," Harris said.
Madeline Clay earned two professional certifications in the behavioral health field as part of her work in the Insight School to Work program through Talbert House.
Now, she's a qualified behavioral health specialist with a scholarship to pursue a master's degree in social work at Ohio State University.
Clay has heard about the state budget cuts that could threaten the program that helped her achieve her goals. She said she's not a fan.
"If people aren't willing to show up for the kids and for the youth, you just kind of leave them helpless," Clay said. "I think it's really important to connect kids to something they're passionate about and give them the means necessary to reach their goals."
Reading has at least one ally in the Ohio Senate, as it begins to scrutinize elements of a House Budget that passed by a vote of 60-39.
Sen. Bill Blessing, R-Colerain Township, thinks there will be support in the Senate for removing the 30% cap.
"That’s a major problem. I’ll be trying to pull that out,” said Blessing, chairman of the Senate Ways and Means committee and member of the finance committee.
Blessing said county auditors have voiced opposition to the cap because it would be difficult to administer and doesn’t represent true property tax reform. That’s because the House budget requires county budget commissions to determine whether school districts are over the 30% cap and reduce tax rates in districts where that’s the case.
“These superintendents are smart, school treasurers are smart, they’re well-educated people, it would take them 15 minutes to move their money around so that it doesn’t fall under this,” Warren County Auditor Matt Nolan told WCPO news partner, Journal-News. "In the best-case scenario, you would get one year of property tax relief and then everything would shoot right back up the next year. The way our system is set up, this doesn’t work."
Blessing also sees a fairness issue at work. He questions whether it makes sense to throw school district finances into disarray for a one-time property tax break that mostly goes to corporations, wealthy landholders and real estate investors.
In Hamilton County, Blessing said they've "had problems with large institutional housing investors like Vinebrook (Homes)," which acquired more than 3,000 single-family homes in Cincinnati while defending itself against allegations of code violations and predatory leasing practices. The City of Cincinnati settled its lawsuit with Vinebrook in 2023.
"Vinebrook would get a massive one-time windfall,” said Blessing. "That’s not fair. That money belongs to public school districts and not going to a large out-of-state investor that’s really been very harmful to housing in Hamilton County."
