CityBeat has, in the past, reported on the state’s broken system for school funding and the extent to which Cincinnati Public Schools must rely on local levies to sustain its education system.
Issue 1 is, unfortunately, a necessity for the district, which has suffered over a decade of severe budget cuts at local, state and federal levels. Indeed, CPS has already shut down 20 schools, raised employee health care premiums and co-pays, reworked transportation routes and cut employee pay raises. As we’ve stated before: It shouldn’t have to do more.
The levy is a renewal of a 2009 emergency requirements levy for the Cincinnati City School District. The levy will raise approximately $65 million per year for five years, commencing in 2015. It will cost the owner of a $100,000 home $307.92 per year, slightly less than the current rate. It will provide about 14 to 15 percent of the school district’s $497 million General Fund Budget for 2014-15. (The rest of the district’s funding comes from federal, state and other non-tax sources.)
The General Fund covers everything from personal salaries and benefits to student transportation, evaluation and testing, athletics, information technology and security. Voters have successfully renewed the levy for several years.
CPS outperforms all other urban districts in Ohio academically, thanks in part to this levy. Renewing it will also ensure the continued success of the district’s nationally recognized community learning centers.
