For Our Kids

These are not predictions. They have already happened:

• High school busing eliminated. K–8 busing eliminated within two miles, nonpublic routes eliminated, 15 bus routes cut in total.
• 14 teaching positions eliminated over two school years, plus three administrative and one maintenance position.
• Field trips eliminated districtwide, and a districtwide hiring freeze.
• Electives and course offerings reduced; class sizes increased at every grade level.

Those reductions saved roughly $500,000–$650,000 in staffing and courses and $700,000–$800,000 in transportation. The district cut first, then asked.

And a thank you to our teachers. Tallmadge’s teaching staff agreed to forgo a pay increase to help carry the district through this. That is a real sacrifice by the people standing in front of our kids every day, and it should not go unsaid.

One percent of your earned income. If you earn $40,000 in wages, that is $400 a year. At $60,000, $600. At $100,000, $1,000 — about $19 a week.

If your income comes from Social Security, a pension, rental income, or retirement savings, it costs you nothing. Property taxes do not change.

If it passes on November 3, the tax takes effect January 1, 2027. Ohio school district income taxes always begin on January 1 following the election.

The district does not get the money right away. The Ohio Department of Taxation collects it and pays districts four times a year, in January, April, July and October. Tallmadge’s first payment would arrive in April 2027, and the state cautions that this first payment is relatively small. It takes roughly a year and a half for a district to receive a full year’s worth of the tax.

That timing is exactly why this is on the November ballot. The district’s own forecast shows operating cash going negative in 2028. Passing it now means the revenue is ramping up as the shortfall hits. Waiting means it arrives too late.

Source: Ohio Department of Taxation, Guide to Ohio’s School District Income Tax.

We’ve explained House Bill 920 and the State of Ohio public school funding reductions many times, but the simplest way to understand the impact is through a real-life comparison:

If you go to work each year earning $50,000, you budget your life around that income—paying your mortgage or rent, utilities, groceries, transportation, insurance, and other family expenses.

You understand what you can afford because your income is stable and predictable. But what if you never receive a cost-of-living increase? Your bills would continue to climb, especially when inflation is high like it is right now. It would become more and more difficult to meet your obligations. HB920 prevents Tallmadge Schools from keeping up with inflation. 

Now imagine doing the same job, with the same flat pay and the same responsibilities and increasing bills, but your employer suddenly reduces your pay. The State of Ohio is reducing the funding to Tallmadge Schools.

When that funding was reduced, schools were left without the resources to maintain current services, staffing, programs, and operations —although student needs, state requirements, and operating costs increase.

The district’s own five-year forecast shows the annual shortfall growing from $0.97 million in FY2027 to $3.78 million by FY2031. Operating cash goes negative in 2028 and reaches negative $10.57 million by 2031.

The Board has not published a predetermined list of the next round of cuts — those decisions are made publicly. But personnel and purchased services are 94% of the budget. There is very little left to cut that does not reach students directly.

This is an ongoing tax. It does not expire and it does not come back to the ballot every few years.

That is the point. The repeated levy cycle exists because property tax revenue cannot keep pace under House Bill 920 while costs rise. An ongoing earned income tax gives the district a stable, predictable base — and stops Tallmadge from returning to voters every few years while the state’s share keeps shrinking.

Personnel — salaries and benefits — make up 71.5% of district spending. Purchased services are another 22.8%. Together that is 94% of the budget. Everything else, including supplies and capital, is under 6%.

No. These funds will not be used for construction or facilities.

Tallmadge is a community of choice which means people move here for our schools.

Strong schools protect property values and make Tallmadge a desirable place to live. Whether or not you have children in school, investing in education strengthens the whole community.