Meanwhile, after more than 18 months of hemming-and-hawing over the homeowners’ tax revolt sweeping the state Ohio’s House – but not, so far, the Senate – passed legislation to address to some degree crushing school-levy burdens.
Key reason for the wake-up: The possibility fed-up voters may completely ban real-estate taxes altogether via a constitutional amendment that may reach November 2026’s statewide ballot.
Left unaddressed were the real reasons school-levy costs are busting homeowners’ budgets. Reason One: The state is paying a smaller and smaller share public school costs, requiring homeowners to pay a larger percentage.
Reason Two: Legislators are sluicing more and more taxpayer money to non-public, often religious schools, which flagrantly violates the Ohio Constitution. It forbids a “religious or other sect, or sects, [to] ever have any exclusive right to, or control of, any part of the school funds of this state.”
It’s hard to parse General Assembly Republicans’ disrespect for public schools, given that almost all Ohio legislators graduated from them. (Maybe they got too many detentions.)
But a real-world possibility for GOP disdain for public schools: Many teachers in Ohio, and other school employees (bus drivers, secretaries, etc.), are union members. And unions are generally pro-Democratic because of their un-American belief that working people’s wages should rise, not fall.
According to the National Education Association, the average salary for an Ohio teacher this year is $68,236, 22nd among the states. The NEA represents about 120,000 Ohio teachers and allied professionals, including the Columbus and Dayton Education associations. The Ohio Federation of Teachers represents about 20,000 teachers and allied professionals, among them Cleveland Teachers Union members.
Early opinions on House Bill 186, the omnibus property tax bill, and House Bill 335 boosting the power of Ohio’s 88 otherwise obscure County Budget Commissions) were low-key, except among the GOP cheerleaders who applaud anything they and their caucus leader, Speaker Matt Huffman, of Lima, do.
House Democrats voting “yes” on both property tax bills were Reps. Sean Brennan, of Parma; Rachel Baker, of Cincinnati; Karen Brownlee, of suburban Cincinnati; Joseph Miller, of Amherst; Mark Sigrist, of Grove City; Bride Rose Sweeney, of Westlake; and Daniel P. Troy, of Willowick.
Among House Democrats voting “yes” on HB 186 only – the omnibus property tax “reform” – was Rep. Allison Russo, who’s seeking Democrats’ nomination for secretary of state. The House’s Democratic minority leader, Rep. Dani Isaacsohn, of Cincinnati, voted “no” on both bills.
The point of Republican’ Statehouse exercise was apparently to be seen as doing something about the property tax mess without in fact doing that much. If the central problem is, as it’s always been, constitutionally fair state funding for local public schools there are two readily available solutions.
One is to stop (unconstitutionally) handing taxpayers’ money to religious and other non-public schools. The other is for legislators to undo their broken promise to fully fund the Cupp-Patterson Fair School Funding Plan, devised by then-Senate President Robert Cupp, a Lima Republican, and then-Rep. John Patterson, a Democrat from Ashtabula County’s Jefferson.
Only a cynic would suggest Speaker Huffman opposes the Cupp-Patterson because it actually might work. “I think those increases in funding are unsustainable,” he’s said. But $600 million in state-held money for a new Browns stadium? Hey: Why not?
Thomas Suddes is a former legislative reporter with The Plain Dealer in Cleveland and writes from Ohio University. You can reach him at tsuddes@gmail.com.
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