Under new powers granted by the Ohio Legislature, the Medina County Budget Commission is attempting to reduce the property tax funding several school districts receive, setting the stage for conflict between public school advocates and leaders seeking tax relief.
The budget commission considered, but did not approve, property tax rollbacks for taxpayers at Highland, Buckeye and Brunswick schools Wednesday, which could cut those schools' funding by millions of dollars annually.
The schools have opposed the motions, and the budget commission ended its meeting abruptly Wednesday due to a legal challenge from Highland schools. The commission is made up of the county's prosecutor, treasurer and auditor. The prosecutor recused himself this week and was replaced by Medina County Commissioner Colleen Swedyk.
The budget commission did vote to cut Cloverleaf schools' local property tax funding by $546,000 during a March 6 meeting. Cloverleaf Superintendent Daryl Kubilus said his school district is filing an appeal of that decision. He said his district has already cut taxes for local residents on five different occasions over the last decade. They've also promised not to raise taxes until 2032 at least, but the budget commission's decision jeopardizes that promise.
"A three-member county board, none of which live in, let alone represent our community, unilaterally usurped the authority of the Cloverleaf Board of Education and (told) them their solemn promise is nothing more than a 'used car sales job' and that our community should would be grateful to go back on the ballot in 2029 instead of 2032," Kubilus said, referring to a statement made by the county prosecutor during the March 6 meeting. "That is absurd. It's offensive."
The showdown between the budget commission and school districts in Medina County is a new test for an Ohio law passed by legislators late last year. House Bill 309 gives county budget commissions the power to reduce millage of levies approved by voters if those commissions deem the revenue "unnecessary or excessive."
The argument for, and against, reducing taxes
The Medina County Budget Commission has proposed cutting taxes for Highland Local Schools by $2.8 million, Buckeye Local Schools by $2.5 million and Brunswick City Schools by $1.9 million.
During a recording of the March 6 meeting, the budget commission members debated the definition of "unnecessary or excessive," and which districts' finances meet that threshold. They said many Medina school districts have healthy cash reserves, with Cloverleaf having about $40 million in reserves, and also maintain a high balance in the following years.
County Treasurer John Burke said the commission was looking out for taxpayers' best interests.
"Would you rather have the money back now with taxpayers and not pay so much and maybe have to have a levy in 2029? Is that not a legit question, and how would those taxpayers answer that? I have a feeling a lot would say, 'Give me my money back,'" Burke said.
New commission member Swedyk said Thursday that she is still catching up with the commission's decisions. She made a motion Wednesday, which was not seconded, to rescind the Cloverleaf tax cuts. Her motion to adjourn the meeting to reconsider the cuts for the other schools, pending legal action, was approved. The letter from Highland schools' attorney suggested the commission had missed a March 1 deadline to approve the tax budgets for the schools.
"That is, in essence, why I, at the very public meeting yesterday, basically said we needed a reset," Swedyk said.
The county prosecutor and auditor did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Robert Hlasko, superintendent with the Medina County Educational Services Center, said school districts in his service area were given little notice about the cuts, or how the commission determined the amount cut from each district. He said districts should be allowed to hold their reserves to stave off future levy attempts.
"It's no different than a household budget, you try and make that last as long as possible because no school district wants to go back to their taxpayers," Hlasko said. "They know (residents) are already saddled with any number of expenses, so you try to make that last."
It's not clear when the budget commission will next meet to discuss the tax cuts for the districts.
