East-side wage earners could see a different levy on the November ballot than the one Cincinnati Public Schools approved just days ago.

The CPS board voted 5-2 on Tuesday, July 28, to place a first-ever 0.75% earned income tax on the November 3 ballot, a measure that would cost a Hyde Park household earning $100,000 about $750 a year. But swift backlash from municipalities and community members is now pushing the district to consider switching to a traditional property tax levy at its Monday, August 3, meeting, WLWT reported. The district must file with Hamilton County by Tuesday, August 4.

Board member Eve Bolton, who voted no, said the reaction since the vote has been intense.

"We've had tremendous reaction from the city and from our other villages and townships and municipalities who said nobody reached out to us about increasing the taxes on our citizens," Bolton told WLWT.

Bolton warned that if the levy fails at the polls, the district would need to cut roughly $66 million, potentially closing schools and eliminating transportation. The CPS press release announcing the levy said it would protect programs at east-side schools including magnet and Montessori options, arts, athletics, and student transportation at schools like Clark Montessori and Withrow University High School.

Critics have zeroed in on a specific concern: CPS students working part-time jobs would pay the tax. Cincinnati Federation of Teachers President Julie Sellers called the vote unfair for that reason, telling the Cincinnati Enquirer that a 7-mill property tax would have been a safer bet.

The income tax would also apply to non-Cincinnati residents in Amberley Village, Silverton, and Golf Manor who are served by CPS, according to WKRC.

Even yes-voting board members expressed doubts at the July 28 meeting. Vice President Dr. Kareem Moncree-Moffett, who voted yes, acknowledged the district had not provided voters with a specific plan for how levy proceeds would be spent and lacked a developed campaign coalition, according to WCPO's reporting on the meeting. Member Kendra Mapp, also a yes vote, said more community engagement was needed.

The financial pressure behind the levy is real. CPS cut 111 positions at its June 22, meeting, including 12 social workers, 10 assistant principals, and eight counselors. The district balanced a $634.6 million budget for 2026-27 but relied on $6.7 million in one-time revenue that won't recur.

The alternative property tax options discussed before the vote would have generated similar revenue. An 8-mill levy would have cost the owner of a $285,000 home about $800 per year, according to WKRC. The board also passed a resolution promising a 1% property tax rollback if the income tax passes.

Statewide, income tax levies have struggled. In the May 2026 primary, 24 of 32 school district income tax requests failed, including nearby proposals from Mount Healthy and North College Hill, according to WVXU.

As we reported July 18, the August 3 meeting was already a critical deadline for the district's levy strategy. That meeting now carries even higher stakes: the board could vote to pull the income tax and file a property tax levy instead before the August 4 cutoff.