A homeowner at the CPS district's median home value of $285,000 would pay roughly $551 more per year if Cincinnati Public Schools' 7-mill property tax levy passes on Nov. 3. In Hyde Park and Oakley, where home values typically run higher, the annual cost would exceed that figure. The district says the levy, projected to generate $66 million annually, is the only thing standing between the schools families rely on and a fiscal emergency by 2029.
So why is CPS asking for new general-operating money for the first time since 2008?
CPS Treasurer Mike Gustin pointed to two structural causes at an April 2026 board meeting, as the Cincinnati Enquirer reported: Ohio's sweeping property tax overhaul and a state funding formula that hasn't caught up.
The property tax cap
Gov. Mike DeWine signed five property tax bills on Dec. 19, 2025, cutting an estimated $3 billion in property taxes statewide over three years. The package, the largest overhaul of Ohio's property tax system in decades, caps how much rising home values can automatically increase tax revenue for schools. House Bill 186 specifically limits a district's revenue growth to the rate of inflation.
For homeowners watching their valuations climb, that's relief. For CPS, it means the district's tax base no longer grows with the neighborhood.
The funding formula mismatch
The state calculates how much aid to send each district based on local revenue capacity. But Columbus hasn't updated that formula to reflect the new caps.
"The 'really nasty part' about the set of new policies is that the way the state calculates school funding has not changed to reflect the property tax reforms," Gustin told the Enquirer. "So, districts like CPS will appear to have more local revenue than they really have and, thus, will continue to lose state aid."
CPS collects less than projected because of the caps, but the state still treats the district as if it's collecting the old amount and sends less aid accordingly. The district gets squeezed from both directions.
The Republican-led legislature also drew criticism from education advocates for straying from the Fair School Funding Formula in its two-year budget passed in 2025.
What CPS already cut
The district closed a $58 million budget gap to balance a $634.6 million general-fund budget for 2026-27. That meant eliminating 81 central office positions, 12 social workers, 10 assistant principals and eight counselors, plus five mandatory furlough days for staff. About $6.7 million of the current budget relies on one-time revenue that won't be available next year.
What a 'no' vote means for east-side schools
Without new revenue, Gustin's forecast shows CPS hitting a negative $30.6 million cash balance by 2029, deepening to negative $156 million by 2031. A shortfall that large could trigger state fiscal watch or fiscal emergency, with a state team assuming control of district finances.
Before that point, the district has said a failed levy would likely mean:
- Increasing the minimum walk-to-school distance from 1 mile to 2 miles before guaranteeing bus transportation
- Implementing pay-to-play fees for athletics and extracurriculars like band
- Potential school closures or consolidations
- Larger class sizes and eliminated teaching positions
At the Aug. 3 special meeting where the board voted 5-1 to place the levy on the ballot, Gustin warned board members what further cuts without new revenue would produce. "At what point does the Board say, 'We can't do it anymore' … It's a shell of a district that does the bare minimum," he said. "It's your stereotypical urban school district that's not innovative, that's not offering opportunities."
The vote
The five-year levy appears on the Nov. 3 general election ballot. It would cost $245 per $100,000 of assessed home value, with collections beginning in January 2027. Board member Kendra Mapp voted against placing it on the ballot, supporting an earlier earned-income tax proposal; Vice President Kareem Moffett abstained.
Hamilton County Democrats endorsed the levy 90-1 on Aug. 13. Families can find the district's levy details at cps-k12.org.
