Issue 4: Elyria Schools say deeper cuts to come if levy fails

A year after the second of two new money operating levies failed, resulting in about $9 million in cuts, the Elyria Schools district is pursuing a new, even larger operating levy. If this levy also fails, district officials have warned that they will be forced to propose about $8 million in additional cuts, resulting in the potential loss of all extracurriculars and many class offerings, as well as further staff reductions. Issue 4 is a permanent 8.9-mill operating levy that will raise about $11.6 million annually to pay for Elyria Schools' daily operations, including teacher pay and benefits as well as extracurricular activities, classroom materials and most of what the district does. It will cost homeowners about $312 for every $100,000 of the auditor-appraised value of their home. Elyria Superintendent Ann Schloss said that the $9 million reduction plan that the district enacted in response to the failure of two smaller levies in 2025 was "devastating," and that failure to pass Issue 4 would lead to even deeper cuts. At a Board of Education meeting earlier this month, Schloss and Treasurer Colleen Aholt said that the failure of the current levy would force them to make about $8 million in further cuts over the next two years, and they laid out the details of the cuts they would propose to the board. Schloss said that proposed cuts would include all extracurricular activities like sports teams, JROTC, bands, choirs and other clubs like robotics. The district also would reduce many course offerings to the state minimum, doing away with advanced placement, honors and in-school college credit plus classes. The district also would be forced to further reduce its staff after it cut dozens of teachers, administrators and support staff last year. "We have always been very proud of the opportunities that we offer our students, our families and our staff, but at the end of the day we are talking about changing the landscape of what education looks like in Elyria," Schloss said. "And our feeling is we have to protect these opportunities for our students and families … it is hard to say this, but they deserve it. They deserve it because it is what's right for kids and right for families." Aholt said that the projected spending for Elyria Schools in 2027 is just under $90 million, down from a projected $96 million before last year's cuts were made. Meanwhile, from 2026 through 2030, Aholt projected that the district's revenue will decline from a projected peak of $90.2 million in 2026 to $84.2 million in 2030. That reduction in revenue is due to expected declines in both local revenue and state funding, and it comes at the same time that inflation continues to increase all of the district's costs. Elyria has not received new operating money by levy from voters since 2005, while Schloss said the average cycle for a school district in Ohio is to ask for money every three to five years. "That is pretty darn impressive," Schloss said. "I hate using a word like that, but it is unheard of to go that long without new operating money." According to the calculations of the bipartisan Fair School Funding Plan, passed by the Ohio legislature in 2021, Ohio should have increased public school funding by more than $3 billion in the 2026-27 biennial budget. In reality, the state increased funding by only $283 million. The shortfall in state funding has caused about 20 percent of districts to project that they will run out of money by 2029, the Ohio Capital Journal reported in September. While public education funding is a problem across the state, the only immediate fix for Elyria's financial woes will fall, once again, on local voters. Contact Owen MacMillan at omacmillan@chroniclet.com. Issue 4What it is: A new 8.9-mill operating levyDuration: ContinuingHow much it would raise: The levy will raise about $11.6 million annuallyPurpose: Current expensesCost to the owner of a $100,000 home: $312 annually