Voters stave off devastating cuts with passage of Elyria Schools levy

ELYRIA — As Superintendent Ann Schloss glanced down at election results, she repeated the same phrase twice; first quietly, as if she was asking herself, and then as loud as she could muster, with her hands cupped around her mouth. "We won!" Schloss shouted, drawing rapturous cheers and applause from the supporters of Issue 4, the Elyria Schools new money operating levy that passed by a narrow margin on Tuesday night. The 8.9-mill operating levy passed by 8,922 to 8,091 votes, according to unofficial results from the Lorain County Board of Elections, claiming a slim majority with 52.44 percent of the vote. In 2025, two smaller levies put forward by the district had failed and prompted the Board of Education to approve a $9 million budget reduction plan that included deep cuts to staffing, busing and other district programs. School officials had warned that the failure of Issue 4 would lead to another $8 million in cuts, including the complete elimination of district extracurricular activities. The applause, hugs and tears of joy that followed Schloss' announcement of the results reflected the crowd's relief that this would not come to pass. "The children of this community are the future, and to be able to protect the programs that make them who they are and make them great community members is huge, is absolutely huge," Schloss said. "And they deserve it. First and foremost, they deserve it." The district — as with many others in the state — saw a decline in state funding. 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 $283 million. The shortfall has caused about 20 percent of the state's districts to project that they will run out of money by 2029, the Ohio Capital Journal reported in September. And Elyria itself still faces financial insecurities as prices continue to rise and revenue continues to fall, but Schloss said she and the board would continue to work to keep streamline spending. As far as if any of the cut teachers or programs would be brought back, Schloss said the only thing she could say with certainty was the district would review hardships placed on families by the reduction in the district's busing radius, which was dropped to the state minimum as a part of the reduction plan. "This has been an amazing campaign, people really worked hard to share their voice and support and love for the traditions of their school and hope for the future," said board member Len Howser. "There was a big voter turnout which indicates that people are really passionate about our schools. We are thankful to the community, and obviously with that comes great responsibility to do our very best, both in terms of how we use the dollars moving forward, but also to provide the best opportunity for the kids." Earlier this year, Schloss announced her plan to retire as superintendent at the end of 2026. She said that she was thrilled and relieved to know that she was leaving the district with badly needed new revenue. "I just told somebody, this is the best gift that I could have gotten, because it's about the kids," she said. Contact Owen MacMillan at ctnews@chroniclet.com.