Ohio voters will consider over 130 local tax levies for public schools on midterm ballots in the coming weeks, as state funding for public K-12 education continues to decrease. Local property taxes already represent the largest source of funding for most public schools across Ohio, according to available information. The state's share of public school funding has fallen significantly from 47% in 1999 to an estimated 35% in 2026 and a projected 32.2% for 2027. This shift in financial responsibility occurs as state legislators have simultaneously increased public funding for private school voucher programs, which an Ohio appellate court recently found unconstitutional.
This reduction in state investment has led to consequences for public school districts. Multiple public school districts have been forced to lay off teachers, cut courses, and reduce extracurricular activities. Classroom sizes have reportedly swelled to capacity, leaving teachers overburdened and students receiving less than optimal instruction. Ohio ranks near the bottom nationally, around 45th, in state K-12 revenue.
The General Assembly, led by Republican majorities, and Republican Gov. Mike DeWine scrapped the final phase of the six-year, bipartisan Fair School Funding Plan (FSFP) in the current state budget. This plan was designed to more accurately reflect the genuine cost of educating students and the financial capacity of each community. The biennial budget for 2026-2027 "effectively abandoned and underfunded" the FSFP by approximately $2.75 billion, providing only 5.7% of the state-level funding increase that schools required based on the actual cost-based formula. Republican Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman characterized the proposal to fully fund the last two years of the Fair School Funding Plan as a "fantasy," claiming the state could not afford it.
Despite claims of affordability issues for public schools, Ohio again spent more than a billion dollars on private school vouchers during the latest fiscal year. Speaker Huffman has been noted for "funneling massive amounts of public money" into private, primarily Christian schools. In the 2026 fiscal year alone, public funds totaling $1.173 billion were spent on Ohio’s five private school voucher programs. Nearly half of that amount, $532.8 million, funded Education Choice Expansion vouchers. Speaker Huffman made these vouchers universally available to every affluent family in the state, regardless of income, whose children attend private schools. Unlike state funding for public schools, which comes with oversight and accountability for tax dollars spent, there is reportedly "zero accounting" for the spending related to these private school vouchers.
Last week, an Ohio appellate court concluded that the EdChoice voucher program violated the clear language of the state constitution. The court found that it effectively established a “competing system of uncommon schools” that is not subject to the same obligations imposed on Ohio’s system of common schools. This ruling from the Ohio 10th District Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s decision from 2025. The appellate court further noted that participating non-public schools on public funding receive taxpayer support in a manner that operates to the disadvantage of Ohio's public schools and the children who rely on them. State Republicans reportedly "shrugged off the expected ruling," expressing confidence it will be overturned by the Republican-majority on the Ohio Supreme Court.
As public school districts across Ohio face perpetual panic over funding shortfalls, negative cash balances, or severe deficits, voters are being asked to approve more local levies. This situation places an even heavier public school funding burden on Ohio property owners this election cycle, according to observations of the legislature's actions. The source material suggests Ohio voters may want a say in funding the expanding universal private school voucher program, especially as they fill out ballots that could lead to bigger tax bills to keep public schools operational. Voters in Colorado, Kentucky, and Nebraska rejected the creation or expansion of private school vouchers in 2024.