Ohio schools brace for cuts amid ‘catastrophic’ budget shortfalls, miscalculations

The Mt. Health City Schools district near Cincinnati is reducing expenditures to address a $10.7 million shortfall, but administrators are concerned it won’t be enough.

“$10.7 million in a district where our whole budget is $45 million is just catastrophic,” the district’s superintendent, Valerie Hawkins, told WVXU, a division of Cincinnati NPR. 

The district in southwest Ohio, which serves nearly 3,000 students, has taken a state loan to cover its debts but needs to pay it back within two years. 

“The school district found itself in a massive financial hole just over a year ago when its newly hired treasurer discovered accounting errors by her predecessor, revealing the district would enter deficit spending in a few years,” writes Zack Carreon. 

“A later state audit uncovered more mistakes, and soon district leaders discovered Mt. Healthy had spent several million on funding for building projects and hiring new teachers with money they didn’t have.” 

Mt. Healthy isn’t alone. Across the state, public districts are cutting back amid deficits, including four schools “under state fiscal oversight, meaning they’re in a financial crisis or on the brink of one.” 

‘More and more districts in this predicament’ 

Sen. Bill Blessing, R-Colerain Township, proposed legislation to convert the district’s loan into a grant, but it failed to pass before the end of the 2024 legislative session. 

“If this were just Mt. Healthy, that’s one thing,” he said. “But what happens when you start seeing more and more districts in this predicament?” 

Other statewide districts placed under fiscal watch are Springfield Local Schools, Trimble Local Schools, Magadore Local Schools and Ravenna City Schools. 

“We have found there’s been some general hesitancy towards this (bill), and their reasoning is, ‘Well, there is a certain degree of moral hazard to bailout,’” Blessing noted. 

So far Mt. Healthy’s steps to save money include laying off 100 full-time employees, cutting transportation and adding participation fees to its athletics program. 

Class sizes have increased substantially as a result, said Patty Kinser, a longtime high school math teacher. 

“This year I have 180 [students] in five classes,” she said. “All of my classes are over 30. Most of them are closer to 35.”