For Our Kids?

I live near the Sycamore Community School District in suburban Cincinnati.

My house is not in the district but I generally follow what is going on in education around me.

Sycamore schools have a great reputation.

They are generally ranked in the Top 5% among Ohio school districts on almost all measures.

Quick Facts--Sycamore Community School District
Source: https://www.publicschoolreview.com/ohio/sycamore-community-city-school-district/3904486-school-district

Its minority enrollment of 39% (17% Asian, 7% Hispanic, 7% Black) makes it one of the most diverse school districts in the state.

17 students at Sycamore High School were recently recognized as National Merit Semifinalists.

Due to its excellent reputation, Sycamore's school district has been a magnet for Asian immigrant families in recent years.

The Asian population in the school district grew from 4% to 17% over the last 30 years.

The one constant for school districts like Sycamore is they seem to never have enough money.

Part of this is due to Ohio state law that prohibits school districts from gaining windfall revenues from increases in real estate values after a new school levy passes.

The Sycamore school district recently put a school levy on the ballot for the November election that, if passed, would increase local property taxes by 6.95 mills.

The tax levy would generate $18 million in new tax revenue for the school district.

5 mills is to be used for operating expenses and 1.95 for capital improvements.

On a $500,000 house (about the median price home in the district) that would increase the property tax bill by about $1,200 per year for the homeowner.

That would mean about a 25% increase in the property taxes on the school portion of the local real estate taxes.

If the tax levy is passed it will generate an additional $13 million over and above the $105 million in current operating revenues for the district. The district is projected to spend $106 million this year in operating expenditures.

$5 million would go to the capital budget.

For those interested in the facts and rationale for the size of that tax levy you can watch a YouTube video by the school district's administration that provides information about Sycamore's financial situation.

It is an accurate recitation of the facts from everything I know. 

However, I can argue it is not all of the facts that a voter should have if trying to decide how to vote on this levy.

Sycamore currently has operating revenues of about $17,500 per student.

The tax levy would increase Sycamore's annual tax revenues by almost $2,200 per pupil to almost  $20,000 per student.

Let's put that in context.

We all hear about the high costs of college today.

However, the Sycamore School District is already bringing in more in revenues per pupil (and spending more) than it costs to pay annual tuition and fees at three of the four state universities that are popular with Sycamore High School graduates.

If the levy passes, Sycamore's revenue will be about 33% higher than tuition costs at the University of Cincinnati, Ohio State and Ohio University. It will be almost 6% higher than Miami University.

Source: Grok

I doubt few in the Sycamore school district know that it currently costs more to educate their students than the tuition and fees are at nearby state universities.

Why is it that we hear so much about high college costs and so little about what we are spending to educate our children in local public schools?

Funding education is always high on the list of important uses of tax dollars.

When a tax levy is put on the ballot in Ohio or elsewhere it is rare that there is ever any organized opposition.

Let's face it, it is not politically correct to raise questions about what we are spending "for out kids."

However, who is the taxpayer's advocate in these cases?

It should be the elected School Board members.

If you consider the makeup of the Sycamore Community School District School Board, there are plenty of advocates on that body for the teachers and administrators, for which 75%-85% of the total annual budget is spent.

Of the 5 Board Members, two received outright endorsements from the local teachers union in their last election. One of those is also a retired teacher from the district.

There is another retired teacher from the district on the Board.

A fourth member teaches at the University of Cincinnati.

Only one board member has a background in business in the private sector.

Is this a board that truly looks at financial issues objectively with equal deference to both teachers and taxpayers?

The composition of the Sycamore school board is not unusual.

There is a natural tendency of those with backgrounds in education to be more interested in serving on school boards.

The problem is that they often see financial issues from a slanted perspective---tax increases are always going to be considered first before spending restraints involving their friends, associates and union members.

That is the natural order of things.

However, the deck is almost always stacked against the taxpayers.

Those who benefit from tax dollars are always more organized and motivated about protecting what they are receiving than the taxpayers are about what they are paying.

Advocates for the Sycamore tax levy will argue that the district is spending about the same as the state average.

That is true but does that say more about the total level of spending on education across the entire state than it does about the financial stewardship at Sycamore?

Look once again at that level of spending compared to tuition and fees at state universities in the state.

It is undoubtedly true that the Sycamore schools need some type of tax increase.

School levies in Ohio effectively limit the tax revenues raised to the total amount of the initial levy.

It has been 10 years since Sycamore passed its last operating tax levy.

It is also true that wealthy districts like Sycamore that enjoy high residential values, and are blessed with a strong commercial tax base, do not get as much state funded support as other school districts.

However, has the Sycamore school board truly looked good and hard at the budget and given adequate respect to the taxpayers paying the bill?

Or is the school board more interested in principally serving the interests of the teachers union?

A 25% increase in the property tax bill for schools is a big number with everything else that is going on right now for households.

Several board members have stated that they believe Sycamore teachers are underpaid and this school levy for allow for teachers to get paid more.

It is true that Sycamore did not have the highest teacher pay in Southwest Ohio but its average pay was well above the statewide average and in the upper half of surrounding districts based on data from 2024-2025.

Source: Grok

However, almost every teacher in the district received a 6%-9% raise last year under the union contract that is based primarily on tenure rather than merit.

Teachers all get an overall general increase (3.75% last year) and a step increase based on tenure under the current union contract.

I am told that this now puts Sycamore right near the top in teacher pay in Southwest Ohio.

When compared to the private sector it also needs to be taken into account that teachers are working only about 185 days per year compared to a private sector employee that might be putting in 230-240 days for their annual pay.

Teachers also have generous health and retirement benefits that are generally much better than the private sector.

There is no denying that Sycamore is one of the top performing school districts in Ohio.

However, how much of that is the result of teaching excellence and how much of that is related to motivated students who have involved and caring parents supporting them?

Will the tax levy in Sycamore pass this year despite all the noise we already hear about high gasoline prices and property taxes?

It would not surprise me if it did as the reality is that the contradictory facts above are rarely shared in an honest debate about school finances.

School tax levies like this usually revolve around a one-sided narrative with two messages.

"We need to do this for our kids".

"You need to do this to protect your home's value." 

Facts and data that don't fit the narrative are rarely heard or discussed.

There is little interest by anyone (most particularly the school board) in sharing a balanced view of the issues involved with voters.

I don't have any skin in this game.

If the tax levy passes or fails it will not affect me one way or the other.

However, I am always interested in exploring both sides of an issue.

And I am especially intrigued by the enlightened self interest that underlies it all.

Is it for our kids?

Or have these tax levies become more about making sure that the teachers union is taken care of and more difficult choices on the budget never have to be confronted?