CPS Board Places Five-Year, 7-Mill Property-Tax Levy

The Cincinnati Board of Education voted Monday evening to rescind the previously approved 0.75% earned-income tax proposal and place a five-year, 7-mill property-tax levy on the November 3, 2026, general election ballot.

The Board acted after hearing significant community concern about the impact an earned-
income tax would have on working residents. While the funding method has changed, the financial need facing Cincinnati Public Schools has not.

If approved, the 7-mill levy would generate approximately $66,336,723 annually, with collections beginning in January 2027. It would cost the owner of a home with a market value of $100,000 approximately $245 per year.

The Board reconsidered the funding method after hearing significant concerns from residents, families, employees and community leaders about the earned-income tax proposal.

CPS has gone 10 years without asking voters for new operating money. During that time,
inflation has driven up the cost of transportation, insurance, utilities, technology, instructional materials, building repairs and specialized student services.

CPS closed a projected budget gap of nearly $58 million and adopted a balanced $634.6 million general-fund budget for the 2026-27 school year. The District reduced staffing, implemented five furlough days, lowered non-personnel spending, strengthened spending and hiring controls, reorganized services, secured outside funding and used limited one-time resources.

Those actions balanced the coming year while protecting much of the instruction, support and educational opportunity students receive. Without sustainable additional revenue, CPS could be forced to:

• Close or consolidate schools
• Increase class sizes and eliminate teaching positions
• Reduce counselors, social workers and other student supports
• Limit transportation eligibility, requiring more students to walk to school or families to
• arrange transportation
• Introduce pay-to-play fees for athletics and other student activities
• Reduce enrichment, educational choices and pathways to college and careers

“We have worked to protect the quality of education Cincinnati’s students deserve,”
Superintendent Shauna Murphy said. “Further reductions would change what students and families experience in our schools. This proposal would provide recurring funding to help preserve strong instruction, critical support and meaningful opportunities for students.”