Barberton Schools: Voters face $4.7 million tax decision amid state oversight

Barberton residents will vote Tuesday on whether to add a new 1% earned income tax to their paychecks, a measure designed to stabilize the city's public school system during a period of intense financial scrutiny. The proposal, known as Issue 5, aims to generate approximately $4.73 million annually for a five-year period to help close a funding gap that has left the district in a precarious fiscal state.

The district entered this election cycle under fiscal emergency, the most severe level of state oversight, after the Ohio Auditor intervened in September. This status followed the voters' rejection of an 11-mill property tax levy in May. In the wake of that defeat, school officials implemented roughly $7 million in spending reductions, which included the elimination of about 70 positions held by teachers and teacher's aides. Despite those measures, the district has not yet achieved a balanced budget, a requirement imposed by the state commission now monitoring its finances.

Superintendent Jason Ondrus cited several factors in the district's financial decline, including rising health care costs, shifts in state funding formulas, and the expiration of federal pandemic-era grants. He noted that temporary federal support had created a false sense of revenue stability for many districts across the state. Under the current oversight structure, officials must combine further spending reductions with new local revenue sources to meet state requirements.

Local residents are split on whether an additional tax is the appropriate remedy. Steve Despot, a Barberton resident, opposes the levy, estimating it would cost him about $55 per month. He argued that increased household expenses and property taxes make it difficult to absorb another monthly bill, describing the tax as a way for residents to fix administrative mistakes. "It's gonna cost me about $55 a month. I would be on the hook to fix their mistake, and I just don't think that's right," Despot said.

Gail Klusty, a graduate of the local schools whose son and grandson also attended, initially planned to vote against the measure but changed her mind. She views the tax as essential for providing structure to children's lives. "Because it's so important and vital for our kids because a lot of them don't have a lot of structure in their life but school," Klusty said. She believes the potential impact on students outweighs the personal financial burden.

The proposed tax applies to wages, salaries, tips, and self-employment earnings, while exempting income from Social Security, pensions, 401(k) and IRA distributions, investments, dividends, interest, and unemployment benefits. Retirees relying solely on exempt income would not pay the tax. Unlike the previous property tax proposal, this levy is set to expire automatically after five years unless voters approve a new measure.

If the levy fails, the district plans to implement deeper cuts to meet state mandates. These reductions would include eliminating middle and high school athletics, ending preschool programs, consolidating career technical education, and reducing art and music electives. Transportation services would also be reduced to state minimums, which would eliminate high school busing and limit K-8 transportation to students living more than two miles from their assigned school. Ondrus said final decisions on these reductions will be made in coordination with the state commission.