It’s the first operational levy tax vote in the 10,000-student district since voters approved a levy in 2011, and with recent years already seeing budget reductions, the stakes are high, according to the leader of the Fairfield Board of Education.
“I feel it’s critical the levy passes as we have already made cuts to the budget and tough staffing decisions. If the levy fails, we will need to move forward with the cuts we have outlined,” said School Board President Brian Begley, referring to sweeping budgets cuts planned for the 2024-2025 school year should voters reject the new levy.
Fairfield school officials announced early in 2023 the district was facing a projected $11 million budget deficit.
Among the series of announced budget cuts are more than 2,000 kindergarten through 5th grade students losing bus service beginning at the start of classes in August should the tax issue lose and district officials reduce transportation services to state-minimums as a cost-saving measure.
And 22 school bus driver positions would be phased out by the start of next school year.
Moreover, said Fairfield school officials, moving to state busing minimums would also see the elimination of school transportation for 9th and 10th grade students — impacting 1,562 students — as well as additional private school students of the same grades whom Fairfield buses as required by state law for the public school system.
Fairfield High School and Fairfield Freshman School would see 4.5 teaching positions eliminated and five more teachers cut from the district’s middle school grades.
Further cuts would include ending three district curriculum department jobs.
And a full-time school building administration position would be reduced to part time on top of one administrative job already eliminated last year.
If approved by voters in Fairfield and Fairfield Twp., the new school tax would raise the annual property tax for a $100,000 home by $242.
The 6.9-mill levy’s approval Tuesday would then see the new tax begin to be collected from local property owners as of Jan. 1, 2025.
A ballot victory would see the new tax generate $15.9 million annually and would help keep the district financially solvent through June 30, 2029, said school officials.
Local voters last approved a new school operating tax of 6.5 mills in 2011, which at the time was projected to help maintain the district’s financially for two to three years.
School officials, however, pointed out that 2011 levy’s revenue has now sustained Fairfield’s schools for 12 years through budget reductions and other cost-saving measures.
The phasing out of federal COVID pandemic school funding, combined with recent years of increased inflationary costs impacting all operations has prompted the district to ask residents for more local tax funding.
According to district officials, Fairfield Schools have the second-lowest costs per pupil among Butler County’s 10 public school districts and spends $2,412 less per pupil than the Ohio public school average.
Begley said in recent years, the school system “has been transparent about the need for a future revenue to address growing expenditures.”
“The district faces the same inflationary pressures that other businesses and households feel. Higher health care costs and utility costs continue to drive expenses,” he said.
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