The superintendent of Mt. Healthy City Schools says sports, arts, and other extracurricular activities are next on the chopping block if the district can't pass a levy in the upcoming 2026 primary election.
Mt. Healthy has been in fiscal emergency since April 2024. The district already laid off more than 100 full-time employees, raised student fees, and cut transportation services for many students, but is still expected to be in deficit spending in the coming years without new revenue.
Superintendent Sarah Wilson, who took over the district this summer, says a property tax or earned income tax levy will now need to pass to avoid losing sports. During a school board meeting on Monday night, Wilson told community members the district can't make any more cuts to staffing or transportation, and will need to consider cutting funding for athletics, even though it wouldn't be popular among students and many in the community.
"That is definitely not the route the district wants to go, but we're running out of things to cut because we have to provide an education. That's why the school district is here," she said.
Mt. Healthy's administration presented the Board of Education with two possible options for the May 5 primary: a 5.95 mill continuing levy that would cost the owner of a home valued at $100,000 about $208 a year, or a .75% earned income tax. Administrators say both options would generate more than $3 million for the school district each year.
Mt. Healthy already tried to pass a property tax levy in each of the last three elections, but voters rejected it each attempt. Wilson says the district may have more success with the earned income tax proposal because it wouldn't cost older residents on a fixed income any extra money.
Still, board members were cautious of the income tax proposal. Board President Stephanie Anderson warned that while it may be more popular with some voters, if approved, it will likely put a heavier financial burden on younger, working families.
"It's not just, 'How do we make this pass? How do we cater to only the people who are voting?' I want to make sure we're not putting too much on people who don't show up to vote," Anderson said. "I want them to still be able to thrive. Well, maybe not thrive, because nobody's thriving, but survive."
The district will hold a special meeting Thursday to vote on whether to put one of the proposed measures on the ballot.
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