Issue 4, Cincinnati Public Schools' proposed five-year, 7-mill property tax levy, has plenty of local support. The pivotal ballot measure has received endorsements from the Hamilton County Democratic Party, Mayor Aftab Pureval, the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers (CFT), and several other Cincinnati-area organizations.
The school district says the new property tax, which, if passed, would bring an estimated $66.3 million in additional revenue a year, is critical to maintain its current academic offerings. Without it, Cincinnati Public's administration says the district will likely have to consolidate schools, cut more transportation services, and add pay-to-play fees for sports to avoid running a deficit.
It's expected to cost taxpayers $245 per $100,000 of home value. The levy's cost and its timing have also drawn criticism.
The Vote No on Issue 4 campaign
In September, Cincinnati Regional Chamber (CRC) CEO Brendon Cull and Cincinnati Business Committee (CBC) President Gary Lindgren sent a letter to CPS Superintendent Shauna Murphy and Board of Education President Brandon Craig, expressing opposition and asking for the levy effort to be paused.
Cull and Lindgren cited a lack of a clear spending plan and higher tax bills for residents as the main reasons for their opposition.
In a CRC newsletter released Thursday, Cull wrote the Chamber remains in opposition to Issue 4, despite a meeting with CPS Board President Craig in early October.
"The levy will increase the tax that Cincinnati homeowners pay for schools by about 20%. Everyone, but most importantly, voters, should have the chance to see exactly what CPS will do with this significant new influx of tax dollars prior to agreeing to such a significant increase in their taxes," Cull wrote.
The Regional Chamber and Business Committees' opposition to the levy is being criticized by supporters of Issue 4, who claim the leaders of these organizations are motivated by business interests and stand to benefit if CPS shrinks its operations and more students enroll in nearby charter schools.
In addition to leading the CBC, Lindgren is an IDEA Public Schools board member, a charter school network with two schools in Cincinnati. Lindgren is also on the board of IPS Enterprises Inc., a Texas-based nonprofit that manages IDEA schools.
Another CBC leader, Director Kristina Phillips, works as Ohio Policy and Information Manager for the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, a conservative think tank that directly sponsors nine charter schools in Ohio, including IDEA. Phillips also sits on IDEA's board.
A few weeks after Cull and Lindgren's letter was sent to CPS leaders, a ballot issue PAC called the Coalition for an Affordable Cincinnati was formed to oppose Issue 4. Democratic political strategist and consultant Jay Kincaid and former Cincinnati Board of Education member Ozie Davis are running the PAC.
Davis served on the school board for less than two years after being appointed to fill a vacancy in 2018 and failing to collect enough valid signatures to appear on the ballot in 2019.
The Coalition for an Affordable Cincinnati has been running advertisements voiced by Davis encouraging people to vote against the levy.
"Over the last ten years, the CPS annual budget has increased by $100 million while enrollment has declined. And now the school board wants a 20% tax increase? That's more pressure on families, and it's our kids who will pay the price," Davis says in the ad.
Campaign finance records show Davis was paid $5,000 to be the PAC's treasurer.
At a school board meeting this week, CFT organizer Michelle Dunn questioned the anti-levy campaign's real intentions.
"Anyone who's calling for accountability, affordability, better test scores, or equity while also asking you to vote no to our schools is simply carrying water for corporate grifters," Dunn said.
The Coalition for an Affordable Cincinnati has only one publicly known financial backer, the Greater Cincinnati Opportunity Alliance, an organization created by Cameron Sagester and Natalie Baur just a few days before the PAC's launch. The organization contributed $50,000 for the anti-levy campaign.
Sagester is a political consultant and former Executive Director of the Ohio Republican Party. Baur is a political finance director who's worked with several prominent Ohio Republicans. She has also consulted for J.D. Vance, Mitch McConnell, Susan Collins, and the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC dedicated to winning a Republican Majority in the House of Representatives.
Yes for CPS
In contrast to the anti-levy campaign, the Yes for CPS campaign advocating for the levy's passage has nearly 180 individual financial supporters. Cincinnatians Active to Support Education (CASE), a PAC established in 1996 to support CPS levy efforts, raised more than $100,000 according to financial records filed in mid-October.
Contributors to the pro-levy PAC include local teachers, education advocates, and CPS administrators like Superintendent Murphy, Treasurer Mike Gustin, and General Counsel Daniel Hoying. Several school board members also kicked in funds, with member Jim Crossett leading the way with a $15,000 contribution.
The largest campaign donors by far have been local teacher and school employee unions. The Cincinnati Federation of Teachers has given the most, adding $50,000. Several individual CFT organizers also made contributions.
Harriet Russell, the treasurer for CASE, told the Board of Education earlier this week that the PAC's wide range of financial supporters has given the pro-levy campaign an edge over the opposition.
"We will have the resources to complete a successful campaign, because we are supported by parents, by staff, by retirees, by citizens across our district," she said.
Russell adds that since the mid-October filing, the campaign has received more than $100,000 in new contributions, making the PAC's fundraising total more than $200,000.
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