Future-Ready Finances

The measure which has been placed on the ballot for the public’s consideration is for a 0.75% earned income tax, which if approved, would generate an estimated $14,029,656

• If the measure is approved, the District intends to allocate $9,582,587 to district operations and $4,447,069 to our Capital Plan (permanent improvement funds)
  • Operating funds are used for day-to-day necessities, such as staff salaries, educational programming, transportation and building utilities.
  • Permanent improvement funds are used to maintain the district's facilities, purchase technology items, security, and new vehicles, including buses.
• If approved, the earned income tax would be for a continuous period of time.
   
• What is an earned income tax levy and who pays it?
  • Approved earned income tax levies apply only to those living within the school district boundaries and who have active income/wages.
  • Approved earned income tax levies do not apply to pensions, social security, capital gains or investment income as these are considered passive income.
  • Instead, an earned income tax is more closely tied to someone’s ability to pay, and is impacted by economic downturns and job loss, as the flat rate is applied to an individual’s taxable earned income. Therefore, the amount collected would vary if an individual were to make less or nothing at all.
  • By way of example, if the proposed measure were approved, a taxpayer with a $50k salary could expect to pay 0.75% of that salary or $375
• What happens if the earned income tax levy fails? Beginning in the 28-29 school year, the Board would need to implement the following cost-savings measures:
  • Reduction in district staffing to match new footprint
  • Consolidation of North and South to one high school
  • South and Willoughby Middle become the high school campus
  • North becomes the middle school campus
  • Willowick Middle is repurposed, manner to be determined
  • Closure of Eastlake Middle and Thomas Jefferson Elementary
• The Board has placed this measure on the ballot for the public’s consideration, because recently passed legislation has expedited the need for the district to seek additional funding for operations
  
  The Shared Vision continues to drive the decision making of the school district

After extensive deliberation and work sessions The Board placed an initiative on the November ballot in response to the following fact pattern.

1. The district has a structural deficit in the five year forecast that has been exacerbated by changes to property tax legislation recently enacted by the state legislature.
2.  The district faces a long term need to address permanent improvement needs across all of its campuses.
3.  the district needs to address shifts in enrollment patterns, beginning with the question about whether we should maintain the two high school model or move to one.

• Maintain a two high school model (North and South campuses) and gain efficiencies by evaluating our existing footprint
• Continue to provide quality programming and co-curriculars across all campuses 
• Continue the expansion of career technical education
• Continue to expand the career aligned and college connected learning opportunities
• Adjust and balance staffing to enrollment over the next several years and develop a comprehensive approach to our permanent improvement needs
• Continue to utilize attrition as a key driver of staffing reductions
• Develop a more comprehensive approach to permanent improvement needs
• Creates a dedicated permanent improvement fund that is not in competition with general fund dollars

• We have to continue to find a way to deal with the structural deficit in the five year forecast, exacerbated by changes in state property tax legislation. 
• Consolidation to one high school and one middle school in 2028-2029 
• No dedicated permanent improvement fund, money from general fund would be used to maintain existing facilities 
• Protect the priorities outlined in our shared vision, while also rebalancing our footprint

Like most districts across Ohio, overall enrollment in Willoughby-Eastlake schools has declined (by about 200 students a year).  Our current enrollment is approximately 6400 students. It is important to note, that despite the overall enrollment declining, the district remains the 34th largest school district out of 609. (ODEW) The enrollment decline is consistent with broader enrollment trends occurring across Ohio school districts. 
Source: ODEW Headcount report
 

Yes, certain staffing categories have increased even as overall enrollment has declined. The largest area of growth has been special education support. Approximately 20% of district students receive special education services, and those students may require additional staff support to meet their individual educational needs. At the same time, certified and administrative staffing levels have declined over the past three years.  
Source: District EMIS Staffing report, which is reported to the State of Ohio, and ODEW Cupp Report
 

The shared vision is our strategic framework that guides the core priorities that the community values. In 2023-2024 we asked the community, “What do you want for our children to ensure they are future ready?”. The response was the creation of our strategic framework that outlines, 1) our portrait of a graduate, 2) our promises to the community 3) our four core priorities. 

These priorities include:
    Priority 1: Future Ready Learning and Academic Excellence 
    Priority 2: The W-E Experience 
    Priority 3: Fiscal Responsibility and Operations 
    Priority 4: Communications and Community Relations 

Over the past two years, steering committees aligned to the shared vision have met to discuss important initiatives to help bring our vision to life. Any member of the community is welcome to attend our upcoming meetings this year and add your voice to the conversation
 

In order for a factual response, it is important to include a second part to the question, does willoughby eastlake have more administrators than they need compared to similar districts? Per the ODEW CUPP Report the District’s administrative staff in total and average salary is in line with similar districts. 
Source: District EMIS Staffing report, which is reported to the State of Ohio, and ODEW Cupp Report
 

Recent changes to Ohio’s property tax laws have created significant uncertainty for Willoughby-Eastlake’s future revenue. Beginning with the state biennium budget in July 2025 (HB 96), new provisions gave County Commissioners and County Budget Commissions additional tools to provide property tax relief, potentially shifting the financial impact to local taxing entities such as the school district.

In December 2025, additional legislation further changed how property tax growth affects Willoughby-Eastlake. The changes reduced the additional revenue the District had begun receiving from the 20-mill floor. This growth was particularly significant because it represented the first consequential growth in our operating levies since the implementation of HB 920 in 1976. That revenue was subsequently clawed back, with a temporary state subsidy provided in its place through HB 186.

At the same time, HB 129 added Willoughby-Eastlake’s fixed-sum levies to the calculation of the 20-mill floor. As a result, the District was effectively removed from the 20-mill floor, making it unlikely that we will experience meaningful property tax growth from these levies in the future.

HB 129 also changed the way fixed-sum levies operate by shortening the levy cycle from 10 years to five years and eliminating the ability to combine fixed-sum levies. These changes create additional challenges for long-term financial planning and make future local revenue increasingly difficult to predict.
 

The district decided to establish its own Career-Technical Planning District because our students needed more access to high-quality career-technical education closer to home.

Under the previous model, the number of seats available to our students was limited, and many students had to travel outside the district to participate. At the same time, student interest in career-technical education continued to grow. Creating the Western Lake County Compact allows us to:

• Offer more in-demand and relevant career-technical programs and serve more students.
• Locate programs within our own schools and community.
• Align programs with local workforce needs and employment opportunities.
• Reduce transportation and keep students more connected to their home schools and district.
• Build stronger partnerships with local businesses, colleges, and community organizations.
• Provide a coordinated pathway from middle school career exploration through high school programs, college credit, industry credentials, internships, and employment.
• Have greater control over program quality, staffing, facilities, and future growth.

The decision was intended to build a stronger, more accessible career-connected learning system that responds to what students, families, and local employers are asking for: more options, fewer barriers, and clearer pathways to college, careers, and the workforce, while investing resources directly into opportunities that benefit our local community.

For the 2026–2027 school year, the Western Lake County Compact saw strong student interest and significantly improved access to CTE programs:

• 250 of the 511 sophomores at North and South High Schools applied, representing nearly half of the sophomore class.
• 90% of applicants were offered placement in one of their top three program choices.
• In comparison, only 57.3% of applicants were placed in any choice of CTE program the previous year, demonstrating a substantial improvement in student access and placement aligned with their interests.
   

The Board and administration continues to protect the shared vision priorities by looking to reduce cost and expenses while protecting programming and the classroom.  

• Negotiated changes our Healthcare with our four unions 
• Transportation and Bell Time changes 
• $2.1 Million Dollar Literacy Grant 
• Creating the Western Lake County Compact
• Purchasing the Bus Fleet (no more lease payments) 
• Attrition Savings
• District department budget reductions  
   

The improvement in the forecast is largely the result of actions taken by the District following the spring 2026 forecast to reduce current expenditures and push the projected fiscal challenge back by approximately one year. 

Since the spring forecast, the District has implemented several changes that are reflected in the fall forecast, including the changes outlined in #10, The County Commissioners did not renew the Owner Occupied Piggyback provision in June of 2026 for this year, reductions in department-level budgets, a reduction in projected salary increases from 2% to 1%, moving debt expenditures into the Permanent Improvement Fund, and a commitment to funding the District’s capital plan.

These changes have improved the projected financial position of the District over the forecast. The complete forecast, including the accompanying forecast notes and assumptions, is available on both the Treasurer’s webpage and the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (ODEW) website.
 

There are a limited number of ways that a Board can decide to ask the voters to finance public education. After careful consideration the Board decided to move forward with an Earned Income tax for two reasons. First, given the focus on property tax relief, adding another levy in this bucket did not make sense. Second, the Earned Income tax provides a more diversified and balanced approach to funding local education. The proposed funding structure is similar in ways to how local cities and municipalities are funded.   
 

This levy was placed on the ballot for a continuous period of time to provide a long-term source of funding for permanent improvements while addressing the high school configuration question. The Board also felt strongly that adding any additional time bound levies further complicates our Fix-Sum Levy (formerly emergency levy) cycle. Due to current changes in Law, we will be on the ballot to renew fixed sum levies every year. 

After careful consideration, it was determined that SOI was not included in the initial discussions regarding school closures or rebalancing. The initial focus was on addressing enrollment shifts and capacity needs, rather than making programmatic cuts in response to a failed levy.

This does not mean that SOI is permanently excluded from future considerations. As the district continues to evaluate enrollment, finances, and program needs, SOI could be part of future discussions regarding potential changes.

Finally, each of our largest communities has a school building located within it. This remains an important part of our overall footprint at this time. 
 

No. While the district has held preliminary discussions regarding enrollment, building footprint and capacity, no formal action or plan has been approved.
In the interest of transparency and collaboration, the superintendent recently met with staff at both campuses to share information and provide context regarding the Board’s ongoing discussions. Information from those meetings was subsequently shared on social media. However, official information and updates will always come directly from the district.

Here are the facts:

If the levy passes, there will be no immediate building closures. Over the following two to three years, the district will engage staff, families and the community in a thoughtful conversation about how best to rebalance enrollment, building footprint and capacity.

If the levy does not pass, there will still be no immediate building closures. The district will begin a collaborative planning process to determine how to rebalance operations for the 2028–2029 school year.

This timeline has been adjusted because the cost-saving measures implemented this past summer extended the district’s financial outlook by one year. That additional time allows the district to plan carefully, responsibly and collaboratively—regardless of the outcome in November.