Information page launched to help inform the public

By Chuck Gibson

LOVELAND, OH (March 1, 2023) – In his ongoing efforts to keep communications open with the community of Loveland, school superintendent Mike Broadwater announced the launching of a Levy Information page on the Loveland Schools website.

Clearly the issue of funding for the Loveland City School District (LCSD) continues to be a hot topic. It would seem the community as a whole is in favor of a strong school system providing education for the students. It is hard to find an argument there. It would be equally hard to find a reasonable argument against the current performance level of LCSD  providing education for students – not to mention their ranking in such financial areas as expense per student (among lowest) )and funding revenue (among lowest in the state). One major area of debate, even disagreement, within the community the 4.9 mill school tax levy on the May ballot. The debate rages on. Still, there remains at least one more area of agreement for all; nobody wants more taxes and public education is not properly funded by the State of Ohio.  

Here’s the text from Mike Broadwater’s Superintendent’s Message released Sunday, February 26th in Tiger Talk:

Loveland Tiger Families,

We have launched a Levy Information page on our website to help inform our entire Loveland City School District community about our upcoming 4.9 mill levy request. I want everyone to have the information necessary to make the best decision for their family on this important issue.

Follow this link to our website to review facts about our district’s academic performance and finances. There is also a calculator to help you understand exactly how the levy would impact your family.

If approved, the additional funding would allow the district to continue our commitment to fiscal responsibility while maintaining class sizes, student support, and course offerings.

If the levy fails, and there is no additional funding this year, Loveland City School District would move into step one of the State of Ohio fiscal distress process. Each step of the fiscal distress process comes with more state oversight, deeper cuts to what we offer students, and fewer options for how to pull the district out of a difficult financial situation. I discussed the fiscal distress process during our most recent Board of Education meeting, and you can watch my presentation by following this link. (Editor’s NOTE: approximate 14 minute runtime.) 

The district’s costs for staffing and services have grown in the nine years since the last levy was approved by voters. We are essentially operating on 2014 funding in a 2023 economy. This year the district is dipping into its savings to pay for expenses because of rising costs.

Our district runs incredibly efficiently. Our finances are an open book. Loveland produces fantastic outcomes for students and earned a 5-star Ohio School Report Card with some of the lowest per-student funding in Ohio.

I hope every voter in our community takes the time to learn all they can about our district finances before they head to the polls.

If you have questions or want more information, you can reach me at: broadwmi@lovelandschools.org.