Three Clark County superintendents warned at an Oct. 26, 2026, Springfield Rotary meeting that eliminating local property taxes outright would damage public schools and the local services those taxes support. The superintendents were Brian Kuhn of Clark-Shawnee, Darrin Knapke of Greenon and Bob Hill of Springfield City Schools.
Kuhn described full elimination as catastrophic for police, fire, mental health and other functions, and said the state would need to replace billions in revenue. He said property tax relief is necessary and families should not lose their homes to taxes, but he opposed abolition as deeply problematic. He also said the Ohio Supreme Court has three times found the state's reliance on property taxes unconstitutional.
Kuhn said residents often misunderstand rising property tax bills, because state aid depends on a district's combined property wealth and income. Clark-Shawnee has a five-year, 0.5% earned income tax levy on the ballot. Knapke said property taxes would jeopardize 55% of Greenon's total revenue and that deficit spending and another ballot request may lie ahead.
Hill said homeowners and farmers supplied 48% of school funding in 1991, compared with 70% now, and that Ohio ranks 45th nationally. Springfield, he said, uses fiscal year 2022 data, cut $6.5 million and closed a building, and is deficit spending by $7.2 million; using FY27 inputs would erase that gap.
The report said an Ohio appellate court unanimously found the universal voucher system unconstitutional, though the program can continue for now. Hill said $1.2 billion in tax money goes to private and parochial schools. Pending bills include Senate Bill 93, which would create a statewide property tax and raise sales taxes, and House Bill 884, which would update the Fair School Funding Plan with 2025 cost adjustments.