MAYFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio — Voters in Mayfield Heights, Mayfield Village, Highland Heights, and Gates Mills will decide whether to approve additional funding for Mayfield City Schools this November.
The district has a 5-millage operating levy on the ballot that leaders say needs to pass in order for the school system to avoid a $1.5 million operating deficit this school year.
“There's nothing more important than the school system,” says Gayle Teresi, a lifelong resident of the district and former president of Mayfield Heights City Council who now serves as the chairman of the Mayfield School Levy Committee. “We want to make sure that our levy passes because we offer so much today, but with the cost of educating children, we have to make sure that we have the funds to continue.”
According to the district, if approved, Issue 51 would generate $7.743 million annually for Mayfield City Schools, a 5-star rated school system on the 2024 Ohio State Report Card.
The funds would stabilize the district for the next four years and be used for safety enhancements, increased student services like mental health support and counseling, and the expansion of early education and career-readiness programs.
The levy will cost taxpayers an extra $14.58 a month, or about $175 a year, for every $100,000 of their property value.
Voter Kathleen Gribbons says she cannot afford the additional cost of the levy.
“I'm on a fixed income and my kids are all out of school,” Gribbons tells 3News. “I will probably vote against it cause that would raise my taxes too much.”
Teresi and district leaders emphasize that the levy would be based on 2023 property values, not the new appraised values for 2024 where Cuyahoga County saw an average increase of 32%.
Voters in the district last approved a levy for additional funding in 2016.
“When that levy went into effect eight years ago we assumed it would last four years, maybe six, but we’ve gone eight years,” Teresi adds. “This is really important at this time … what’s more important than an investment in your children and their education? They’re the future of society.”
If the levy fails, leaders in Mayfield City Schools say they would need to consider districtwide cuts and reductions.
The district has provided an in-depth explanation of Issue 51 and school funding for voters here.