To ensure full accessibility of the email and included links, you must open or tap the image to view the complete newsletter, interact with the newsletter content, such as links and videos, and access translation options in your browser. |
|
|
Kenston Local Schools
17419 Snyder Road
Chagrin Falls, Ohio
44023-2730
Phone: (440) 543-9677
Fax: (440) 543-8634
Bruce R. Willingham, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Seth S. Cales
Treasurer
Kathleen M. Poe, Ed.D. Assistant Superintendent
|
|
RE: Thank You for Your Advocacy on House Bill 96
November 18, 2025
Dear Kenston Staff and Community,
We want to extend our sincere gratitude to our parents, staff, residents, and community partners who reached out to Geauga County officials regarding House Bill 96 and its potential impact on local schools and services. Your emails, phone calls, and conversations made a real difference.
As of today, November 18, 2025, and in response to the engagement and thoughtful feedback from taxing authorities across the county, the Geauga County Commissioners – Carolyn Brakey, Esq., James W. Dvorak, and Ralph Spidalieri – unanimously chose not to implement the “piggyback” property tax exemption provision in HB-96.
This is a significant decision for Kenston Local Schools and for all of Geauga County.
As we shared previously, the “piggyback” exemption would have resulted in:
|
- More than $900,000 in annual lost revenue for Kenston Local Schools alone
- Immediate deficit spending and a faster drawdown of our cash reserves
- An accelerated need to place an operating levy on the ballot, likely two years earlier than anticipated
|
While HB-96 was framed as local property tax relief, this particular provision would have shifted even more of the burden onto our communities over time, either through earlier and larger school levies or reductions in services.
Our commissioners showed real foresight and restraint by looking beyond a short-term “quick fix” and recognizing the long-term consequences for schools, townships, and county-funded services. Their decision reflects a clear understanding that unfunded local tax exemptions, without state reimbursement, ultimately tax our communities more, not less.
We are deeply thankful for:
|
- You, our stakeholders, for speaking up and standing up for responsible, sustainable school funding.
- Commissioners Brakey, Dvorak, and Spidalieri, for their leadership, thoughtful review of the data, and commitment to protecting the stability of schools and essential services in Geauga County.
|
At Kenston, we remain committed to:
|
- Practicing careful, transparent financial stewardship
- Stretching the need for an operating levy as far into the future as possible
- Advocating for fair, meaningful property tax reform that balances relief for homeowners and farmers with the long-term health of Ohio’s schools and communities
|
We will continue to keep you informed about state-level tax and school-funding proposals and how they may affect Kenston. Your engagement truly matters, and this outcome is a powerful example of what can happen when a community is informed, involved, and united.
Thank you again for your ongoing support of the Kenston Local Schools and for your partnership in protecting the future of our students and our community.
With appreciation,
|
|
|
|
Dr. Bruce R. Willingham
Superintendent |
|
|
|
|
|
