The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce placed Cincinnati Public Schools in fiscal caution status on Sept. 2, 2026, after projecting a $44.5 million budget deficit by fiscal year 2029. The designation requires the district to submit a board-approved financial recovery plan to the state by Nov. 30. The Cincinnati Board of Education is scheduled to vote on the plan at its Nov. 23 business meeting, according to the district's meeting schedule.
Levy vote and recovery plan on parallel tracks
The recovery plan comes at the same time that voters will decide a five-year, 7-mill property tax levy on the Nov. 3 ballot. If approved, the levy would generate about $66.3 million annually for the district, according to information published by Cincinnati Public Schools. But the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce explicitly prohibits the recovery plan from assuming any revenue from the levy. Treasurer Michael Gustin told the board that passing the levy is the district's plan A for the forecast, but the state-mandated plan can only include measures within the board and administration's control, according to a report by WVXU.
Cuts outlined if levy fails
At two community town halls in October, Superintendent Shauna Murphy and Treasurer Gustin presented the financial outlook and reductions under consideration if the levy fails. Potential cuts include closing or consolidating schools, limiting transportation eligibility, eliminating Montessori programs and the community learning center model, reducing teaching positions and increasing class sizes, charging pay-to-play fees for athletics, and cutting extracurricular programs. These are programs not legally required by the state, according to a report by WKRC Local 12.
The district has already cut approximately $32 million in FY2025, $50 million in FY2026, and $58 million in FY2027, according to a separate WKRC report. Those reductions involved staffing cuts, five furlough days, lowered non-personnel spending, and one-time resources, according to the district's announcement about the levy. The FY2027 budget closed a projected $58 million gap but did not resolve the recurring revenue imbalance, the district stated.
Precedent and state framework
This is not the first time Cincinnati Public Schools has filed a state-required recovery plan. The district submitted a similar plan in 2021 that was accepted by the state, according to a report by WCPO. Treasurer Gustin noted that the current leadership team has not navigated the fiscal caution process previously.
Ohio's fiscal oversight law, codified in ORC Chapter 3316, establishes three escalating tiers: fiscal caution, fiscal watch, and fiscal emergency. Fiscal caution is declared when a forecast shows conditions that could lead to financial crisis. If a district fails to produce an acceptable plan, oversight intensifies, and at the fiscal emergency level a Financial Planning and Supervision Commission assumes the board's financial powers, according to a summary by Formative Spaces citing the statute.
Cincinnati is not alone among Ohio districts. Treasurer Gustin told the board at an earlier meeting that 48 additional districts are projecting a negative cash balance in FY2029, and 26 of those exceed the 5 percent threshold that triggers fiscal caution status, according to WCPO. The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce maintains a current list of district financial statuses updated monthly.
Evidence on state fiscal oversight
Ohio's statutory framework requires districts in fiscal caution to submit a board-approved recovery plan that eliminates the projected deficit, as codified in ORC Chapter 3316. If the plan is not accepted or the district does not act reasonably, the state may escalate to fiscal watch and then fiscal emergency, where a commission assumes financial decision-making authority. The statute does not independently evaluate the effectiveness of specific recovery plans, according to the Formative Spaces analysis of the law. The outcome depends on district compliance and state acceptance.