The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce placed Cincinnati Public Schools in fiscal caution status after the district received both a deficit notice and a low-balance advisory on Sept. 2, 2026. The designation requires the district to submit a board-approved financial recovery plan by Nov. 30 that eliminates a projected $44.5 million budget deficit by fiscal year 2029, according to the state's notice.
CPS Treasurer Mike Gustin told the board that cash on hand at the end of fiscal years stands at 25 to 30 days, compared to a sound-practice benchmark of roughly 60 days and an ideal level of about 90 days. The district's October 2025 five-year forecast shows cash balances declining from $59.7 million at the start of fiscal year 2026 to negative balances by fiscal year 2028 without new levy revenue, reaching a negative $65.5 million by fiscal year 2029 and negative $112.4 million by fiscal year 2030, according to the forecast document.
Levy vote and plan constraints
Cincinnati Public Schools has a five-year, 7-mill operating property tax levy on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot. The district estimates it would generate roughly $66.3 million annually, or about $331.7 million over five years, and would cost $245 per $100,000 of home market value, according to the district's published information. Collections would begin in January 2027.
State rules, however, bar the district from counting any revenue from the pending levy in the fiscal recovery plan. Gustin told the board that the plan can only include items the board and administration have full control over. That means the plan, due Nov. 30, must rely on expenditure cuts alone. Board President Brandon Craig indicated to members that the options included in the submitted plan exist to satisfy the state's requirement and may differ from what the district ultimately does. The board is scheduled to approve the written plan at its Nov. 23 meeting, three weeks after Election Day.
If the levy does not pass, the district faces roughly $20 million in additional budget cuts on top of reductions already made, according to Gustin. Earlier in summer 2026, CPS cut more than 100 jobs district-wide and closed a projected $58 million budget gap for fiscal year 2027 through staffing reductions, five furlough days, a 10 percent cut in non-personnel spending, and limited one-time resources.
Oversight ladder
Under Ohio Revised Code 3316.031, fiscal caution requires a district to submit written proposals for correcting fiscal practices within roughly 60 days. If the director of the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce finds the proposals unreasonable, the director may recommend to the Auditor of State that fiscal watch be declared. Fiscal watch can then escalate to fiscal emergency if the district fails to submit an acceptable recovery plan within 120 days.
Ohio Revised Code 3316.03 states that fiscal emergency is triggered when a certified operating deficit exceeds 15 percent of the prior year's general fund revenue (or 10 to 15 percent with an Auditor of State determination of necessity) and no levy has been passed to eliminate it. A fiscal emergency creates a Financial Planning and Supervision Commission that may assume all or part of the board of education's powers, including decisions on personnel, curriculum, and legal matters, and can remove the superintendent or treasurer.
State track record
As of September 2026, two Ohio school districts are in fiscal emergency. Mount Healthy City School District, located in the same county as Cincinnati Public Schools, was declared in fiscal emergency on April 5, 2024, and Trimble Local School District in Athens County was declared on April 8, 2025. Both operate under state-appointed Financial Planning and Supervision Commissions.
The Mount Healthy commission adopted its fiscal year 2026 Financial Recovery Plan in January 2026, directing the district to eliminate projected deficit spending by fiscal year 2029 and repay solvency assistance obligations through fiscal year 2032. As of March 2026, the Auditor of State's office reported Mount Healthy's current-year deficit at negative $996,000, and a revised solvency assistance repayment schedule of $748,500 per year for four years, according to the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce annual report.
Two additional Ohio districts are in fiscal watch as of Sept. 1, 2026: Springfield LSD (Summit County, declared Oct. 9, 2020) and Barberton CSD (Summit County, declared March 6, 2026).
Historical outcomes
Since Ohio established its fiscal oversight process in 1996, 44 school districts have been declared in fiscal emergency and 42 have been released. The average time a district spends in fiscal emergency is about 3.5 years, depending on the district's cooperation with the commission and its ability to amend fiscal practices, according to the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce annual report.
The same annual report characterizes the graduated oversight system as effective, citing the release of 42 of 44 districts and the average 3.5-year emergency period. The report states this demonstrates the effectiveness of the current system and provides confidence to districts entering fiscal emergency. This is an agency self-assessment, not an independent evaluation.