A Letter to Our Logan County Community From Your Logan County School Superintendents & Treasurers
Dear Logan County Residents,
As your local school superintendents and treasurers, we write to you not as politicians or advocates, but as fellow parents, community members, and stewards of the education system that defines the heart of Logan County. We share your frustration with rising property taxes. We, too, open those tax bills with concern. But today, we must share the complete picture of what's happening in our state – and what it
means for the services we all depend on.
Over the past two decades, our state lawmakers have made a series of choices that have fundamentally
changed how Ohio funds education – and who pays the bill. In short, Ohio has shifted the burden to you.
Here are the facts:
- In 2002, Ohio ranked 35th nationally in state funding for K-12 education. By 2023, we had plummeted to 45th, among the worst in the nation.
- Ohio's state share of education funding dropped from 44.8% to just 33.5%, 11.2 percentage points below the national average.
- Meanwhile, our local property tax burden jumped from 49.5% to 53.1% of education funding.
- The share of school property taxes now paid by homeowners has increased to 67.5% compared to 46% in 1991.
While the national average shows states funding about 45% of education costs, Ohio now funds only 33.5%, leaving local communities like ours to pick up the difference. We're not spending
more on education per student than we should be. In fact, Ohio ranks 20th nationally in per-pupil spending. We're simply being forced to fund it differently than other states, through your property taxes instead of through other state resources. Ohio has fallen from 24th to 41st nationally in state revenue per pupil and state funding per student is now $2,672 below the national average, therefore, the burden is placed on local
communities like ours.
Every child in Logan County deserves the same opportunities we had growing up here - excellent teachers, safe schools, and educational programs that prepare them for success. These aren't luxuries; they're investments in our community's future.
Proposed measures to drastically reduce or totally eliminate property taxes may sound appealing. We understand that impulse completely. But property taxes fund more than just schools, they support the infrastructure of daily life that makes Logan County the place we choose to call home. Property taxes also fund fire and emergency services and local roads and infrastructure.
We write because we believe our community, and our children, deserve honest solutions, not quick fixes
that could devastate the services that make Logan County strong. Real property tax relief must involve
the state of Ohio stepping up to fulfill its responsibility to fund public education, just as 44 other states do more effectively than we do. The burden of educating Ohio's children shouldn't fall so heavily on local homeowners. Real property tax relief can be achieved through thoughtful, targeted
approaches that protect both our community services and our residents:
Targeted Relief for Those Who Need It Most:
- Enhanced property tax relief for seniors on fixed income.
- Expanded exemptions for citizens with disabilities.
- Strengthened homestead exemptions for low-income families.
Sustainable Growth Protections:
- Revenue growth limits that prevent unsustainable year-over-year increases.
- Caps tied to inflation and income growth to ensure affordability.
- Automatic triggers for community review when increases exceed reasonable thresholds.
Local Control and Transparency:
- Greater local flexibility in structuring tax abatements and exemptions.
- Enhanced transparency in how tax incentives and abatements are granted and monitored.
- Closing the LLC loophole when buying and/or selling commercial, residential and agricultural property.
We need our state legislators to be partners in this solution, not bystanders watching local communities struggle with burdens they've shifted to us.
The path forward requires all of us, residents, educators, and elected officials, working together to demand that Ohio provide adequate state funding for education while pursuing meaningful property tax relief. Other states have found this balance. Ohio can too.
Thank you for your continued support of public education and for being a county that puts children first.
Sincerely,
John Scheu and Leah Baker, Benjamin Logan Local Schools
Brad Hall and Josh Wasson, Bellefontaine City Schools
Rob Underwood and Brady Hipsher, Indian Lake Local Schools
Brad Richardson and Caleb Lang, Ohio Hi-Point Career Center
Scott Mann and Ronnie Fitchpatrick, Riverside Local Schools
Rick Smith and Keith Thomas, Midwest Regional ESC