Mentor Property Owners Shoulder Rising School Costs as Ohio Voucher Spending Soars Past $1 Billion

Mentor property owners head to the polls in November facing a five-year, 3.5-mill operating levy that would generate about $9.6 million a year for day-to-day school costs — roughly $123 annually for every $100,000 in property valuation. They do so as Ohio's school voucher program is projected to consume more than $1.1 billion statewide, with more than $9 million in voucher-related funding flowing to private-school students within Mentor's district boundaries alone.

The ask comes five months after voters rejected a larger 4.9-mill levy that would have brought in about $13.5 million a year; unofficial results showed 53.98% opposed and 46.02% in favor. The November request is $3.9 million smaller per year, the district's attempt to find a number voters will accept after that defeat.

A district cutting deep

After the May loss, Mentor Exempted Village School District identified nearly $10 million in reductions over two years. About $6.6 million is slated for 2026-27 through staffing changes, operational efficiencies, administrative reductions and fee adjustments. Another $3.3 million in cuts is planned for 2027-28, likely through school consolidations and further staffing reductions.

The district's July 2026 financial report projected about $113.6 million in revenue against $116.7 million in spending — a gap of roughly $3.1 million. Superintendent Craig Heath framed the levy in terms of maintaining ground already won. "We are simply asking to keep what our voters have already approved for our schools," he said.

Mentor Schools' last successful new-money operating levy was passed in 2016, the only one approved in more than 20 years.

Not everyone on the school board agrees another levy is the answer. Board member Rose Ioppolo voted against placing both the November and May levies on the ballot, arguing residents cannot absorb more property taxes and the board should pursue deeper spending cuts. "They just can't afford it," Ioppolo said.

Two additional levies also appear on the November ballot: a new 2.5-mill Permanent Improvement levy that would cost $88 per $100,000 of property value and generate just over $5.5 million a year for building maintenance, safety upgrades and infrastructure; and a renewal levy first passed in 2004 that would not increase taxes.

Where the state money is going

Ohio created the EdChoice voucher program to give families in low-performing public schools an alternative and to create competitive pressure on districts to improve. Lawmakers later broadened eligibility beyond low-performing schools to include income-based access, and eventually opened the program to families at all income levels.

The price tag has ballooned. Voucher spending reached approximately $1.09 billion in fiscal year 2025 and is projected at $1.175 billion for 2025-26 and $1.264 billion for 2026-27. Ohio has spent more than $3.1 billion on vouchers during the past three school years. The biennial budget signed June 30, 2025, added another $265.4 million in voucher funding over two years.

Before fiscal year 2022, Ohio funded vouchers by deducting the student's voucher amount directly from the resident district's state foundation payment. The state moved to direct funding in 2022, but the overall shift in state dollars is plain: Ohio's share of K-12 funding statewide has fallen from about 38.4% in fiscal year 2025 to 35.0% in fiscal year 2026 and is projected to drop to 32.2% in fiscal year 2027. Zoomed out further, the state share has declined from roughly 46% in 1999 to about 32% by fiscal year 2027 projections, placing Ohio near the bottom nationally for state education investment.

Under the Fair School Funding Plan, the statewide average state share is about 35% for fiscal year 2026, with local taxpayers covering roughly 65%, driven by each district's property values and resident income. The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce administers state education policy and funding, including the EdChoice programs.

Mentor: high ratings, few voucher users, rising bills

Mentor's district is rated in the top 30% of Ohio districts, with an average testing ranking of 8 out of 10 and a B+ from Niche. High ratings typically reduce families' incentive to seek private school alternatives, meaning Mentor residents are less likely to use vouchers than families in lower-performing districts. Yet more than $9 million in voucher-related funding is tied to private-school students within the district's boundaries.

Enrollment has fallen 12%, from 7,171 students in 2021 to about 6,308 in fiscal year 2026. Per-pupil spending ranges from about $15,847 to $18,222, with one analysis showing total expenditures of $15,971 per student compared with the Ohio state average of $17,130.

The district's quality is a selling point for the community — a marker that supports family decisions to move to Mentor and underpins neighborhood property values. If the November levy fails, the district faces school consolidations, further staffing reductions and potential declines in the programs that distinguish Mentor schools.

Levy fatigue and a legal fight

The pressure is not unique to Mentor. Residential and agricultural property owners paid 46.1% of school property taxes in Ohio in 1975; that share rose to about 67.5% in 2023 and 67.9% in 2024. Recent statewide ballots have seen more school income tax levies than property tax levies, a first in recent Ohio history, as districts respond to inflation, reduced state aid and homeowners' mounting frustration with property tax burdens.

Mentor Public Schools voted to join the statewide Vouchers Hurt Ohio lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the EdChoice program. Community members raised more than $14,000 through GoFundMe campaigns to cover the district's annual legal fees — the first time crowdfunding was used to pay a district's costs in the case. The lawsuit is currently before the 10th District Court of Appeals and is expected to reach the Ohio Supreme Court.

What comes next

The state funding formula projects Ohio's share of K-12 education costs will keep falling while voucher appropriations keep climbing. Voucher spending alone has grown from roughly $1.09 billion in fiscal year 2025 to a projected $1.264 billion by 2026-27 — and the latest biennial budget added $265.4 million more. For districts like Mentor, rated highly enough that few families opt out but funded at levels that force regular returns to the ballot, each new appropriation in Columbus widens the gap local property owners are asked to close.