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Amherst schools warn of more cuts after a third levy failure in a year
Amherst's Issue 1 failed with cuts of $13.3 million already planned
- 53.3%
- of voters opposed Issue 1
- $5.8 million
- a year Issue 1 would have raised
- $13.3 million
- in cuts planned through fiscal year 2029
- 48
- positions the cut plan eliminates
Source: Cleveland.com
If you have kids in Amherst schools, brace for more cuts. Issue 1, the district's third failed bid in a year for new operating money, went down Tuesday in unofficial results from the Lorain County Board of Elections. The district says further reductions will "most likely be necessary."
The state placed Amherst under fiscal caution in late 2025, and the district then adopted its cut plan, which includes high school busing and the French program. Elsewhere, FOX 8 lists more than 16 districts where levies failed. Elyria, Oberlin and Vermilion were among those that won.
Amherst's next financial deadlines run from February to July
- Nov. 2025Voters reject an earned income tax.
- Late 2025State places the district under fiscal caution.
- Nov. 3Issue 1 fails with 53.3% of voters opposed.
- Feb. 2027Five-year financial forecast is due to the state.
- May 2027Board plans to put a levy renewal on the ballot.
- JulyState funding decisions are expected.
Source: Cleveland.com
- Renewal cost: about $171 a year per $100,000 of home value
- Renewal would keep about $2.6 million the district already gets
- If it fails, the district risks losing that revenue
- Levy history: passed in 2012, renewed in 2017 and 2022
