FOREST PARK, Ohio — The Winton Woods City School District is postponing roofing repairs, paving and heating and cooling work and cutting into student programs after voters rejected the district’s operating levy in the November 3 election, according to the district’s official announcement, reported by American School & University magazine.
The 6.95-mill operating levy received 44.38 percent of the vote, with 4,851 ballots cast in favor and 6,080 opposed, according to the district’s announcement. The results remain unofficial until certification by the Hamilton County Board of Elections, expected on November 24. The levy would have generated approximately $5.35 million a year for day-to-day operations — staffing, utilities and instructional supplies among them — and would have been the district’s first increase in voter-approved local operating millage since 2009.
"We respect the decision our voters made, and I want to thank everyone who took the time to learn about the levy and cast a ballot," Superintendent Steve Denny said in the district’s announcement. "We shared this plan in October so that no one would be caught off guard, and now we’re following through on it. We know these changes will be felt by our students, families, and staff. What hasn’t changed is our commitment to every student who walks through our doors, and we’ll keep our families and staff informed every step of the way."
Some reductions took effect immediately after the election, according to the district: a hiring freeze, overtime restricted to emergencies and weather-related closures with the superintendent’s approval, and the suspension of the district’s Transportation Call Center. The contingency plan behind the cuts was approved by the Board of Education in September and outlined publicly in an October 7 announcement, American School & University reported.
Capital improvements involving paving, roofing and heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems will be suspended or delayed under the plan, the district said, though it has not identified which specific building projects will be postponed, what they would cost, or how long the work will be deferred. Operating levies pay for recurring expenses such as salaries, utilities and supplies, while bond issues generally finance construction and major building investments, the district’s school funding explanation notes — which is why a failed operating levy can still leave roofs and HVAC systems waiting.
More reductions are scheduled for December 1, including restrictions on student clubs and extracurricular activities, reduced summer school offerings, and limits on field trips unless alternative funding is available, according to the district’s announcement. Beginning January 1, 2027, the district will also suspend before- and after-school tutoring and enrichment programs, and it is reducing professional development, limiting staff travel, using fewer substitute teachers where possible, and postponing certain curriculum purchases.
For Winton Woods families — the district serves communities in the Cincinnati area, including Forest Park and Greenhills — the December and January dates are the ones to circle: club and field-trip limits land first, then the tutoring and enrichment suspensions arrive with the new year. District leaders say families and staff will be kept informed as the reductions roll out.
What happens next starts with the Hamilton County Board of Elections’ certification of the results on November 24, after which the district’s December 1 reductions take effect. Whether Winton Woods returns to voters with another levy request — and on what timeline — has not been announced, but with its last successful operating increase dating to 2009, the district’s funding question is unlikely to stay settled for long.