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Chardon BOE Discusses Possible Scenarios to Deal with 

Potential Impact of the Newly Adopted State Budget

Chardon Board of Education Special Meeting - July 8, 2025

Meeting Details: The meeting was held at 5:00 pm at the Chardon Board of Education building adjacent to the Chardon Middle School at 428 North Street, Chardon. Here is the link to the available Meeting Agendas and Minutes. Click on the meetings tab on the right to access the Agendas and Minutes. The board meeting video is available here. Agenda items are listed according to the time that they were discussed on the video.  

ROLL CALL AND WELCOME - Meeting was called to order. It was stated that this meeting is being held in accordance with Section 3313.16 of the Ohio Revised Code. 

Attendance: Board President Karen Blankenship, Vice President Andrea Clark, Todd Albright, and James Midyette 

Absent: C.J. Paterniti 

Staff Attendance: Superintendent Dr. Michael Hanlon and Treasurer Deb Armbruster

0:58 Min Adoption of the Agenda - Approved.

Pledge of Allegiance led by Mrs. Blankenship

Mission Statement read by Dr. Hanlon

Hearing of the Public- Agenda Items Only - No public comment

1:45 Min Superintendent’s recommendations

• Discussion of State Biennial Budget with Link to HB 96 Overview and Impact presentation here. Dr. Hanlon and Mrs. Armbruster have assembled different scenarios for the board regarding possible impacts from HB 96. Observer Note: Dr. Hanlon’s conversation is not summarized in great detail below as the slide presentation noted above and here clearly details his discussion.

  • Dr. Hanlon began with an overview of what he considers the most “historic activity” in his memory around a budget bill (HB 96). He reviewed the timeline of the introduction and passage of the bill, including Governor DeWine’s signing of the bill on June 30, 2025, with notable line item vetoes related to the education segment of the budget.

  • The elimination of inside millage was not a part of the final budget bill, but it remains a part of HB335, which is currently pending with the House Ways and Means Committee.

  • Dr. Hanlon gave a verbal overview of the K-12 provisions in HB 96, and their potential for a negative impact on communities and districts. 

    • Limiting the cash balance carryover to no more than 40% of a school district’s general fund expenditures in the prior year was vetoed by Governor DeWine. The Board discussed the variety of opinions that can determine what a cash balance should be.

    • Property tax and 20-mill floor provisions were vetoed by Governor DeWine. Reviewer Note: Vetoed property tax provisions include the elimination of certain types of levies, such as emergency levies and combined school district income tax and fixed-sum property tax levies. The Ohio House voted to override the Governor’s veto of this budget item on July 21, 2025; the Senate’s vote on the potential veto override has not been scheduled yet. More information is available here. The Governor also vetoed modifying the 20 mill floor calculation formula (used to guarantee a minimum funding level for schools) to include additional funding sources, such as emergency levies and income taxes. No vote on overriding this veto has been taken by the General Assembly as of the publication of this report.   

    • Partisan school board elections were vetoed by Governor DeWine.

    • Slide 12  briefly enumerates key education-related vetoes by Governor DeWine.

    • Dr. Hanlon explained that a 3/5 majority in the House and a 3/5 majority in the Senate are required to override the Governor’s vetoes. A veto override can occur anytime during the life of the budget bill.

    • Dr. Hanlon advised that it appears that the Ohio House will be meeting on July 21, 2025 and is considering a number of education related provisions in HB 96 for a veto override: Items 55, 65, and 66, as detailed on slide 14. Reviewer Note: The only line item veto override voted upon by the Ohio House to date is Item 66 regarding property taxes. See the Reviewer Note above for more information. Dr. Hanlon noted that vetoed item 65 (the 20 mill floor calculation formula change) will not currently affect the Chardon School District. He also advised that it appears an override is not planned for the cash carryover balance cap at this time.

    • Dr. Hanlon advised that, “The Ohio Chamber of Commerce and Ohio Realtors Association sent a letter (accessible here) to the General Assembly urging a legislative override of all property tax items that were vetoed, including the carryover cap.” He discussed three action items on slide 15, one of those being continued outreach to House and Senate members regarding these provisions.

*Dr. Hanlon noted that the slide scenario presentations and discussions to follow are just an effort to strategize, and no decisions or recommendations are currently being made as the district awaits the final results of the budget bill. He also noted that this budget bill is for 2026-2027 and what will happen after that cannot be predicted.

• On slide 16, Mrs. Armbruster recapped primary points from the May 2025 five-year forecast. With this forecast, an operation levy was imminent in 2028. 

• With scenario #1 on slide 17, Mrs. Armbruster then revised the original five-year forecast scenario adding the biennial budget bill adjustments and additional performance funding in Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 and 2027. An operating levy is still imminent in FY 2028.

• Scenario #2  involves the first scenario plus the return of  ½ mill of inside millage from the Permanent Improvement (PI) Fund back to the General Fund beginning in 2028. This scenario could push the operating levy back to 2029.

• Scenario #3 includes the second scenario plus the phase-back-in of student fees over 2027, 2028, and 2029. The operating levy would still be imminent in 2029 but could be getting closer to 2030.

*There was discussion about families’ abilities to pay fees and what percent of the Chardon district is economically disadvantaged.

• Scenario #4 includes all of the third scenario plus an additional ½ mill of inside millage (for a full mill) returned to the General Fund from the PI Fund beginning in 2028. An operating levy remains imminent in 2029.

• The fifth and final scenario includes all of scenario three (student fees) plus the return of the full 1 mill to the General Fund from the PI fund initiating earlier, in 2026.  With this scenario, a levy can potentially be pushed out to 2030.

*There was discussion and questions regarding anticipating what types of projects would be impacted by moving money from the PI fund. Some discussion revolved around the possible revenue from the new transportation center and the cost of replacing school buses as needed. Mrs. Armbruster and Dr. Hanlon advised that while there are a number of unknowns including the Ohio budget bill, the scenarios presented in the slides reveal that the school is in a good place with a number of options to “shore up” its “longevity” and “maintain operations the way our students deserve.” 

There was discussion about the strength of the pro-vote for the original budget bill, but Dr. Hanlon advised that it should not be taken as a foregone conclusion that those who voted initially for the vetoed items will vote for them again during the override process. He noted the importance of continued advocacy, no matter the strength of the original vote. 

• 1:01.24 Min All scenarios with projected General Fund cash balance are presented together on one line graph on slide 22.

• Slide 23 considers projected declining enrollment trends. 

The discussion regarding declining enrollment trends centered around potential options for extending operations based on building reconfigurations. 

Dr. Hanlon and Mrs. Armbruster reminded the Board that none of the options are currently being recommended at this time, and they are just being introduced in order to be on the radar for later discussion as more knowledge on the final impacts of HB 96 emerge. Both noted that FYs 2028 and 2029 are the most unclear at this time as to how the budget bill and other potential factors will impact the financial stability of the Chardon Local School District.

Dr. Hanlon further recommended that PI and building reconfiguration discussions wait until TDA (ThenDesign Architecture) does their presentation at the July Regular Meeting (see below for meeting details).

• 1:20.21 Min Resolution 2025-18: Declaring Transportation to be Impractical (Reimbursement in lieu of Transportation 2025-26). See resolution here. Approved

• 1:25.6 Min Personnel and Compensation Items in Agenda under 3.3. Approved.

1:26.24 Min Motion to adjourn was approved at 6:26pm and video ended at 1:27.15 min.

Board agendas and minutes are available online.

The Next meeting is the Regular Meeting scheduled for July 21, 2025 at 5:30 pm.

Observer: Jacqueline Berger

Editor: Gail Roussey

Reviewer: Sarah McGlone

Date submitted: July 26, 2025

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