Loveland Tiger Community,

Thank you for your advocacy with lawmakers during the state budget process. Because of your feedback and involvement, the budget signed by Governor Mike DeWine achieved the three goals we set: protecting the funding guarantee, providing some additional funding for our district, and removing the cash balance provision proposed by lawmakers. 

Earlier this year, we began working to educate our community about what was at stake during the state of Ohio budget process. Through a Town Hall Meeting, work with our Community Advisory Team, and an ongoing partnership with our State Funding Committee, we provided important background information about the complex topic of school funding. With feedback from involved parents and community members, we built a set of clear state funding requests to serve the needs of our Loveland City School District students. By sharing that message through our lovelandschools.org/lobby webpage, we were able to rally support for solutions to Loveland’s unique state funding challenges - one of the major goals of our #beLOVEland Strategic Vision. 

The final budget is a positive departure from where the discussion started months ago. Governor DeWine initially proposed reducing the funding guarantee for districts like Loveland, which would have cut about $2.5 million in state funds for our district over the next five years. In the final approved budget, the funding guarantee remains in place. 

Additionally, the budget includes a modest increase in funding for high-achieving school districts like Loveland. This increase will allow our district to maintain current programming. Governor DeWine also vetoed the proposed cap on district cash balances. While we are below the proposed cash balance limit, the proposed changes would have limited local financial flexibility. These positive changes to the budget proposals would not have been possible without so many of our community members sharing their voices with lawmakers. 

When our community is engaged, there are better outcomes for students, and this budget cycle proves it. The support we’ve received from our community, combined with the effort you’ve put into advocating for our district, has made it possible to find a budget solution that works for Loveland. We also appreciate the way state leaders have worked with our community to make good things happen for our students. We look forward to building on the relationships we’ve formed with state lawmakers and continuing our advocacy for the Loveland City School District. 

Mike Broadwater, Superintendent, Loveland City Schools
John Espy, Treasurer/CFO, Loveland City Schools