The Lorain City School District is facing major financial challenges. But how did we get here?
As a result of legislative decisions, the district has had to cut nearly $17.5 million per year, which is almost 16% of our annual budget.
This financial reality did not come from district decisions or mismanagement. However, our schools did not receive notice of funding cuts in time to make meaningful reductions in the 2025-26 school year, which increased the amount that would need to be cut next school year.
To be clear, we received notice of:
- $4.9 million in state cuts in June 2025
- $787,000 less in federal funds in August 2025
- And notice that the Lorain County Commissioners doubled local property tax exemptions, leading to $1.07 million less in local funding.
These funding reductions were not anticipated.
With this newfound reality, our district acted quickly to examine all positions, contractual requirements, student needs, and critical educational programming. We engaged our stakeholders to understand perspectives on a variety of educational assets.
And, the district worked to minimize educational impact while making the cuts needed to address the financial realities.
The Lorain City Schools Board of Education approved the following course of action:
- Keeping neighborhood schools with two buildings repurposed: One for mandatory preschool only, and One for an Autism School
(Which means the district can return our students whose needs are too extreme to meet in a traditional school setting, and who are currently bused to programs across the region at the district’s cost)
- Non-classroom student support services have been eliminated
- All field trips are cancelled
- Capital maintenance needs will be deferred
- A pay freeze was implemented
- Professional development has been cancelled
Based on the new financial reality, these changes minimize educational impact, but they DO impact our students. However, the truth is, we cannot spend money we do not have. We have to have a balanced budget, and we are impacted by decisions made outside of our control. Because of this, we are at a pivot point, and local stakeholders now face a choice.
This May, the district is asking voters to approve Issue 5, an 11-mill operating levy that would help stabilize district finances and allow some student supports and programming to return in 2027-2028.
If Issue 5 does not pass, the district faces additional cuts of up to $8 million that would likely bring additional programming cuts, more staff and teacher layoffs, and school building closures.
If the district has to cut an additional $8 million, that would mean we lost 25% of our funding in two years, and that cannot happen without a significant impact.
Our district is working hard every day to do more with the resources we have because our children deserve opportunities for their futures.
Stay tuned for additional information regarding the current financial state of Lorain City Schools.
