Dec. 28, 2025, 6:02 a.m. ET
- The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce has flagged roughly 45 school districts after their financial forecasts showed they could run out of money in the next two school years.
- The state considers the districts to be in “precautionary” financial status and is requiring them to submit a plan that details how they will avoid the flagged future shortfalls.
- Barberton City Schools and Norton City Schools are among the districts that must submit a financial recovery plan.
The state is warning more and more Ohio school districts that they’re headed toward financial trouble and must take action now.
The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce flagged roughly 45 of Ohio’s more than 600 public school districts this fall after their October financial forecasts showed they could exhaust their cash reserves within the next two school years. A year ago, only about 25 school districts had submitted financial forecasts showing a shortfall within two years.
The state considers the districts to be in “precautionary” financial status and is requiring them to submit a school board-approved written plan that details how they will avoid the flagged future shortfalls without relying on a possible future property tax levy to bail them out.
“The goal of this process is to help districts proactively resolve projected deficits and avoid entering fiscal oversight,” said Lacey Snoke, chief communications officer for the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce.
The financial recovery plans, which were due Dec. 21, have generated headlines statewide about school closings, staff layoffs, elimination of open enrollment and student programs, transportation cuts and more.
Barberton City Schools and Norton City Schools are among the districts that must submit a financial recovery plan.
Cuyahoga Falls City School District also was flagged, but district treasurer Kristy Stoicoiu said the district will be removed from precautionary status because voters renewed the district’s 9.97-mill levy in November and it will no longer face a shortfall.
Akron, Tallmadge and Twinsburg city school districts also received letters from the state that warned they could fall into fiscal precautionary status if their next required financial forecast update, which is due by Feb. 28, continues to show an expected deficit for the 2027-2028 school year.
Here is what’s at stake in the Barberton and Norton school districts:
Barberton school district blindsided by inaccurate forecasts
Barberton school leaders say they were caught off guard this fall when a new financial forecasting software revealed that previous financial projections and assumptions had been wrong. Instead of facing a financial shortfall in a couple of years, the updated projections showed the district was in danger of running out of money by the end of next school year.
Further calculations found the expected deficit also was larger than expected, rising from $6.7 million to $9.2 million, which equals roughly one-sixth of the district’s annual expenses.
Superintendent Jason Ondrus said the district is working with the Ohio Auditor’s Office to better understand what led to the inaccurate financial forecasts and how long they have been wrong. State auditors also will provide recommendations on areas where the district can become more efficient and potentially save money. The performance audit is expected to be completed this summer.
Ondrus said no money is missing, and Treasurer Craig McKendry is not accused of wrongdoing.
McKendry, the district’s treasurer since 2021, submitted his resignation on Dec. 4 that will take effect when his contract expires on July 31. Ondrus said McKendry will not return to work, as the school board is allowing him to use the paid time off that he has accrued until his effective resignation date.
Jennifer Sudhoff of the Educational Service Center of Northeast Ohio will serve as the district’s treasurer in the interim.
To quickly identify enough cuts to eliminate the $9.2 million shortfall, district leaders have been working with district employee unions, the state education department and the Shared Services Alliance, which is an agency available through the Educational Service Center of Northeast Ohio that can provide financial, business and operational help,
The state has given Barberton a two-month extension on its financial recovery plan submission. The new deadline is Feb. 21.
Ondrus believes the district will need to cut as many as 80 staff positions beginning next school year. He said reductions will impact administrators and classified and certified positions but declined to provide a breakdown by employee group, noting that retirements and early resignations could shift projections.
“Barberton is a blue-collar town, and I know staff will do all they can to preserve the student experience and maintain a quality education,” said Ondrus, a lifelong Barberton resident who has worked as a teacher, faculty manager, assistant principal, principal and assistant superintendent before being hired as superintendent in August 2024.
Formal layoff notices are expected to be issued in the spring. But administrators held meetings with employees in mid-December to provide an update. Ondrus said the district had set the mid-December meetings with employees when he believed the financial recovery plan would be due on Dec. 21. Even though the district received an extension, Ondrus said administrators wanted to honor the mid-December employee meetings as scheduled.
Krista McCoy, a Barberton teacher and president of the Barberton Education Association, expects roughly 50 teaching positions to be affected. The district of roughly 3,200 students employs 285 teachers.
She said the union continues to seek accountability for the inaccurate financial projections that have blindsided employees, including the 25 teachers who were hired in May. She commended the administration for being responsive to the union’s requests, which have included asking for a replacement for the treasurer, communication and transparency and an audit of the district’s finances.
“No matter what, this is going to be bad, but working together is going to be the best way to do this,” she said.
Ondrus said other changes, such as reductions to student busing and increasing pay-to-participate fees for athletics and extracurricular activities, and ways to increase revenue, such as a possible levy, will be part of future financial discussions but will not be included in the district’s financial recovery plan.
The district plans to form a financial advisory committee within the next few months that will include community volunteers who could provide input and help share updates with district families and residents.
Norton to end open enrollment, merge schools
Norton City Schools faces an $865,753 deficit next school year that is expected to grow to a $5.75 million shortfall by the following school year if no changes are made.
During a presentation to the school board and community on Dec. 15, Superintendent Bryan Farson blamed the state’s new two-year budget for a significant part of the reason for the district’s financial trouble.
Norton’s most recent financial forecast shows that state funding, which had increased by nearly $1.1 million since the 2022-2023 school year, is now expected to decrease by $832,653 over the next three years. State funding, which is expected to be nearly $12.4 million this school year, accounts for nearly half of the district’s roughly $28 million revenue.
Farson said costs for district goods and services continue to rise, and the gap between state funding and inflationary growth has contributed to the fiscal challenges now affecting many Ohio school districts.
“I don’t know about anyone else in this room but there’s nothing in my personal life that has gotten any cheaper – not going to the grocery store, paying for my insurance, nothing,” said Farson, who along with Treasurer Barbara Markland did not return email messages seeking additional information.
Norton’s financial forecast shows that expenses have increased by $4.9 million since school year 2022-2023, with employee salaries and benefits increasing from $20.7 million in 2023 to $24.4 million this school year.
Norton, which has the lowest per-pupil expense in Summit County, expects to spend more than $2 million more than it collects this school year. It still will end this school year with more than $3 million in its reserves. But those reserves are expected to be exhausted next year when the district is forecasted to spend $3.9 million more than it collects in revenue.
To create its financial recovery plan, which school board members approved Dec. 15, district leaders consulted state officials, a financial forecasting company, building principals, outside district leaders and central office administrators and school board members during work sessions and regular board meetings, according to the district’s list of frequently asked questions.
District leaders already have eliminated an assistant treasurer and network administrator and will not fill a vacant maintenance position, which are expected to save roughly $182,000 a year. The school supplies budget also will be reduced by 10% to save another nearly $38,000, according to the district’s financial recovery plan.
Starting next school year, Norton, which has an enrollment of 1,970 students, plans to eliminate districtwide open enrollment. The move would stop new students whose families don’t live within the school district’s boundaries from attending Norton. The 267 nondistrict students who currently attend Norton also will be forced to return to their home schools, although district leaders are considering exceptions for current high school students. A decision is expected to be shared with affected families in January.
Under the planned merger, students from Norton Primary School would be moved to Norton Elementary, which would serve students in preschool through third grade. Norton Middle School would serve students in fourth grade through seventh grade, and Norton High School would serve students in grades 8-12.
Norton Primary would be used to support district operations to avoid triggering the state law that requires the public school districts to sell any buildings that haven’t been used in a year.
Without the nondistrict students, officials believe they can consolidate students, who are now spread over four school buildings, into three schools, which would need fewer teachers, fewer staff and few utilities.
In the financial recovery plan, officials estimate the consolidation could save more than $2 million in salaries and benefits by reducing 30 employees, including teachers, classified staff and administrators, and by reducing administrators’ hours. Reduced utilities and insurance costs will save another $79,618.
All told, officials expect to save just over $9 million over the next three years, the plan shows.
Farson, who said more details about the building reorganization and staff reductions would be shared this spring, said changes to increase the district’s revenue also will need to be made to avoid facing another shortfall within a few years.
He expects the school board to begin this spring with those discussions, which could include seeking a property tax levy.
Norton currently operates on a property tax levy that was initially passed in 2004 and a half-percent earned income tax that was approved in 2019.
Reach Akron Beacon Journal education writer Kelli Weir at 330-580-8339 or kweir@usatodayco.com.