Vote For Oak Hills

10/27/2026

Oak Hills Local School District Financial Update

This is an OHLSD follow-up on the financial communication provided in the spring of 2026. The infographic accompanying this post illustrates the district's financial position. All financial presentations and reports are available on the Treasurer's page found on the district's website.

The Board of Education will continue to discuss the district's financial position at upcoming board meetings. All board meetings dates and locations are also listed on the district's website.

You can find the link to the district website in the comment section of this post.

10/19/2026

❤️🖤 STRONG PUBLIC SCHOOLS. STRONG COMMUNITIES. INFORMED VOTERS. 🗳️

Early voting is underway, and public education is on the ballot!

The Citizens Committee for Oak Hills Schools believes supporting public education isn't a Republican or Democratic issue. It's a community issue!

As we prepare for the November election and future conversations about school funding, we encourage everyone to learn where candidates stand on public education and understand the financial challenges facing our schools.

🏫 LET'S TALK ABOUT OAK HILLS!

Our district's recently released 2026 Quality Profile highlights some important facts:

💰 22nd out of 23 Hamilton County districts in per-pupil spending. Oak Hills operates with one of the lowest per-student spending levels in the county.

📅 13 years since the last voter-approved operating levy. Meanwhile, the cost of educating students continues to rise.

📚 73% of district funds are spent on student instruction, compared with the state average of 67%.

⭐ 4 stars on the Ohio School Report Card. Our schools continue to deliver strong educational outcomes while carefully managing resources.

WHY DO STATE ELECTIONS MATTER TO OUR LOCAL SCHOOLS?

Decisions made in Columbus directly impact the funding available to districts like Oak Hills.

We encourage voters to understand where candidates stand on:

✅ Fair School Funding: Fully implementing Ohio's bipartisan Fair School Funding Plan to better reflect the actual cost of educating students.

✅ Inflation: Updating the funding formula to account for rising costs rather than relying on outdated financial data.

✅ School Vouchers: Examining how taxpayer-funded private school vouchers impact state resources available for public education, while advocating for transparency and accountability.

✅ State Funding: Ensuring the state contributes its fair share toward public education rather than placing an increasing burden on local property taxpayers.

🏗️ AND REMEMBER: BOND FUNDING IS NOT OPERATING FUNDING!

The bond issue approved by our community in 2025 supports school construction and facility improvements.

Operating funds support the everyday needs of our schools — teachers, classroom instruction, transportation, utilities, and student services.

The bond addresses our buildings. Operating funding supports what happens inside them.

🗳️ BEFORE YOU VOTE, ASK YOURSELF:

Does this candidate openly support public schools? Do they support fair and sustainable school funding? Are they committed to making sure public schools have the resources they need to serve every child?

Strong public schools benefit everyone — whether you have children attending them or not.

Get informed. Ask questions. Vote with public education in mind.

❤️🖤 Citizens Committee for Oak Hills Schools

Supporting Oak Hills. Educating Our Community.

09/29/2026

Wondering how you can get involved in supporting public education in Ohio?

One of the goals of the Citizens Committee for Oak Hills Schools is to help our community stay informed—not only about what is happening here in Oak Hills, but also about decisions being made at the state level that affect public education.

We’re sharing this update from Honesty for Ohio Education, a statewide organization that provides education updates, tracks legislation, and shares opportunities for Ohioans who want to become involved. Their mailing list includes a weekly newsletter with information about education legislation, events, and opportunities for participation. (Honesty for Ohio Education: https://www.honestyforohioeducation.org/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

Their Strong Ohio Schools initiative is beginning with Pillar 1: Informed and Activated Communities—focused on helping families, educators, students, and community members better understand and participate in decisions affecting public schools.

This week, Honesty for Ohio Education is also asking its supporters to contact the Ohio Senate Education Committee regarding Senate Bill 443, legislation concerning reporting and other requirements for chartered nonpublic schools participating in Ohio's Educational Choice and Pilot Project scholarship programs. The bill is currently in the Senate Education Committee. (Ohio Legislature: https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/136/sb443?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

Whether you choose to take action on a particular issue is up to you. Our goal is to make sure our Oak Hills community knows where to find information, understand the issues, and learn about opportunities to participate.

Stay informed. Ask questions. Get involved.

❤️🖤🤍 Strong schools start with informed communities.

Advocating for honest, inclusive Ohio education with community partnerships and resources to support every student. Join us in strengthening public schools.

09/22/2026

The Citizens Committee for Oak Hills Schools exists to help residents understand what is happening in our district—especially when it comes to funding, facilities, legislation and the decisions that affect our schools.
We are a Political Action Committee (PAC), separate from the Oak Hills Local School District. That distinction matters. Our role is not to manage the district or make decisions for the Board of Education. Our role is to support Oak Hills, educate our community, advocate when issues affect our schools, and give residents clear information they can use to make their own informed decisions.
That includes talking about the whole financial picture—not only when the district is asking voters for support.
The graphic below is one example. Oak Hills reports that the district has had one voted tax-levy increase in the past 20 years, and in August 2026 it received the Ohio Auditor of State Award with Distinction for financial reporting and legal compliance. The district also maintains public financial reports and updates through its Treasurer’s Office.

Understanding school finance also means understanding that bond dollars and operating dollars have different purposes. It means following changes at the state level. It means asking where taxpayer dollars go, what the district has accomplished with them, and what challenges remain.
That is the purpose of the Citizens Committee:
Support our schools.
Educate our community.
Share the facts.
Encourage informed participation.
We believe transparency should happen before, during and after our community is asked to make an investment.
Strong schools depend on an informed community. And Oak Hills is stronger together.

09/07/2026

So… what happens next with the Oak Hills bond?

This is the part so many people have been asking about — our new schools!

Planning and design are underway for:

🏫 New Springmyer Elementary School
🏫 New Delhi Middle School
🏫 New Bridgetown Middle School

Construction timelines and opening dates are still being determined, and we’ll continue sharing information as those plans become more concrete.

Another HUGE piece of this is the State of Ohio matching funds. Those additional state dollars will help expand the work we can accomplish while reducing the local taxpayer impact. 🙌

There is still a lot ahead, but after spending so much time asking our community to believe in this investment, we think it’s equally important to keep showing you what happens next.

Transparency. Accountability. Progress. ❤️🖤

09/05/2026

We wanted to provide an update regarding the 2025 Bond Issue, which was approved by voters in November 2025.

The flyer attached to this post contains important information about the progress that has been made and what has been happening since the passage of the bond issue. We encourage you to take a moment to review it and stay informed.

Thank you for your continued support of Oak Hills!

08/18/2026

Oak Hills Local School District has received the Ohio Auditor of State Award with Distinction for excellence in its Annual Comprehensive Financial Report and legal compliance.

This elite honor is given to just 4% of the 6,000 public bodies audited across Ohio. Auditor of State Keith Faber called the district’s reporting a model for clean, accountable government.

Oak Hills Local School Board President Rich Haffey welcomed the award, stating it highlights their proven track record of transparency and dedication to protecting the community's financial investment.

05/19/2026

Earlier this month, the Ohio May primary election saw an unprecedented number of school districts on the ballot. Nearly 70 school districts were seeking tax levies from their local communities due to uncontrollable financial pressures, and many more districts will be on the ballot in the fall. Through strong stewardship initiatives, including spending levels well below the county average, Oak Hills Local Schools has only had one tax levy increase since 1997.

Our district is appreciative of the community's support of the November 2025 bond issue. As a reminder, this bond issue did not increase taxes and will allow our district to modernize our buildings with three new schools, as well as adding air conditioning to Oak Hills High School. By law, the funds from the bond issue are restricted to facility improvements and cannot be used for daily operations. Also, through this bond issue, our district took a proactive creative approach to secure at least $70 million from the State of Ohio which will be used to fund over 50% of the construction project. Had our district not partnered with the State of Ohio, the $70 million would have been disbursed to another school district.

Our district is experiencing the same financial pressures in our general operating fund that our colleagues are experiencing across the state. Many of these pressures, such as changes in state funding, reductions in township funding, and record high prices (including school bus diesel prices) were experienced after our November bond issue and are out of our district's control. These financial pressures have led to deficit spending in the current fiscal year, meaning our district is quickly depleting our cash reserve.

The one page document in this post will provide a deeper look into our district's financial position. As a reminder, all financial updates are available at ohlsd.us. Our district is committed to continued transparency as we navigate through these challenging times and will communicate next steps accordingly.

05/05/2026

We are excited to share this update with our amazing voters!

Thank you for your continued support of our district’s construction project. Since the successful passage of the November bond issue, Oak Hills Local Schools has been actively moving forward with the next steps in bringing three new schools to our community.

It is an exciting time across the Oak Hills Local School District, and we are committed to keeping you informed with regular updates as this work continues.

You can also visit our website for more information as we navigate this process:
https://www.ohlsd.us/parent-resources/building-our-future%3A-master-facilities-plan-35/