Dayton Public Schools is asking voters to approve its first new operating levy since 2008, a seven-mill increase that would raise the annual property tax bill on a $100,000 home from $175 to $245. The measure, known as Issue 4, lands on the same week the federal government approved Ohio as the eighth state allowed to consolidate more than $38 million in federal education funds through 2029 — two separate funding stories now colliding on Dayton ballots and in district budget talks alike.
According to WDTN, the levy would push the current millage from five to seven mills, with the new rate taking effect Jan. 1, 2027, and remaining in place for an indefinite number of years. District officials say the money would generate funding for day-to-day operating expenses and general improvements, according to WKEF. Dayton247Now identifies the levy, labeled Issue 4 on the ballot, as a $14.7 million property tax measure, while a Dayton Daily News snippet describes it as a $14.6 million continuing levy — the two outlets have not reconciled the figure.
Dayton Public Schools Superintendent David Lawrence has framed the levy as essential to keeping programs intact. Per the WKEF report, Lawrence said there are a number of programs that could potentially be cut, negatively impacting students if the levy does not pass. The station's report also notes Lawrence's warning that federal funding can fluctuate depending on elections and which party controls government at the state and federal levels, a point he has used to argue that local levy dollars and federal dollars are both needed to support student success.
Chamber of Commerce Pushes Back
Not everyone in Dayton is on board. The Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce opposes the district's $14.7 million levy, per the same WKEF account, setting up a local business-versus-schools fight over the tax increase heading into the Nov. 3 general election. Cary Shaw, an assistant professor at Cedarville University's School of Education, has said voters should assess whether the additional school funding actually improves outcomes for students — a question that applies to both the local levy and the state's new federal flexibility.
Ohio's New Federal Funding Flexibility
The timing of the levy vote comes as the U.S. Department of Education announced Friday that it approved Ohio's Returning Education to the States waiver, a program that lets the state consolidate more than $38 million in federal funds through 2029, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Ohio school districts gained more flexibility in how they use certain federal education dollars as a result, per WKEF, and the department's release puts the combined total across all eight approved states at more than $158 million in consolidated funds.
Ohio's own waiver request, filed with the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, states that more dollars will be targeted to literacy, accelerated learning, workforce readiness and student wellness. But Shaw cautioned that the waiver changes how existing federal dollars are used rather than bringing additional money into Ohio schools, according to WKEF — a distinction that matters for districts like Dayton Public Schools weighing where new revenue, if any, will actually come from.
How Ohio Compares to Other States
Ohio joins a small but growing group of states reshaping their relationship with federal education dollars. As of its August 2026 report, Stateline found that six states had already received waivers allowing them to consolidate more than $109 million in federal education funding, with the consolidation of four separate funding streams into one meant to give states more flexibility in how the money gets used. Stateline also reported that federal funding accounts for about 12% of education funding overall, citing Carissa Moffat Miller — a reminder of how much of school budgets still depend on local and state dollars, the kind Dayton voters are being asked to approve directly.
Not every education group is cheering the shift. Stateline reported that some state education organizations have argued that consolidating federal funding weakens guardrails meant to protect intended recipients and programs. Other states are testing their own versions of the flexibility: Indiana plans to run a pilot allowing up to 15% of its districts to combine two funding streams and change how college- and career-readiness measures factor into high school ratings, per Stateline's reporting.
Iowa was the first state approved under the Returning Education to the States initiative, according to KCCI, and its waiver allows it to operate a single state-level block grant for certain federal education programs instead of managing them separately. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said the state would shift nearly $8 million and thousands of staff hours from bureaucracy toward the classroom, and Iowa now has four years to demonstrate that the added flexibility actually improves student outcomes, the station reported — the same open question Shaw has raised about Ohio's approach, and the one Dayton voters will effectively weigh in on at the ballot box.
