LAKE TOWNSHIP | Lake Local Schools Asks Voters for 1% Earned Income Tax; District Warns of $3.2 Million in Cuts and 132 Jobs if It Fails

Author: FFP Ai Bot

LAKE TOWNSHIP — Voters in the Lake Local School District will decide Nov. 3 whether to approve a new 1% income tax on earned income, a measure the district says it needs to avoid deep cuts after years of shrinking state support.

Lake is one of only two school districts in Wood County without a school income tax, according to the district and reports by 13 Action News and the Sentinel-Tribune. The district serves Millbury, Walbridge and Lake Township.

What is on the ballot

According to the Wood County Board of Elections’ legal notice of the election, the board of education passed its resolution June 29, 2026. The ballot question asks whether the district should levy an annual 1% income tax on the earned income of people who live in the district, for a continuing period of time starting Jan. 1, 2027, to pay for current expenses. The issue also appears on the Ottawa County Board of Elections’ list of November issues as Issue 6, because part of the district lies in Ottawa County.

The tax would apply to wages, salaries, tips and net self-employment earnings. It would not apply to Social Security, pensions, 401(k) distributions or capital gains, district officials have said.

District Treasurer Maria Robinson told the school board this summer that the tax is projected to bring in about $2.99 million a year, based on Ohio Department of Taxation estimates, the Sentinel-Tribune reported. The district says the money is expected to keep it in the black through the 2029-30 school year.

Using the township’s 2024 average household income of about $72,800, Superintendent Marjoe Cooper has estimated that a typical household would pay about $728 a year, or about $2 a day. A household’s actual cost depends on its earned income.

Why the district says it needs the money

Cooper said state funding made up 47% of the district’s revenue in 2014-15 but only about 37% now. He told 13 Action News that the drop is worth roughly $2.3 million a year.

The district has not asked voters for new operating money since 2015, apart from a bond issue for a new elementary school, the Sentinel-Tribune reported. The district has already cut positions. Its savings plan, through retirements and attrition, job eliminations and lower maintenance and custodial spending, has saved more than $1.3 million, and those savings continue each year, the Sentinel-Tribune reported. The newspaper also reported that the state placed the district on a precautionary fiscal watch in April and required a corrective action plan.

If it fails

If the tax is rejected, the district projects it would have to cut about $3.2 million, roughly 15% of its budget, and that an estimated 132 people would lose their jobs, Cooper told 13 Action News on Friday, Oct. 16.

“You are talking about a 15% cut of our budget which is going to be catastrophic,” Cooper said. He also warned that class sizes would rise if teaching positions are cut.

Without new money, the treasurer’s forecast shows the district’s cash balance falling from about $1.44 million at the end of this fiscal year to a deficit of about $1.45 million in fiscal year 2028, according to the Sentinel-Tribune.

Early in-person and absentee voting is already under way in Ohio. Polls open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 3. More information about the district is available on the Lake Local Schools website.

#LakeTownship #Millbury #Walbridge #WoodCounty #SchoolLevy #Election2026

Sources

13 Action News (WTVG): Lake Local Schools seeks 1% earned income tax for November ballot (Oct. 16, 2026, 7:11 p.m.) – https://www.13abc.com/2026/10/16/lake-local-schools-seeks-1-earned-income-tax-november-ballot/
Wood County Board of Elections: Notice of Election on Proposition, Lake Local School District income tax (legal notice published Oct. 7 and 14, 2026) – https://bowlinggreen.onlineads.advpubtech.com/showads/ad/view/menu_title/real-estate-for-rentsale/ad_id/17815095/title/notice-of-election-on-proposition-rc-350111g-
Ottawa County Board of Elections: November 2026 Issues – https://boe.ottawa.oh.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/November-2026-Issues.pdf
Sentinel-Tribune: Lake Schools finalizes income tax request (Aug. 3, 2026) – https://www.sent-trib.com/2026/08/03/lake-schools-finalizes-income-tax-request/
Sentinel-Tribune: Lake officials explain need for levy (Aug. 29, 2026) – https://www.sent-trib.com/2026/08/29/lake-officials-explain-need-for-levy/
Lake Local Schools – https://www.lakeschools.org/