After years of refusing to have the state pay its fair share of the cost of running Ohio's public schools and forcing local property tax payers to carry a bigger load to make up the difference, Ohio lawmakers are pushing a number of property tax changes that could slash revenues for school districts with devastating impacts on Ohio's public school students. So, what can the state actually do to provide meaningful property tax relief without doing so on the backs of our public schools? In Part 2 of this special two-part conversation, we take a look at the potential property tax reforms Ohio lawmakers could enact if they were really interested in something beyond short-sighted Band aid fixes.

LISTEN TO PART 1 | Click here to hear the first half of the conversation with Dr. Howard Fleeter, where we dive into the history and impact of Ohio's property tax laws and the state policy changes that have fueled the rise in local property tax bills in recent years. This is incredibly important context about how we got here, so we can figure out what needs to be done now. If you have not listened to Part 1, please go back and listen to it now.

TAKE ACTION | House Bill 186 is one of several property tax bills making its way through the General Assembly right now. But, the substitute version of HB 186 under consideration would result in a huge, devastating funding cut for hundreds of Ohio school districts, especially in rural communities. Click here to see how your district would be impacted and to tell your lawmaker to oppose the amended version of HB 186.

READ THE REPORT | Learn more in the Ohio Education Policy Insitute's new 'Analysis of Residential Property Taxes in Ohio: A Balanced Approach to Reform'

INTO THE ARCHIVES | Dr. Fleeter was a Public Education Matters guest way back in the first season of this podcast as we worked to understand Ohio's school funding formula - or lack thereof back at that point. Click here to listen.

Featured Public Education Matters guest: 

• Dr. Howard Fleeter, economist and Ohio Education Policy Institute consultant
  • Dr. Howard B. Fleeter received his Ph.D in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1990.  He was a faculty member in the School of Public Policy and Management at Ohio State University from 1989-1999, where he taught courses in Public Sector Economics, Public Finance, and State and Local Government Finance.  He was a four-time recipient of the School’s “Faculty of the Year” award for excellence in teaching.  Dr. Fleeter was also a faculty member in the School of Education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst from 1999-2001, where he taught courses in the Economics of Education and School Finance. 
  • Dr. Fleeter's research has focused on issues of education finance, education policy, and state and local tax policy and he is the author of numerous policy studies and academic journal articles on these topics.  Since his 1992 report, "Equity, Adequacy and Reliability in Ohio Education Finance" for Governor Voinovich's Education Management Council he has been one of the state’s leading experts on Education Finance.  He has worked extensively with Ohio education policy-makers to improve the state's school funding system for more than 25 years.  He is currently the owner of the state and local government finance and tax policy consulting firm Howard Fleeter & Associates and serves as a research consultant on education finance and policy issues for the Ohio Education Policy Institute.  

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About us:

• The Ohio Education Association represents nearly 120,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals who work in Ohio’s schools, colleges, and universities to help improve public education and the lives of Ohio’s children. OEA members provide professional services to benefit students, schools, and the public in virtually every position needed to run Ohio’s schools.
• Public Education Matters host Katie Olmsted serves as Media Relations Consultant for the Ohio Education Association. She joined OEA in May 2020, after a ten-year career as an Emmy Award-winning television reporter, anchor, and producer. Katie comes from a family of educators and is passionate about telling educators' stories and advocating for Ohio's students. She lives in Central Ohio with her husband and two young children. 

This episode was recorded on October 7, 2025.