Parma’s school funding fight just jumped from yard signs to paychecks.
After years of striking out with property-tax levies, the Parma City School District has voted to ask residents for a 1.75% school-district earned-income tax on the May ballot. District leaders are pitching it as a swap: trade three expiring property-levy renewals for an income tax that they say would return millions in property-tax relief to homeowners while shoring up the district’s operating budget.
The move immediately caught the attention of Parma-area mayors, who on Thursday offered a mix of questions, concern and cautious optimism. Administrators have been blunt about why they are making the shift, warning that the district is staring down budget shortfalls if it cannot find new revenue or cut spending…