Ohio Revised Code Title LVII. Taxation § 5705.391

(A) Not later than the thirty-first day of August of each fiscal year, each school district board of education shall submit to the department of education and workforce appropriations, revenue, and fund balance assumptions contained in the budget adopted by the board for that fiscal year and projections of expenditures, revenues, and fund balance for the three succeeding fiscal years.

Not later than the last day of February of each fiscal year, each school district board of education shall submit updated appropriations, revenue, and fund balance information for the budget adopted for the fiscal year and updated projections of expenditures, revenues, and fund balance for the three succeeding fiscal years.

The department of education and workforce and the auditor of state shall jointly adopt rules governing the submission of current budget information and three-year projections of operational revenues and expenditures by boards of education.  The rules shall specify the information required for current budget information and three-year forecast submissions and any additional school district financial and operating information necessary for the audits and analyses conducted by the auditor of state or the department, including special and federal funds expenditures, revenues, and balances.  The rules shall provide for the auditor of state or the department to examine the current budget information and three-year projections and to determine whether any further fiscal analysis is needed to ascertain whether a district has the potential to incur a deficit during the first two years of the three-year period.

The auditor of state or the department may conduct any further audits or analyses necessary to assess any district's fiscal condition.  If further audits or analyses are conducted by the auditor of state, the auditor of state shall notify the department of the district's fiscal condition, and the department shall immediately notify the district of any potential to incur a deficit in the current fiscal year or of any strong indications that a deficit will be incurred in either of the ensuing two years.  If such audits or analyses are conducted by the department, the department shall immediately notify the district and the auditor of state of such potential deficit or strong indications thereof.

A district notified under this section shall take immediate steps to eliminate any deficit in the current fiscal year and shall begin to plan to avoid the projected future deficits.

(B) The state board of education, in accordance with sections 3319.31 and 3319.311 of the Revised Code, may limit, suspend, or revoke a license as defined under section 3319.31 of the Revised Code that has been issued to any school employee found to have willfully contributed erroneous, inaccurate, or incomplete data required for the submission of the current budget information and three-year projection required by this section.

(C) Beginning with submissions required for fiscal year 2026 and for each fiscal year in which a submission is required under this section thereafter, the department and the auditor shall label the projections regarding property tax allocation in the projection as “ state reimbursement for property tax credits.

(D) A school district may submit to the county budget commission the most recent projection prepared pursuant to this section with its tax budget as required by section 5705.28 of the Revised Code or other information as allowed by section 5705.281 of the Revised Code.