Nine Cuyahoga County school districts overcollected $28.5 million in taxes after a rate error
Editorial illustration — Press Pass USANine school districts in Cuyahoga County collected an estimated $28.5 million more in property taxes than they were supposed to, after a clerical error left tax rates out of step with updated property values, county officials said.
The mistake traces back to a 2024 property reappraisal. In a letter to the affected districts, the county explained that tax rates for several school districts were not properly adjusted before property tax bills went out in 2025. "The Budget Commission appears to have correctly estimated tax rates for fixed-sum levies early in 2024. But once final property values were known, those estimated rates should have been updated before taxes were billed," the letter said.
Parma City Schools recorded the largest discrepancy, collecting an estimated $12,710,639 more than it should have. The other districts and their excess collections were Garfield Heights, $4,094,838; North Royalton, $4,084,876; Maple Heights, $2,960,256; Euclid, $1,814,820; Brooklyn, $947,427; Warrensville Heights, $804,641; Fairview Park, $611,346; and Independence, $510,766.
Sean Nuccio, treasurer for Parma City Schools, was the first to spot the discrepancy and promptly alerted the county, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Nuccio has been negotiating a three-year adjustment plan for Parma, while the other districts are adopting two-year arrangements. A Parma school board record independently confirms the three-year repayment plan, under which the district would offset the overpayment by reducing emergency-levy millage by about $3.9 million a year.
Homeowners will not get refund checks. Instead, the affected districts are voluntarily working with the county Fiscal Office to reduce their fixed-sum levy rates, so taxpayers will pay less toward emergency levies until the excess has been offset, county spokesperson Kelly Woodward told the Plain Dealer.
"The affected school districts are voluntarily working with the Fiscal Office to reduce their fixed-sum levy rates for a two-year period to offset the overcollection to address this matter," Woodward said.
Woodward also said the county's independent auditor, Clark Schaefer Hackett, and the Auditor of State determined the additional money was "not material for Cuyahoga County." She confirmed officials are working to recover the money for taxpayers.
The plan to stretch the offset over two to three years has drawn criticism online from Ohio residents who say the wait is too long and that homeowners who have since sold their houses may never see the benefit. Nuccio told the Plain Dealer that Parma has set aside funds that could help cushion the impact of lower tax collections, although the money will not fully resolve the issue. "Those funds are already committed and are not available to address the district's ongoing budget challenges," he said.
The county letter said similar tax-rate errors occurred in Ashtabula, Carroll, Champaign, Fayette, Henry, Logan and Preble counties.
County officials initially notified the affected districts about a special Board of Revision meeting scheduled for August to address the error. The meeting was later cancelled, and it remains unclear whether it has been rescheduled.
Residents with questions about the upcoming changes can contact the county Fiscal Office at 216-443-7010.
Sources: The Cleveland Plain Dealer, "Nine Cuyahoga County school districts over-collected $28.5 million in taxes" (Nov. 5, 2026, as reported by Internewscast); Citizen Portal, "Parma City School District board votes to place 1.75% income-tax levy on ballot amid dispute over program cuts" (Jan. 30, 2026) — board-meeting record confirming Parma's three-year repayment plan.
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