CPS mother whose son relies on support services shares relief over tax levy passage

CPS mother whose son relies on support services shares relief over tax levy passage Advertisement Updated: 11:20 PM EST Nov 12, 2026 Editorial Standards ⓘ Daisy Kershaw Reporter CPS mother whose son relies on support services shares relief over tax levy passage Updated: 11:20 PM EST Nov 12, 2026 Editorial Standards ⓘ Daisy Kershaw Reporter CINCINNATI — After the recent passage of Cincinnati Public Schools property tax levy, treasurer Michael Gustin, spoke candidly about the realities the district could have faced if it failed. "We were contemplating a lot of really painful cuts, school consolidations, reduced programming for kids," he said. Advertisement With collections from the levy set to start in the new year, officials say those programs and additional resources for students with learning differences are now protected. However, the impacts of mass layoffs and budget cuts before the levy passed are still being felt. Domonique Davis has three children in Cincinnati Public Schools. Next year, she'll be paying more in property taxes in Spring Grove Village with the CPS levy, which she voted for, having seen the need firsthand. Davis has a son who requires speech therapy to help him communicate, but when the district slashed millions to help close its budget gap, she saw the strain on his services. "My son, who is a third grader, is a recipient of an IEP or individualized education plan. So, with that, I've already seen where services have kind of shifted," she said. Mom says her son Matthew works with a district-provided speech pathologist to help him communicate. This week, she says she saw progress with Matthew at the Clifton Branch Library, when he was able to greet a librarian. "As we were leaving, he said, I'm Matthew, and I'm like, that's it, that was the silver lining for me, for it all. Because prior, he wasn't able to communicate in that way where he's introducing himself," said Davis, "That really put it all in perspective for me." But she says recent shifts within the district put her son significantly behind on his speech therapy requirements. "The speech pathologist was not just at his school, but shifting between two schools," said Davis. She says coming into this school year, he had dozens of hours to make up. "He's missing 70 hours of instruction that was already written in his IEP," said Davis. Mom says Matthew's team has worked hard to find solutions to help him keep up with instruction. Davis is relieved to know the levy's passage prevents further big cuts that could impact kids like Matthew. "I couldn't imagine, like if the levy did not pass, what other cuts would happen for services that help him grow and be a part of the general education setting," she said. A source with the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers gave insight on other additional cuts if the levy failed, saying math and reading specialists could have been on the chopping block. The new levy won't bring back positions already cut at this time, but it will protect against more layoffs. Make WLWT a preferred source on Google Add Preferred Source Share Infinite Scroll Enabled Top Picks Newly released Ring camera shows Brooklyn building collapsing Anthony Clark, a comedian and actor who starred on 'Yes, Dear,' dies Teen who has autism found alive after missing for nearly a week in the Australian woodlands Microsoft confirms Outlook outage affecting users worldwide