BEVERLY, Ohio — Fort Frye Local Schools Superintendent Stephanie Starcher has been named to Gov. Mike DeWine’s newly formed Property Tax Reform Working Group — a bipartisan panel tasked with developing recommendations to provide targeted property tax relief while preserving essential funding for schools, emergency services, libraries and other public programs.

Starcher, one of two public school superintendents selected, said DeWine personally contacted her to serve as a representative of Ohio’s rural education community.

“DeWine actually reached out to me and called me and asked me if I would serve on their work group as a public school representative, and he knew that I was in a rural school area,” Starcher said. “He was familiar with my work because when COVID hit and he had a task force on closing and reopening schools, there was a group of superintendents that worked closely with him, and I was one of them, so I was privileged to get to know him personally and work with him.”

The group was informally announced during DeWine’s signing of House Bill 96, which included a number of line-item vetoes. Its charge is to explore how Ohio can deliver meaningful property tax relief to homeowners and businesses without undermining the financial stability of local government services.

“We’re not trying to interfere with what the legislature has already done,” Starcher said. “There was a tax reform report issued by lawmakers over a year ago. We’re not trying to get into the thick of that, we’re just trying to offer refinement.”

The 12-member working group includes local government officials, county auditors, school administrators and commissioners from across the state. It is co-chaired by Pat Tiberi, president and CEO of the Ohio Business Roundtable, and former State Rep. Bill Seitz.

Starcher said the group’s timeline is aggressive, with a final report of recommendations due by Sept. 30. The first meeting was held Thursday, July 24, at the Riffe Center in Columbus. Much of the discussion, she said, focused on the group’s structure, scope and next steps.

“It’s going to be fast and furious, so that we can issue a report. In the end, there’ll be a public report with ideas,” she said. “They gave us a bunch of reports from different entities, experts — there was a legislative summary report on what the legislature has already studied in the past year.”

Starcher noted that participants were also encouraged to contribute material from organizations they represent. She plans to share resources from the Buckeye Association of School Administrators, the Ohio School Boards Association and the Coalition of Rural and Appalachian Schools, where she serves as a board member.

While the meetings are not legally required to be public, during Thursday’s meeting, the work group discussed whether or not to open them for public viewing. Starcher said she urged her colleagues to ensure the process remains transparent.

“I felt as a public school person that it should be public, so that people could know what was going on,” Starcher said. “It’ll be a work group that the public could watch and listen to, but they’re not participating. They are going to set up an email through the governor’s office where taxpayers and citizens can send in ideas and recommendations.”

The governor’s office plans to establish an email account for that public input, which will be monitored and reviewed by the working group. Starcher said that while the goal is to produce actionable recommendations quickly, the group is mindful of the complexity of Ohio’s tax system.

“We all recognize … that there’s property tax fatigue in Ohio, and therefore, looking at who needs it the most, and how do we provide that without breaking the bank in Ohio for the local entities that are much-needed services,” she said.

Members of the working group include:

∫ Co-Chairman Pat Tiberi, president and CEO of the Ohio Business Roundtable

∫ Co-Chairman Bill Seitz, former state representative

∫ Krista Bohn, Allen County treasurer

∫ Chris Galloway, Lake County auditor

∫ Matt Nolan, Warren County auditor

∫ Steve Patterson, mayor of Athens

∫ John Marschhausen, superintendent of Dublin City Schools

∫ Denise Driehaus, Hamilton County commissioner

∫ Gary Scherer, Pickaway County commissioner

∫ Jeff Chattin, Pike County commissioner

∫ Stephanie Starcher, superintendent of Fort Frye Local Schools