Bad News for Dublin Schools Funding

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2,000 subscribers. 48 days.

Thank you. Genuinely. This community keeps showing up in a way that means everything to me — and the emails I keep getting from neighbors saying Dublin Daily has become part of their morning routine are exactly why I started this.

Here's the number that actually floors me: almost two-thirds of you open this every single morning — the average newsletter lands somewhere between 15 and 25%. As a neighbor who just wants Dublin to have a daily read that feels like it comes from someone who lives here — that's humbling.

Here's the other way to look at it: Dublin has about 50,000 people. Take out the kids and we're talking roughly 38,000 adults. We've reached more than 1 in 20 of them in 48 days.

But there are still so many neighbors out there who've never heard of Dublin Daily — and I could use your help reaching them. If you know someone who'd love this, send it their way.

And honestly — we're still just 48 days in. I'm still figuring out how to make this the best version it can be. What do you love? What would you change? What do you want more of? Hit reply — I read every single one.

Nick

Local News

One of the things I love about Dublin is that our police department tries hard to be part of the community, not just show up when something goes wrong. This summer they're doing something called Cool Treats with Dublin Police — officers popping up at neighborhood parks with free freeze pops, just to meet families and say hello.

First stop is today — Llewelyn Farms Park at 4850 Tuttle Road, from 3 to 4 p.m. New locations get announced every week, so if you miss this one there'll be more chances all summer.

Worth bringing the kids. Keep an eye on where they're headed next.

Local News

The Ohio Supreme Court quietly closed a door for Dublin City Schools last month — and it's one worth knowing about, because it might impact your property tax bill.

Here's what happened. When a big office building or apartment complex in Dublin sells for a lot more than what it's assessed for on paper, the district used to be able to challenge that — basically saying "this property is worth more, it should be paying more in taxes." The court just ruled that's no longer allowed. Dublin had five of those cases dismissed in the ruling.

With 85% of Dublin City Schools' revenue coming from local property taxes, and the state sending very little our way, this ruling has real consequences. What the district was doing — and can no longer do — is challenge commercial property assessments when a sale price suggested the assessed value hadn't kept up with the market. Without that, assessed values on commercial properties only get updated on the county's own reassessment schedule. If spending grows beyond what the tax base supports in the meantime, the options are a levy or cuts.

Dublin's five cases were among 47 dismissed across seven districts statewide. Constitutional challenges are still working through the courts, so there may be more to this story. But for now, that lever is gone.