The Cincinnati Public Schools Board of Education voted 6-1 on Monday, Aug. 3, to rescind a proposed 0.75% earned income tax that would have hit paychecks across the district, including in Montgomery, according to Fox 19.

It was the first time CPS had ever moved to put an earned income tax on the ballot.

The reversal came one week after the board voted 5-2 in a special meeting on July 27 to pursue the earnings tax instead of a traditional property tax levy. The proposal drew swift bipartisan opposition: the Hamilton County Democratic Party's executive committee voted July 28 to urge CPS not to put the tax on the ballot, and Republican Party Chairman Josh Gerth called the vote "offensive," Axios Cincinnati reported.

For a Montgomery resident earning $100,000, the tax would have meant $750 per year on top of the city's existing 1% income tax. For someone earning the district average of $54,500, the cost would have been about $408 annually.

Board Vice President Kareem Moffett backed the original proposal. During the July 27 meeting, she said she didn't want to burden property owners but acknowledged the district needs a levy. By Aug. 3, Cincinnati Business Courier reporter Chris Wetterich reported that Moffett said she still supports the earned income tax concept but backed the rescission after the city and county offered "collaborative conversations" during what she called "this week of chaos."

Moffett also said greater collaboration between CPS and local municipalities "should have been happening long ago."

Board member Eve Bolton, who voted against the tax on July 27, said the proposal's supporters "did not do the necessary legwork and engagement with the many villages and cities and townships within our district as to the impact an earned-income tax would have on their community."

With the earnings tax off the table, the board faced a Wednesday, Aug. 5, deadline to approve a levy for the November ballot. The remaining options: a 7-mill or 8-mill property tax spanning five years, amounting to $245 or $280 per $100,000 of assessed home value.

Montgomery's next City Council business session is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 5, at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 10101 Montgomery Rd. No CPS-related agenda item has been posted.