Supreme Court of Ohio Affirms Fifth District Court of Appeals Decision Barring School Board Tax Appeals to Ohio Courts of Common Pleas

This update highlights recent developments affecting commercial property taxation in Ohio. It reflects analysis prepared by an APTC member firm based on conditions at the time of publication.

House Bill 126, made effective July 21, 2022, imposes limitations on who may appeal board of revision (BOR) decisions. The bill amended code section 5717.01, which governs appeals from BOR decisions.

Prior to revision, 5717.01 authorized boards of education to appeal decisions from the BOR to the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) without restriction. The amended statute, however, permits a school board to appeal to the BTA only if that school board owns or leases the property identified on the original complaint.

RC 2506.01 governs appeals from decisions of agency of political subdivisions and disallows appeals to the court of common pleas (CCP) if a higher administrative authority provides a right to a hearing on appeal. No longer having the ability to appeal to the BTA (or any other higher administrative authority), school boards began appealing to Ohio CCPs. They made the argument that the removal of their appeal rights through amended 5717.01 created an independent right of appeal to the CCP. Many of those courts dismissed those appeals, finding the BOE lacked statutory standing to file an appeal. In turn, school boards appealed to numerous Ohio appellate courts.

In response, the Third, Fifth, and Eighth District Courts of Appeal found no error in the underlying trial court decisions dismissing BOE appeals for lack of standing. 5715.05 specifically allows a property owner to appeal to the court of common pleas. It does not confer that right to that school board.

Fifth District decisions on the issue were appealed to the Supreme Court of Ohio, which granted jurisdiction. The matter was heard and a decision was rendered on May 29, 2026.

The Court affirmed the lower Court decisions, finding R.C. 2506.01(C) excludes board of revision property-valuation decisions from the class of decisions appealable to a common pleas court under R.C. 2506.01(A) since property-valuation decisions are appealable to the Board of Tax Appeals under R.C. 5717.01. It continued to find that property-valuation decisions are appealable to a court of common pleas under R.C. 5717.05 only when the appellant owns the property at issue.

Kristopher Nicoloff
Siegel Jennings
Member Firm, American Property Tax Counsel

For guidance on how these developments may apply to your property or portfolio, please contact the APTC representative listed above.