Your Ohio School District tax return for an "earned income" school district will use the state (or local) wages as a starting point - they should be equal. There is an exemption amount that is dependent on income between $1900 and $2400 per person on the return (including dependents) that gets subtracted from your earned income to determine how much of your earnings are taxed.
As an example, let's say you are single and live in a school district with a 1% tax on your earned income and that you made $52,150 last year and had $521.50 in school tax withheld. After you subtract a single exemption amount of $2,150 from $52,150, you get $50,000 of taxable school district income. The tax on that income would be $500, but since you had $521.50 withheld, you would get $21.50 refunded back to you.
Typically, when employers withhold the school district tax, they will account for the exemptions so that the correct amount gets withheld, however, employers do make mistakes and it's possible they did not account for the exemption on your school district withholdings, which would explain the refund.
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