opinion
We hope the Ohio Senate won’t miss a historic opportunity to finally solve Ohio’s longstanding K-12 school funding woes.
After three years of extensive work, collaborations and improvements, the Ohio House on Thursday approved the Fair School Funding Plan to finally provide an adequate and equitable school funding system. The vote was 84-8 with applause. That’s rare on important votes.
Background:Overhaul of Ohio’s K-12 school funding moves forward; here’s what you need to know
Not only would House Bill 305 help to gradually end what can be nasty community fights over school property tax levies, experts say the state would finally be in compliance with a 1997 Ohio Supreme Court ruling declaring the state’s school funding unconstitutional.
That’s impressive considering Ohio’s system — if you can call it that — has deteriorated since the 1997 ruling. In recent years, districts have been guaranteed their prior year’s state support regardless of attendance patterns.
The key change is dropping property valuations as the primary driver of determining a school district’s wealth and its level of state support. Right now, random business decisions on locating or closing pipelines, power plants or other valuable property falsely make districts appear rich or poor in the eyes of the state. There’s no consideration of the ability of residents to pay local school taxes.
The plan significantly factors in a district’s household income level to determine the amount of state support it needs. It also objectively calculates each district’s expenses based on the current student-teacher ratio tied to a universal cost — projected at $7,200 per student — and accounts for fixed operating costs such as special education, transportation and serving economically disadvantaged students.
Another key provision would require Ohio to pay private charter schools directly for their students, instead of taking money from public districts, including local taxpayer funds.
It’s a plan agreed upon after an incredible amount of research, studying of best practices and difficult detailed work by proponents and lawmakers led by new House Speaker Robert Cupp, R-Lima, and Rep. John Patterson, D-Brunswick. Akron Public Schools Treasurer Ryan Pendleton was a key player in the effort, which enjoys support from urban, rural and suburban districts.
Pendleton told us only 11 of more than 600 districts would need a guarantee to avoid losing funding, an issue that’s torpedoed more than one school funding proposal over the years.
Unfortunately, the bill could die before the Legislature adjourns this month and all pending legislation must start over.
Background: Ohio Senate won’t consider new school-funding plan this year that was OK’d 84-8 by House
“I would like to acknowledge and congratulate Reps. (Bob) Cupp and Patterson who worked so hard on the bill,” Sen. Matt Dolan, R-Chagrin Falls, said Thursday. “I still believe there is a lot of good in there, and it is a great framework to roll into our next budget.”
Dolan and other senators are skeptical of a projected eventual cost of $2 billion per year or more. Proponents contend the bill’s six-year phase-in should alleviate those concerns, with longtime Senate Education Committee Chair Peggy Lehner noting the bill simply provides a funding framework, not actual spending.
We normally have reservations about lawmakers making important decisions during the lameduck session.
In this case, it’s taken 23 years for lawmakers and school leaders to build and agree to a plan that fixes a system that’s consistently underfunded Ohio’s schools. That’s more than two decades of lost opportunities for students and residents being asked to pay higher property taxes to avoid cuts to teachers and activities.
It’s time to put this embarrassing episode in the history books. Let’s invest in our children and our state’s future.
