Financing of our Ohio Public Schools continues to be a very major and complicated problem. Theoretically, such financing is to be a “partnership” between the state government and local school districts. In reality, the state sets almost all of the rules, requirements, and procedures providing much less than half of the costs. This leaves all the other “partners”—local taxpayers — to find ways to cover all of the additional costs.

Unconstitutional Funding System

At least three times over the past decade, the Ohio Supreme Court has declared the Ohio system of public school funding to be UNCONSTITUTIONAL! While the General Assembly has tinkered with the system over that decade, it has refused to address the major problems cited by the Court. 

1.  The system continues to establish the amount of dollars per pupil on the basis of political will rather than on any type of determination of the actual cost of providing a quality education. 

2.  The system continues to be strongly based on local tax wealth (property evaluations per pupil) which enables one district to raise $20,000 for 1 mill of tax while another raises $350,000 for the same 1 mill. 

3.  The legislative system eliminates various types of local taxes which have in the past been major funders of local schools, BUT does not replace these “lost” funds with other state dollars. 

4.  The funding formula uses FALSE data that shows a local district to be receiving many dollars in local taxes(voted millage) but which due to roll back provisions of HB 920 are NOT being received, i.e. PHANTOM REVENUE (PR). The formula then assumes that this PR is actually being received by the local district, thus it does not need as much state money! 

Unfunded Mandates 

The latest example of this problem of new mandates being imposed upon the schools without a penny being provided to pay for them is the new Core Curriculum law. It will require every college bound high school graduate as of 2014 to have four years of math including Algebra II or they will not be eligible for admission to any state college or university.. For many districts, this will mean adding a number of new teachers, providing many additional textbooks and supplies, and incurring other related costs. As of this writing all of those new costs will have to be paid for by local tax sources. For those districts unable to pass new operating levies, other parts of the curriculum and school program will have to be reduced or cut out.  

This example is at the State of Ohio level. The Federal level is equally guilty of the same “Require but do not pay for” method of operating schools. The No Child Left Behind law is already under funded by over $30 billion from what Congress “authorized” when the law was passed five years ago. The special education law has been under funded by over $38 billion over the last three decades. Congress knowingly appropriates many fewer dollars than its own analysis indicates are needed. In a very real sense, unfunded mandates become a hidden TAX INCREASE which the higher level legislators (state and federal) force the local school districts to impose when possible.  

What Can We Do? 

As a member of the League of Women Voters, as an educator since 1959, and as a local school board member since 1989, I urge all members to follow this issue. We must help to inform the public of the problems and to work for equitable and effective solutions to the problems. I will continue to do my part; will you join me?

LWVO position on education funding (page 11, Agenda for Action State Program 2005-2007, in part) "..........The state aid formula should be calculated to reflect actual costs to school districts for state-mandated programs......"

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