(The Center Square) – What Ohio Republican lawmakers called a predictable, sustainable and fair way to fund public schools four years ago could soon be gone.
A proposed two-year budget from House Republicans slashes the Ohio Fair School Funding Plan’s expected allocation to public schools for the next two years by $400 million and expands school choice rewards for special needs and home school students.
Despite public funding falling short of the $666 million lawmakers committed in the Fair School Funding Plan in 2021, House leadership said public school education funding is higher than school districts received this year.
The $226 million increase planned for K-12 public schools is also more than what was proposed by second-term Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, who used 2022 data rather than 2024 information when creating his proposed budget.
“This budget ensures every single school district in Ohio is receiving an increase in funding compared to their funding level in 2025,” said Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville.
Opponents say the proposed education spending ignores the needs of most Ohio students and leaves school districts wondering from year to year about funding.
“The sub bill presented by the House Finance Chair Brian Stewart today completely disregards their concerns and the wellbeing of the nearly 90% of Ohio children who attend a public school,” All in for Ohio Kids Coalition said in a statement. “The House budget throws the Fair School Funding Plan out the window, pulling the rug out from students and from districts that need a reliable source of funding to make long-term plans. While Rep. Stewart claims that the state can’t afford full and fair school funding, the House budget proposal would direct more public dollars toward a new voucher for non-chartered, private schools which follow practically no state guidelines on student safety or academics.”
Passed in 2021 for the 2022-24 budget years, the Fair School Funding Plan changed the base cost formula to include a district’s income and took into account everything involved in education, including professional development and extracurricular activities.
A key change to local funding, according to that bill’s sponsors, was the plan would base 60% of a district’s local funding capacity on property values and 40% on resident income.
The plan received House support from Republicans and Democrats, along with teacher and educational groups across the state.
According to Stewart, the House’s new plan tackles sustainability concerns raised by the Fair Funding Plan while addressing property tax increases that have hit taxpayers hard over the past couple of years.
“This budget addresses long-term sustainability concerns that have been raised in regards to the Cupp-Patterson Plan,” Stewart said. “We’re essentially putting in a bridge formula that will, for the next two years, take into account what has really driven this fluctuation in funding. It takes into account that we have had pretty historic property tax evaluations increases which has otherwise decreased the state share of funding that goes to district. It also seeks to provide more funding for districts with increasing enrollment. We need to get back to funding students, not just talking about the formula we use to do so.”
House Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, said the House is expected to pass its budget April 9.
“There are still a few things in the hopper that will be part of an omnibus amendment over the next week,” Huffman said.
