(The Center Square) – Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine wants to give more money to schools in his proposed two-year budget, but the plan would decrease funds going to districts with decreasing enrollment.
DeWine’s $218 billion overall plan contains $23.4 billion that increases funding for K-12 public schools and the state’s school choice programs. It phases in the last two years of a six-year school funding agreement made in the Statehouse four years ago.
However, House Speaker Matt Huffman has said that plan is not sustainable.
Last year, the state spent nearly $1 billion of taxpayer funds on private school scholarships after increasing income limits for those who qualify two years ago.
DeWine’s proposal, however, includes lowering guaranteed money when school districts receive less money from one year to the next due to reduced enrollment.
In the past, districts were guaranteed the same amount of money they received the previous year. DeWine’s plan would give districts with lower enrollments 95% of the money in 2025-26 and 90% in 2026-27.
That received applause from some policy groups that believe the state gives too much money to schools with fewer students and not enough to growing districts.
“While there are many details to be ironed out, The Buckeye Institute commends Governor DeWine for acknowledging that the state is overfunding public school districts with declining enrollment and not providing enough funding for schools that students are attending,” said Rea S. Hederman Jr., executive director of the Economic Research Center and vice president of policy at The Buckeye Institute.
The proposed budget also continues the Governor’s Merit Scholarship, which gives the top 5% of each high school graduating class a $5,000 scholarship to attend an Ohio college or university. In 2024, 6,200 students were eligible and about 76% accepted.
DeWine has also proposed tying higher education funding to whether college and university graduates are getting jobs. That teams with the continuation of the Industry Sector Partnership Grant Program, which helps businesses, schools and training programs grow the workforce in the health care, information technology, manufacturing, construction and transportation sectors.
“Buckeye also applauds Gov. DeWine’s effort to better align Ohio’s higher education funding to outcomes for graduates and is pleased with the proposal to ensure students in K-12 schools are given comprehensive information about in-demand jobs,” Hederman said.
