(The Center Square) – Potential cuts in school funding would grow inequality in Ohio schools and reduce the state’s future economic output, a group of economists said.
The survey of 16 economists from colleges and universities around the state by Scioto Analysis comes just days after Gov. Mike DeWine announced his two-year budget proposal that fully funds schools with some expectations.
It also comes after House Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, has said continuing a bipartisan funding plan developed by lawmakers three years ago is unsustainable.
Two years remain in the Ohio Fair School Funding plan, which was developed to allow local districts to rely less on local property taxes.
DeWine proposed fully funding the plan for the next two years, but lawmakers have yet to address the budget, which must be passed and signed by July 1.
Thirteen of the 16 economists polled believe dialing back on public education funding by $650 million would increase inequality between districts with high property tax values and those with poorer values.
“The purpose of the funding was to have less reliance on local property taxes. There are large differences in per-student-spending across districts within Ohio,” Kathryn Wilson, a professor at Kent State University, said. “Reducing this funding will increase those gaps and increase inequality.”
Also, 13 of the 16 agree that education spending cuts would significantly reduce the state’s future economic output.
“School spending is not an expenditure, it is an investment in our future workforce. If we don’t have the revenue to support our schools, colleges, and universities adequately, perhaps we should rethink some of those tax cuts,” Bill LaFayette, of Regionomics, said.
As previously reported by The Center Square, Ohio lawmakers compromised on the plan in 2021 that phased in funding over six years and factored in everything involved in education, including professional development and extracurricular activities.
The plan is based on 60% of a district’s local funding capacity on property values and 40% on resident income.
That budget also increased funding for school choice, which now stands at nearly $1 billion.