Backers of a bipartisan school funding formula overhaul are trying again to get it passed. After failing to get their new formula in the state budget, they’ve tweaked it and now it’s a stand-alone bill.
For weeks now, Ohio lawmakers have been considering a bipartisan school funding plan from two state representatives. They say the plan would reduce reliance on property taxes. The proposal is not funded in the proposed House budget.
A new school funding formula from two state representatives is getting a lot of attention. But while the House Speaker calls the existing formula a “disaster”, he says the new one isn’t a done deal.
A proposed new school funding formula would cost the state $720 million more than the current K-12 budget. And it doesn’t include funding for charter or community schools, which the state spent more than $880 million on last year.
Rep. Bob Cupp (R-Lima) and Rep. John Patterson (D-Jefferson) are traveling around the state to present their new school funding formula proposal to different teachers and school administrators around Ohio.
Two state lawmakers who say they’ve made Ohio’s school funding formula more stable and fair have released financial details that show what Ohio's 612 school districts will get. They’re also showing the plan will cost the state a lot more money.
The man who filed the 1991 lawsuit that led to Ohio’s school funding system being ruled unconstitutional four times says a new funding formula from two state lawmakers is on the right track. But his optimism comes with a caveat.
The Ohio Supreme Court has struck down the property-tax based funding method four times in the last 22 years. Now two lawmakers say they think they’ve finally fixed it with a new school funding formula they say is stable, customizable and transparent.
Lawmakers are pushing for the state to take a closer look at the state report cards for school districts. But some are questioning the motive behind the review.
