It鈥檚 budget season for public schools in Ohio, and it鈥檚 raised a bitter debate about the state of education funding in the state. On one side, school district leaders say the state is underfunding public education. On the other hand, lawmakers in the Republican-dominated statehouse say public schools are getting more funding than ever. Meanwhile, public districts big and small are cutting back big time to close gaps in their operating budgets. Zack Carreon, an education reporter with Ohio Newsroom member station WVXU in Cincinnati, joined the Ohio Newsroom to explain what鈥檚 actually happening.
On Ohio schools鈥� current budget situation
鈥淚t鈥檚 budget season, which means schools are taking a look at where their money will be spent for the next school year and checking in on their financial forecasts. Some of the state鈥檚 largest districts, like Columbus and Cleveland, have announced plans to cut huge amounts, several million dollars, from their budgets over the next few years. Others are doing the same on a smaller scale, like North College Hill City Schools, just north of downtown Cincinnati. I spoke to the superintendent, Eugene Blalock, about this. He says his school鈥檚 revenue is staying flat, while costs are going up, creating a funding gap. And the quickest way to close it is through layoffs. For a small neighborhood district like this, that means looking people he鈥檚 known for decades in the eye and saying, 鈥榊ou won鈥檛 be coming back next year.鈥� For Columbus Schools, it鈥檒l be more than just a few layoffs. The school district said last month that it plans to cut more than 60 administrative jobs.鈥�
On Ohio鈥檚 Fair School Funding Plan role
鈥淭he idea [is to prevent deficits]. Lawmakers are supposed to phase in the plan over six years by increasing funding for schools by more than $300 million each year, and for the most part, that鈥檚 what they鈥檝e done. Funding for public schools has increased. But Madelaine Matej MacQueen, a budget researcher for Policy Matters Ohio, says what鈥檚 changed is the formula.
鈥淢any legislators are saying they have used the Fair School Funding Plan, so now there鈥檚 kind of this disconnect too, with them saying 鈥榃ell, we did the thing,鈥� and advocates saying 鈥楴o, you didn鈥檛 do the thing. You鈥檙e basing it on wrong cost inputs, you鈥檝e added these other supplements, you didn鈥檛 implement it.鈥欌��
She says that, as a result, lawmakers have fallen short of meeting those original benchmarks. And those supplements are enrollment- and performance-based, which she says rewards districts in wealthier suburban areas while penalizing others who are being asked to make improvements without extra money.鈥�
On huge funding shortfalls despite flat revenues
鈥淪ince the start of the pandemic, schools have received an influx of federal money known as ESSER [Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief]. Large urban districts got the lion's share of that money and used it to hire teachers, start programs, and, in some cases, construct new school buildings. That money is now gone. Those new employees need raises, and buildings need to be maintained, all while the cost of just about everything continues to rise. Aaron Churchill, Ohio Research Director at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, told me school districts shouldn鈥檛 expect a lifeline from the state. Instead, he says they need to get spending down to pre-pandemic levels.
That鈥檚 easier said than done. And at the same time, the state spent more than a billion dollars last year on vouchers for private schools, and that鈥檚 expected to rise, further frustrating public schools leaders who think that money should be going to them.鈥�