OHIO — As the Ohio House of Representatives continues its hearings on the Fair School Funding Plan, the Ohio Senate has started to do the same, with the hope of passing a bill that will give cash-strapped school districts across the state relief.

What You Need To Know

  • Six year phase-in costing nearly $2 billion more each year

  • K-12 districts would see 75% more in funding

  • The bill wouldn't eliminate the need for levies, but would take some pressure off passing them, since districts would have more money to educate students

With some updates from working groups, the Ohio Senate is building on Substitute HB 305 to get K-12 schools what they need. That's fair funding that doesn't leave them holding large amounts of debt in the end.

Rep. John Patterson (D) said with the current funding formula, "We expect them to do a five-year forecast on a two-year state budget, and that makes it very difficult for them."

With SB 376, more funding for transportation would be included. Plus, 80% would go to classroom instruction, leadership and operations. The rest would go towards student support and accountability.

"One significant difference from 305 is that this new bill will have no floor in capacity," said Senator Peggy Lehner (R). Their original version set the floor 2%, but that makes the poorest districts look wealthier than they are. We shouldn't expect very poor districts to come up with money."

Mike Sobul, HB 305 senior analytics advisor added that "essentially, it's the state that's absorbing the additional funding for the lower wealth districts not at the expense of the higher wealth district. So, I think those two features will allow the higher wealth districts —especially the growing the ones who are growing enrollment, to actually get funded for the students."

Like Substitute HB 305, it takes into account the base of what it really costs to educate a student. It's also heavily focused on having 60% of funding based on property values and 40% of resident income, whereas for decades, property wealth alone determined the overall district wealth.

Reprresentative Patterson said, the problem with it is that "some districts may be property wealthy and income-poor or vice versa. By incorporating and adding this additional layer of income wealth to property wealth, we get a better indicator of what a district's real capacity is."

In addition to alleviating that frustration for districts, Senator Vernon Sykes (D) said, "There are no deductions. Deductions produce distorted and misleading pictures of state level aid, and I'm happy to say that these will be gone."

This means districts would no longer see dollars leave their budget for school vouchers when students opt out for a charter or private school. Instead, the state would pay out voucher dollars directly to schools needing the money. 

With Substitute HB 305 or SB 376 being similar in nature and having bipartisan support, legislators believe they can get one of them passed. Passing either one would please many educators across the state, as it's a far cry from what currently exists.