OHIO — School districts across the state are taking a major hit.

In Cincinnati, the school board is looking to finalize its upcoming school budget after its superintendent recently resigned. Columbus is considering consolidating some of its buildings, and the board in Cleveland is proposing a levy.

Experts said low enrollment and lack of state funding are two factors contributing to these issues across the state.

What You Need To Know

  • Major school districts across the state are facing some difficulties right now 

  • Education experts believe lower enrollment and less state funding are the two common denominators  

  • A lack of COVID-19 Relief funding is what experts also believe is contributing to some of the issues school districts are facing 

Having fewer students enrolled in public schools across the state has become a major issue. As one expert said the lower enrollment is in a district, the less funding it will receive. In turn, it impacts school budgets. Add that to the loss of COVID-19 relief funding, and some districts are facing major problems.

“You have to sort of navigate it,” said Greg Lawson, research fellow with The Buckeye Institute. “And in a certain sense, you're going to probably have to look at consolidation and repurposing of dollars and figuring out how to manage those resources to take care of it.”

Ultimately, Lawson said there's not a one-size-fits-all solution to these problems. He also said some smaller districts are dealing with similar issues, but because they are on a much smaller scale, those problems are not magnified nearly as much as they are with the bigger districts.