How Ohio Funds K-12 Schools

Background

Ohio’s constitution dictates that its schools must be adequately and equitably funded. But the state has spent the better part of the last 20 years arguing about what that means.

Article 6 of the Ohio Constitution reads in part:

The General Assembly shall make such provisions, by taxation, or otherwise, as, with the income arising from the school trust fund, will secure a thorough and efficient system of common schools throughout the state…

Today, the way school funding is set up, public schools get some money from the state, some from the federal government, and the rest from local tax dollars.

That means schools must turn to voters in their districts to approve most of their local taxes. Usually, those are property-tax levies, though sometimes they’re income taxes. And for construction, districts put bond issues on the ballot.

This setup is supposed to ensure schools are fully funded, but the Ohio Supreme Court has said three times that the system is unconstitutional. And one other time, it gave the system only a conditional endorsement.

The state high court first ruled that Ohio’s school funding model is unconstitutional in 1997 in DeRolph v. State. The court ruled that Ohio’s reliance on local tax dollars leaves too much to the chance of where someone is born and raised. Property-rich districts could provide an education that property-poor districts could not afford. The court said the inequality plays out worst in urban and rural schools.

Since then, Ohio has repeatedly tried to adjust its school-funding model. Gov. Ted Strickland introduced a school funding formula called the Ohio Evidence-Based Model in 2009. That model was never implemented. In 2011, Gov. John Kasich said he planned to introduce a new school funding model by the end of the year. But in late 2011, he drew back from that timeline and now says there is no set date for the unveiling of a new formula.

Since then, Ohio has repeatedly tried to adjust its school-funding model. And Gov. John Kasich now plans to introduce a new plan in 2013.

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January 25, 2013

Ohio School Superintendents to Get Preview of Kasich’s New Funding Formula Thursday

Two years ago, Gov. John Kasich said he was going to come up with a new way to fund public education. On Thursday, school superintendents will get their first official look at Kasich’s proposed model. Representatives from the governor’s office will address school superintendents and charter school officials at a meeting Thursday afternoon in Columbus, Buckeye Association [...]

January 21, 2013

School Officials Warn Casino Funds Don’t Add Up to Much

The dice are rolling at casinos in Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo and a fourth casino opens this spring in Cincinnati. Some of the casinos’ revenues are to fund education, and the first round of those payments has been handed out. But that doesn’t mean local schools have hit the jackpot. The first round of casino [...]

January 14, 2013

Gongwer: New Kasich School Funding Model to Reverse Trend in Ohio School Funding

401(K) 2013′s photostream / Flickr This year, Gov. John Kasich plans to introduce a new way of funding Ohio schools. Gongwer Ohio reports that Kasich’s plan will move away from the past trend of funding schools based on estimates of the cost of “inputs” such as teacher salaries and operating costs: “We have spent significant time looking at [...]

January 4, 2013

Student Says Ohio’s School Funding Formula is “Not Fair”

In a blog post on Huffington Post, an Ohio high schooler spells out what she’s sees as the problems with the way the state funds its schools: inequality and instability. Mica Caine, a junior at Pickerington High School, cites the well known Ohio Supreme Court Case, DeRolph v. State of Ohio, from 1991 that found [...]

January 2, 2013

“Fiscal Cliff” Deal Delays Education Cuts (For Now)

In what was a tense political showdown, legislators approved a measure that averts the “fiscal cliff” at the last moment, thereby avoiding an automatic set of tax hikes and spending cuts. But that doesn’t mean education programs are free from the threat of significant budget reductions. The current deal is a temporary fix, one that [...]

December 27, 2012

“Fiscal Cliff” Means Serious, Though Not Immediate Cuts for Schools

As the “fiscal cliff” deadline nears without resolution, anyone and anything that relies on federal funding is getting increasingly nervous. But schools can breathe a little easier than most other recipients of federal aid. That’s because most districts’ write their budgets for an academic year, so the bulk of the cuts won’t be felt until the [...]

December 24, 2012

What’s Coming Up in Ohio Education in 2013

Ohio runs on a two-year budget, but that doesn’t mean off years are slow. Governor Kasich crammed in several education initiatives into his mid-cycle budget, and several other education bills passed the legislature. But the New Year will bring plenty of changes to the way the state’s schools are run.

October 30, 2012

Ohio Schools Aim to Pass New, Different Kinds of Levies

You likely have seen yard signs in your neighborhood asking voters to support their local schools. This year, nearly a third of all the school districts in the state have tax issues on next week’s ballots. And 78 out of those 194 issues are for new funds.

August 9, 2012

What Failed School Levies in August Mean for School Levies This Fall

Nearly all of the school levies calling for new property taxes failed in this week’s special election. What does that mean for the districts and voters facing levies on the ballot in November? Our partners at WKSU say not much: [Campaign consultant Jerry Rampelt] says normally two out of three levies fail due to voters [...]

August 7, 2012

Election Day is Today for Aug. 7 School Levies

Molly Bloom / StateImpact Ohio Today, voters in 34 school districts across Ohio face elections on their local school districts’ tax rates. Most of those elections are for new taxes, mostly in the form of property taxes rather than income taxes. Expect to see dozens more school levies on the November ballot though, including levies in Cleveland, [...]

How Ohio Funds K-12 Schools

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