Ohio’s School Funding System
It’s not that complicated. Really!
Founders and Followers
Education is the Original
Heart of it All
Land Ordinance of 1785
“There shall be reserved the lot
No. 16, of every township,
for the maintenance of public
schools within the said
township”
Founders and Followers
Ohio Constitution
“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…”
What Does That Mean?
How it works:
1) The State calculates how much it
should cost to provide an education
in a school district
2)The state assumes each district
can raise 22 mills in local property
tax
3)The State picks up the rest
What’s a Mill Anyway?
One mill = $31/$100,000 home
What if the Formula is off?
What if the calculation is wrong?
An Even Greater Property Tax Burden
DeRolph v. Ohio
1991
Nathan DeRolph, a high school
student in Perry County sues the
state’s funding system
1997
Ohio Supreme Court rules that the system
needed an overhaul and a reduction in the
need for property taxes.
2000
Ohio Supreme Court
considered the system again.
Constitutional?
2001
Ohio Supreme Court
considered the system again.
Constitutional?
2002
Ohio Supreme Court
considered the system again.
Constitutional?
“Until a complete systematic overhaul of the
system is accomplished, it will continue to be far
from thorough and efficient and will continue to
shortchange our students.
The overreliance on local property taxes is the fatal
flaw that until rectified will stand in the way of
constitutional compliance.”
Ohio Supreme Court Justice Alice Robie Resnick,
DeRolph IV, December, 2002
So the General Assembly got us a
Constitutional Funding System,
Right?
Not So Fast!
So What Happened?
• The Ohio Supreme Court dropped
its jurisdiction over the DeRolph
case in 2002
18 years later…
• In 2009, Gov. Ted Strickland
introduced the Evidence-Based Model
• It was a systemic overhaul that cut
the need for property taxes by an
average of 13 mills over 10 years.
Present Day
However,
Gov. John Kasich eliminated the EBM
Historic, Massive Cuts
The
biennial
budget
cuts nearly
$3 billion
from
education
Impact of Budget Cuts
Increase, rather than decrease need for
property tax levies to pay for schools
On average, more than 3 mills will be lost
to school districts
Impact of Budget Cuts
Disproportionately hurt districts
that can’t raise much property tax
Impact of Budget Cuts
Example: Under the budget as passed, folks
in Trimble, who make less than half what
folks in Upper Arlington make, will have to
tax themselves at 8 times the tax rate to
replace the cuts
On average, folks in Ohio’s most challenged
districts have to raise more than 1 ¾ times
the tax rates of the most advantaged
districts
Statewide Examples
Amount cut
Revenue Mills Needed
between FY13 Generated to Replace
District
and FY11
from 1 Mill
Cuts
Trimble Local $
(538,783) $
41,089
(13.11)
Southern Local $
(551,322) $
44,925
(12.27)
Rock Hill Local $ (1,184,864) $
98,795
(11.99)
Olentangy
$ (4,959,781) $ 3,174,460
(1.56)
Dublin
$ (6,660,786) $ 2,758,364
(2.41)
Westerville
$ (5,845,912) $ 2,476,884
(2.36)
Cleveland
$(50,556,682) $ 5,606,461
(9.02)
Charter Schools
and
Vouchers
Gov. Kasich and General Assembly leaders
seek to expand
Charter Schools and Vouchers
What Are They Anyway?
• Charter Schools: Public Schools
that are freed up of most
regulations school districts face,
theoretically allowing them more
creativity and innovation
• Vouchers: A check the state gives
to a parent for their child to
attend a private school
At What Cost?
Percentage Increases Since
Court Dropped Case
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
Charter School
Funding
20.0%
Traditional Public
School Funding
10.0%
0.0%
2004
-10.0%
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Bottom Line Post-DeRolph
Charter Schools have seen a
nearly 103% increase in state
money over inflation
Traditional Public Schools have
seen a more than 13% cut in state
money, relative to inflation
Are the Choices Better?
In a word,
Ohio State Report Card
• Rates districts and charter schools based on their
pupils’ academic success
• 5 levels:
– Academic Emergency – F
– Academic Watch – D
– Continuous Improvement – C
– Effective – B
– Excellent – A
– Excellent with Distinction – A+
Performance Difference
Nearly Half of all Traditional
Public Schools rate A or A+ on the
State Report Card
Nearly half of all Charter Schools
rate either a D or F on the State
Report Card
So… Where does the $
come from?
Money for Charter Schools and
Vouchers is taken out of the amount
the state distributes to a district
The amount transferred out is almost
always more than the state would have
given the district for that pupil
Example:
• Columbus receives $2,040 per pupil from
the state through the formula for the more
than 65,000 kids it educates
• The state transfers an average of $6,392
per pupil for each of the more than 2,000
kids Columbus loses to E-Schools
• Implications: Columbus has to either cut
services, or use local property taxes to
make up the difference
Comparing Costs for the State
• Local school districts: $3,193/ pupil
• Charter Schools: $7,219/ pupil
• E-Schools: $6,320/ pupil
• Vouchers: $5,200/ pupil
Bottom Line
On average, all Charter and
Voucher options remove more state
money per pupil from a district
than the district ends up receiving
per pupil from the state. Districts
have to make up those losses
through cuts or local property tax.
Historic Annual Increases
Charters: 30%
EdChoice voucher program: 23%
Increasing the Burden
If they expand faster, then that’s
more property tax that will have to be
raised locally
The budget would quadruple the
EdChoice Voucher program to a greater
than $200 million a year deduction
Myth:
Vouchers Allow Kids to Be
“Rescued” from Failing Districts
Fact:
Vouchers have little to NO
IMPACT on student success
It’s All Teachers’ Fault
• Unprecedented attack on the
teaching profession
• Like other public employees,
teachers are also impacted by
Senate Bill 5
Senate Bill 5 Anti-Teacher
• Would permit school districts to
adopt any method of evaluation
they chose to determine merit pay
• Ridiculous: How many football
games have you attended?
• Cruel: What sexual orientation are
you?
Budget Anti-Teacher Provisions
Forces Merit Pay based
on system developed by
State School Board
OOPS!!!!!
Been There, Done That
• Ohio’s already developed a Model
Teacher Evaluation System with
the cooperation of teachers over
the last two years
• In many ways it’s actually more
rigorous than what the Radical
Republicans passed
Student Safety Jeopardized
• Teachers would no longer be able to
advocate for the safety of their
students through negotiating things
like:
– Asbestos removal
– Video monitoring equipment
– Numbers of safety officers at
school
There is Hope!
1.3 million
signatures
gathered to
kill the bill
That’s more
than 10% of
all Ohioans!!!
Summary
Ohio’s taking a step back with this
budget, furthering districts’
dependence on local property tax levies
Summary
Meanwhile, money will be increased
dramatically to Charter Schools that in
most cases perform much worse than
traditional public schools
Summary
Senate Bill 5 represents an
unprecedented attack on the teaching
profession, hurting teachers’ ability to do
their jobs while putting our children’s
academic success and safety at risk
Summary
On school funding, legal measures have
been exhausted, so it’s up to grassroots
activism to advocate for our local
school districts
On Senate Bill 5? Kill it in November!!
Remember that $8 Billion
Budget Hole?
So What?
All these proposed cuts can be
replaced!
So SPEAK UP!
Our Path to Prosperity Begins in
the Classroom
We Don’t Want our Kids
Facing This Path
We Want Them Facing
This One
www.innovationohio.org
Questions?
Stephen Dyer
Education Policy Fellow
Innovation Ohio
msdyer923@yahoo.com
Janetta King
Executive Director
Innovation Ohio
king@innovationohio.org