Columbus City Schools could lose more than $45 million over the next two school years under the state's new proposed school-funding system.
Columbus City Schools' Superintendent Angela Chapman said in a statement that Gov. Mike DeWine's proposed funding formula takes into account increased property tax values, but doesn't update the cost of educating a child in 2025.
She said if the state budget is approved, the district's share of state education dollars would be cut in half by the end of 2027.
"The state budget proposed by Gov. Mike DeWine and under review by the Ohio General Assembly would essentially wipe out the operating revenue provided by the levy," Chapman wrote. That's about $38 million that voters approved for general operations in Nov. 2023, as part of a larger roughly $100 million levy.
"The state government does not intend to return those millions of dollars to district taxpayers, but rather spend them on other priorities," Chapman wrote. "In other words, our families will continue to pay for the levy they voted for, but won’t get all of the essential educational services they were promised."
Chapman and district treasurer Ryan Cook plan to testify before the House Education Committee at 2:15 p.m. on Tuesday. They're encouraging concerned Columbus residents to also submit written testimony to that committee or the Finance Committee.
Columbus City Schools' Board of Education is expected to approve a resolution Tuesday night reaffirming the board's support of the Fair School Funding Plan and requesting the Ohio General Assembly to adopt that plan.
The bipartisan Fair School Funding plan, developed by Republican former Speaker Bob Cupp and Democratic former Rep. John Patterson, takes both property taxes and income into consideration when determining state funding. Lawmakers have used it to fund schools in the last two budgets.
"The Plan lays out a rational, transparent, comprehensive and – most of all – fair system for funding schools based on the actual cost of providing a basic education for all students in Ohio," reads the draft resolution. It adds, "the Plan creates a framework for providing additional resources to meet needs beyond those of basic education, including the areas of the social, emotional, safety, and mental health of students."
Columbus City Schools' Board of Education is scheduled to meet Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the board offices at 3700 S. High Street.
