Rep. Sweeney votes for Fair School Funding Plan in state budget, her bipartisan bill now heads to the Governor's desk
State Representative Bride Rose Sweeney (D-Cleveland) today announced the passage of her bipartisan House Bill 1, the Fair School Funding Plan, as an amendment to the state operating budget. Historic legislation jointly sponsored with Rep. Jamie Callender (R-Concord), House Bill 1 finally addresses Ohio’s broken school funding system, which the Ohio Supreme Court has found unconstitutional four times, beginning with the DeRolph decision in 1997.
“Today is a good day for Ohio’s kids. Today we accomplished in a wide bipartisan fashion something that no other General Assembly has been able to do for 24 years. Not only does this new school funding formula fulfill the spirit of the state Constitution, it is fair for children, fair for communities, and fair for taxpayers,” said Rep. Sweeney.
“The Fair School Funding Plan puts students first and provides a transparent, predictable, and sustainable model for future budgets. Passing and funding this legislation is nothing less than a historic victory for all of Ohio’s children. I am honored to have played a role in this monumental achievement and absolutely committed to fighting to fund this formula today and into the future.”
Also known as the Cupp-Patterson Plan after its original sponsors now Speaker Bob Cupp (R-Lima) and former Representative John Patterson (D-Jefferson), the Fair School Funding Plan was carefully crafted over the course of four years by a determined group of lawmakers and education professionals from every part of the state – from the hills of Appalachia to the banks of Lake Erie. The intent of the plan has always been to address the true cost of educating children in the modern world and distribute those costs fairly between local communities and the state.
The Fair School Funding Plan passed the Ohio House of Representatives by a vote of 82-13 and the Ohio Senate by a vote of 32-1. It now heads to the Governor’s desk to be signed into law.