Fair School Funding Plan Ohio educators and leaders propose new method of funding

Working collaboratively with Ohio educators and finance officers for the past 15 months, Ohio Reps. Bob Cupp (R, Lima) and John Patterson (D, Jefferson) are co-sponsoring a comprehensive and transparent school funding proposal.

“As Ohio legislators, we are committed and determined to find an education funding system for our state’s pre-kindergarten through grade 12 students; one that is fair, rational and justifiable in contrast to our current system that is often unfair and nearly always incomprehensible,” the two lawmakers wrote of the plan.

Reps. Cupp and Patterson and the co-chairs of the plan’s subgroups have briefed the new administration and leaders of the House majority and minority caucuses on the highlights of the plan. The goal is to reach a consensus on key elements of the proposal before the adoption of the next budget.

To develop the plan, superintendents and chief fiscal officers representing urban, suburban and rural Ohio were divided into 8 subgroups to study and make recommendations. The subgroups were: Base cost; Distribution; Poverty and Preschool; Special Education, Gifted and English Learners; Open Enrollment, Community Schools, and Vouchers; Educational Service Centers, Career Technical Education & STEM; Technology; and Transportation.