The Ohio legislature appears poised to pass a sweeping overhaul of the way public K-12 schools are funded in the near future. The long discussed change to school funding in Ohio culminated in the introduction of House Bill 305, and after conducting hearings on the proposal, both the House and Senate appear to have settled on a final funding formula. As of November 6, 2020, it is estimated that the bill has enough co-sponsors and votes to pass in both the House and Senate.
The proposed funding plan is estimated to provide another $1.99 billion per year to K-12 schools throughout Ohio, roughly a 24 percent increase. The funding formula is meant to more accurately distribute funding by considering a wide range of factors to gauge students’ overall educational needs in each local community, both inside and outside of the classroom.
The formula first establishes a “base cost” which is an estimate of the annual per student cost to provide an education for a typical student and to fund the components needed to operate a traditional school district. The base cost takes into account pupil/teacher ratios, resources for professional development for teachers, addressing health, safety, social, and emotional needs of students, academic and athletic co-curricular activities, technology, and the general operations of school buildings and school districts, including building and central office leadership and staff. School districts then receive additional funding based on categorical programs, including funding to educate students with disabilities, students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, students learning English, and gifted students.
Base cost funding is split between local and state funds based on each district’s fiscal capacity to generate a local share of the necessary funding. House Bill 305 formulates fiscal capacity by considering a school district’s property value and income wealth.
As House Bill 305 moves forward along with Ohio’s budgetary process as a whole, school districts should consider the potential impact of the funding increase on collective bargaining negotiations. The rapid increase in funding will likely lead to bargaining units requesting similarly substantial wage increases. As a result, school districts should prepare for any upcoming negotiations by attempting to calculate the district’s actual projected funding increase and once in place, meticulously documenting the actual increase received, why the additional funding was received, and the district’s plan for allocating the additional funding. For example, if a district receives significant funding under the new formula to educate a large number of economically disadvantaged students in the district, the bargaining team should be prepared to explain why the money needs to go to costs associated with educating those students and why it would be fiscally irresponsible to use that money for other purposes.
The attorneys at Fishel Downey Albrecht & Riepenhoff, LLP regularly represent school districts and other public entities in collective bargaining. If you have any questions about this, or are interested in learning more about House Bill 305, please contact us at info@fisheldowney.com or call 614.221.1216.