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Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ohio Senate passes budget giving Browns $600 million, tax cut to wealthy, more public school money
Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon. (Photo by Graham Stokes for Ohio Capital Journal. Republish photo only with original article.) The Ohio Senate has passed a $60 billion state biennial operating budget, which includes a tax cut for the wealthy, some increased public education funding, and $600 million in funding to the Cleveland Browns for their new stadium. The total budget is expected to be around $200 billion once federal dollars come in. Ohio House Bill 96 was voted on mainly along party lines, 23-10. State Sen. Bill Blessing, R-Colerain Township, joined the Democrats to vote no. The senators increased the amount of money going to public schools from the Ohio House's proposal. The Senate budget gives public schools about $100 million more than the House. Although they follow most of the Ohio House's proposed budget, which only gives schools about $226 million of an increase for school funding, the Senate changed the funding 'guarantee' amount. Right now, some districts have guarantees that a portion of their funding will not be reduced, even if their enrollment goes down This $100 million added back would only go to high-performing or 'improving' districts. However, to be fully funded based on statistics from the Fair School Funding Plan (FSFP) from 2021, schools would need an additional $666-800 million, compared to the $226 million given by the House. Still, the Senate's version is closer to the FSFP than the House's. 'We're following the funding scheme that was put together in the first place,' Senate Finance Chair Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, said. 'Our bill is the closest way to get there.' They also raised the House proposal's cap on districts' rainy day funds to 50%, instead of 30%. This would mean that the schools would have to refund anything above that back to the taxpayer to provide property tax relief. 'The priority is not, obviously, in fully funding education, investing in our children and our future,' Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, said. The Senate's budget proposal still includes $600 million for a new Cleveland Browns stadium in Brook Park. However, the funding structure differs from what the Browns proposed and what the House approved earlier this year. The House proposed borrowing $600 million by issuing bonds and repaying the debt, with interest, over 25 years, at a cost of about $1 billion. The Senate is proposing a $600 million grant for the stadium using unclaimed funds. That's other people's money that the state is holding, from things like forgotten bank accounts, rent, or utility deposits or uncashed insurance policies. The Ohio Department of Commerce's website states the state is sitting on $4.8 billion in unclaimed funds. Asked about the possibility of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine vetoing that provision, Cirino noted that DeWine said publicly he did not like the debt arrangement of the House for the $600 million. DeWine himself had proposed raising gambling taxes. 'I'm pretty confident and feel good that the governor and the House will look at our approach to it,' Cirino said. Ohio Democratic lawmakers remain staunchly opposed to the project. 'If they could find that money for the Browns and their stadium's move to Brook Park, why didn't they decide to use those funds for the schools?' Antonio asked. The budget also includes a 2.75% flat income tax. There are three income tax brackets in Ohio. Those making up to $26,000 do not need to pay state income tax. Ohioans earning between $26,000 and $100,000 pay a tax of 2.75%. Those making more than $100,000 have to pay 3.5%. State data reveals that this flat tax could result in a loss of about $1.1 billion in the General Revenue Fund. 'The dollars that we're foregoing in the flat tax are already incorporated into our overall spending,' Cirino said. Funding for schools, Medicaid, libraries, lead abatement, food banks, and child care face funding decreases from the current status or from the governor's budget. Asked about these cuts these cuts to social services for lower-income people while giving a tax cut to the state's highest earners, Cirino said Republicans think it's going to be good for the economy. 'It's going to be good for attracting people,' Cirino responded. Antonio disagreed. 'It's a gift to the wealthiest among us on the backs of the poorest and lowest-income and middle-class folks in the state of Ohio,' she said. Senate Republicans propose giving $20,000 to top high school students to encourage them to stay in the state for their higher education. The Governor's Merit Scholarship was passed in the House budget. Already existing, the House language would extend the proposal that gives the top 5% of each graduating high school class $5,000 a year to attend a public or private school in Ohio. But the Senate version reduces the scholarship to the top 2% of students. The money would also have strings attached. The scholarship recipients would be required to reside in Ohio for three years after graduation. There would be an 'expectation' that the money would be returned if they leave within the three years. Now, the Senate and House leaders will enter a conference committee, a closed-door negotiation period to create a final budget. Once a decision is made, both chambers must pass the combined bill. If it passes through both sides, it will be sent to Gov. Mike DeWine for review. In the past, he issued dozens of line-item vetoes on operating budgets. Line-item vetoing is the ability for the governor to pick and choose which policies within a larger piece of legislation get to stay or must go. The deadline for the budget to be passed is July 1. Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on X and Facebook. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ohio educators rally for school funding at Statehouse ahead of budget announcement
Attendees of a rally to support public education hold up signs at the Ohio Statehouse. Photo by Morgan Trau/WEWS Ohio educators held one last rally to urge the state Senate to fully fund public schools ahead of the chamber's budget proposal. Teaching at Jefferson Area High School in Ashtabula County was only supposed to be a temporary job while John Patterson finished graduate school. 'I discovered that teaching was my calling, and it was my mission,' said Patterson, a retired teacher of 29 years. Like him, education is a passion for many teachers. Dozens made their way to the Ohio Statehouse to show their support for public school funding. 'It's important for Ohio's kids, it's important for Ohio's future, to get the school funding formula totally in place so there's predictability and sustainability for all of our schools in every corner of the state,' Patterson told me. The educators protested against the House's passed budget, one that slashes hundreds of millions of dollars from the expected school spending. The program currently in place, the Cupp-Patterson Fair School Funding Plan (FSFP), was a bipartisan formula that Patterson helped create when he was a state representative. 'I spent a great deal of time with my dear friend (former Republican House Speaker) Robert Cupp to come together to put something out there for the legislature that is sustainable, that is transparent, and that is good for the future,' Patterson said. But Speaker Matt Huffman says that funding level is 'unsustainable.' Now the future of the education budget is in Senate Finance Chair Jerry Cirino's (R-Kirtland) hands. 'When we make a move in the budget for school systems, it impacts different systems in different ways,' Cirino said during the start of the budget process. 'That's what makes it complicated.' Senate President Rob McColley (R-Napoleon) warned that the funding formula could actually decrease the amount of money for schools this year. 'There's a chance that schools would see negative numbers as a result of that formula going into place,' he said. According to lawmakers who work closely with schools, including state Rep. Jamie Callender, R-Concord, about 5% of districts would have less money this year than they did last year because they have fewer students enrolled. 'Are you fine potentially seeing negative numbers for some of these school districts?' McColley asked. Patterson said that this makes the funding breakdown more equitable for public schools across the state. With the House's budget, every school would receive significantly less money than they planned for, which districts have already said could lead to staff and program cuts. 'Shop classes or (Future Farmers of America) classes or art, music and gym that aren't necessarily required, those sorts of programs could get put on the chopping block,' Patterson continued. The retired teacher is hoping that the Senators hear him before the budget amendments are announced this week. 'To help kids, that's who I am,' Patterson said. Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
What happens in Ohio if the U.S. Dept. of Education is defunded?
Middle school teacher Joe Decker sits with Statehouse reporter Morgan Trau. (Photo by Morgan Trau, WEWS.) Ohio public schools have been begging the state for funding for air conditioning, for pencils, for special needs supports in their buildings. The U.S. Department of Education helps to fund many of their facilities, but with the looming threat that this money is going to be pulled, teachers are paralyzed. 'I see kids whose families don't have enough to eat,' middle school teacher Joe Decker said. 'Kids who have to share beds with siblings.' Decker knows that he serves some of the least privileged kids in the state. Columbus City Schools receives more federal money than any other district in Ohio. 'I already have students who are falling asleep because they're hungry; I already have students who aren't coming to school because they have to take care of a sick sibling; I have students who are afraid to come to school because of ICE, that think they're going to be snatched up by law enforcement just because of where their family is from,' he continued, referencing how the Trump administration is permitting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to go into schools. Every single student, more than 50,000, enrolled in Columbus City Schools in 2018 was considered 'disadvantaged,' according to research done by The Ohio State University. At the time, the average household income was about $47,000. Anecdotally, Decker said that where he teaches, Mifflin Middle School, is on the lowest end of the average income level. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled in 1997 in DeRolph v. State that the way the state funds schools is unconstitutional, relying too much on property taxes. Throughout the next three decades, lawmakers went back and forth on policy in an attempt to fix the unconstitutionality. The Ohio Education Association (OEA), as well as lawmakers on each side of the aisle, have deemed that it has been unconstitutional since then. However, some Republicans argue that because they are no longer using the struck-down policy, and since nothing else has been deemed 'unconstitutional' in court, it can't be considered unconstitutional. Either way, there has been a bipartisan effort for years to fix the funding system. In 2021, a proposal that advocates cheered was finally passed. It required $333 million additional dollars a year for K-12 education funding — or about $2 billion overall. It is called the Cupp-Patterson Fair School Funding Plan (FSFP). The rollout was supposed to take six years and is meant to change how public dollars are provided to schools. It would give additional support to local districts. The first two years were partially funded, the second two years were fully funded, and there are just two years left to go. However, cuts are still taking place — and not every school gets what it needs. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX With cuts made by lawmakers, Decker is already dealing with an increase in the number of kids in his class. 'There are no limits on how many special education children could be placed in my classroom — I might have 24 along with like 10, 15 more mainstream kids,' he said. 'I've had classrooms from 42 to 26, I think.' 'You have much bigger issues than worrying about school funding,' this reporter remarked to him. 'The safety, the care, the hunger.' To each item mentioned, he nodded. 'Yes,' he said. 'It brings me to tears when I'm talking about my students.' From the consolidation of their English as a Second Language classes to deciding to close numerous schools this past December, school funding is always top of mind for Decker. Columbus City Schools receives about $70 million from the federal government per year, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education. Statewide, OEA reports that the federal agency funds $1.5 billion through programs like Title 1 to help low-income families and the IDEA program to assist families with special needs. 'What would happen to your classroom if that funding went away?' we asked Decker. 'It's already happening; the boat is sinking,' he replied. 'We're bleeding our schools dry.' President Donald Trump and his allies have proposed defunding the U.S. Department of Education with an executive order set to come soon, according to state lawmakers. Some Ohio Republican leaders are encouraged by the administration's endorsement to disband the agency. 'We're going to have a better idea of what Ohio education needs are than they are in Washington D.C.,' said Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon. McColley is one of the decision-makers who determines how much state money gets sent to Ohio schools. We asked him what benefits he sees, and he said flexibility. 'The Constitution originally envisioned the federal government would have no role in education and that it would be the states that control their own education,' he continued. 'The problem after the Department of Education was established is it's now basically legal bribery to the states to say 'You have to take this federal money, and you have to do everything that we're asking you to do.'' That so-called legal bribery, Decker responds, is just money for marginalized students. McColley argued back that the right amount of money would go into the best hands if state leaders got access to it. 'We're much more likely to figure out the education issues in this country by doing it that way than having a top down approach,' the Republican said. But Trump can't do this himself. Constitutionally, Congress would need to decide how federal funds are distributed. This could mean that states would be put in charge of funding for low-income students and special needs resources. There are some safeguards to Title 1 and IDEA, and they can't just disappear without further congressional action. 'We would be better served to block grant that money to the state of Ohio and to all the other 49 states and basically say, 'Look, the beauty of this country is we have 50 laboratories of democracy,'' McColley continued. 'Some states are gonna get it right. Some states are gonna get it wrong. But we're going to be able to figure out the states that got it right and then hope to implement that on a wider basis.' But if Ohio does get a lump sum, Decker doesn't trust elected leaders will do the right thing. 'I know lawmakers won't do what is right because I've watched what they've already done,' the teacher said. 'It's going to the private schools.' For years, Ohio has been a champion of another Trump priority: private school vouchers. Trump and his new education secretary Linda McMahon are focusing on shifting funding priorities to 'school choice,' or selecting alternative options to public schools. Federal funding will open up to private schools, and there will be grants that enable families to pursue faith-based education. Ohio spent nearly a billion dollars on private school voucher scholarships in 2024 Just last year, the GOP leadership in Ohio sent roughly $1 billion in public dollars to private schools. Families in Ohio can get thousands of dollars to send their children to a nonpublic school. This year, the House Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, is looking to slash at least $650 million in public education spending in this General Assembly's budget, arguing that private schools are better than public. 'What is the least expensive, acceptable educational product for the taxpayer?' Huffman asked rhetorically. 'If someone says they're willing to take a $7,000 scholarship voucher and go to a private school rather than going to the school that… on average in the state, it's about $15,000 — that's better for the taxpayers.' Gov. Mike DeWine has said he would be fully funding public schools, but an analysis by the Legislative Service Commission shows a $103 million cut from traditional public schools over the two-year budget while costs for private charter schools and vouchers would go up another $500 million. 'We're proud to be offering students and families more choices than ever in terms of how they receive their education,' the governor said when announcing his budget in February. 'Ohio has a long history of supporting parents and supporting choices made by parents regarding the education of their children.' At the time of the budget announcement, journalists and the public were unable to see what the funding breakdown was. 'Do you think the voucher system is a way to privatize education?' this reporter asked Decker. 'Most definitely,' he responded. 'Governor DeWine is giving our public school money to families out in New Albany, out in Pataskala, out in Dublin, so that they can hand over tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars to a private school. The people at that school are going to turn around and give the money back to Governor DeWine and other people who will just keep that circle going.' Decker mentioned the wealthy suburbs of Columbus, and he isn't wrong about money going there. The number of students receiving Ohio 'EdChoice Expansion' vouchers increased from 23,272 students during the 2022-2023 school year to 82,946 students during the 2023-2024 school year, according to data provided by the Ohio Department of Education & Workforce (ODEW). But the number of students enrolled in private schools during the 2023-24 school year only increased by 3,719 students, according to ODEW. DeWine and other legislative leaders argue that some public schools don't have what parents want. 'There's no educational system where one size fits all works for everyone,' now-U.S. Senator Jon Husted said while he was still lieutenant governor during a press conference. Another problem with vouchers, according to Decker, is the lack of accountability they have. Private schools aren't fair because they get to pick and choose their students, Decker argued. 'Talking about political realities — it's de facto segregated,' he said. Mifflin, he explained, has a student body population that is 70% Black students and 20% Hispanic, 5% Asian-American, and the remaining 5% white. All the kids who can't afford private schools, even with a voucher, or won't get in due to racial discrimination, will be stuck at the grossly underfunded public schools, he said. 'Taking away money from our public schools is demoralizing our public schools, it's demoralizing our students and just cutting them 1,000 times over and over,' he said, welling up with tears. 'It is heartbreaking to watch day after day.' Now, at the Ohio Statehouse, lawmakers are still debating how much state money should be going to schools. With the threat of cuts to both state and federal money, teachers believe the privatization of education is imminent — and the least privileged will suffer the most. Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on X and Facebook. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
