Ohio Democratic lawmakers and a Columbus City Schools official met May 7 at East High School for a town hall where they decried the state House’s school funding plan and a proposal that would impact the amount of cash a district can hold in reserve.
The lawmakers — including Sen. Hearcel Craig, D-Columbus; state Representatives Beryl Brown Piccolantonio, of Gahanna, and Munira Abdullahi, Latyna Humphrey, and Dontavius L. Jarrells, all of Columbus — joined with Columbus City school board Vice President Jennifer Adair to answer questions during the forum. The discussion was moderated by Amelia Robinson, opinion and community engagement editor at The Dispatch.
Brown Piccolantonio said that the thing that keeps her up at night is that the state will not have a plan going forward for fairly funding public schools.
“We’re going to put our school districts back in a place where they have no idea what to expect and funding from the state will be at the whim of whoever happens to be in charge,” Brown Piccolantonio said.
The Ohio House budget plans to spend $231 million more on traditional public schools over two years, making sure that no district sees a cut — more than Gov. Mike DeWine’s proposal to cut $103.4 million across hundreds of school districts over two years.
However, public education advocates say that the proposed budget throws out the “fair school funding formula.”
The legislative plan would require counties to reduce property taxes if districts carry over more than 30% of their previous budget. If passed as is, counties would either cut the tax rate or money raised through levies by the amount of cash districts have in excess of that 30% threshold.
Adair said that the Columbus City Schools community “sacrificed” in 2023 when they backed the district’s $100-million levy. She said the state budget proposal threatens the district’s ability to make good on the promises that voters approved because funds will have to be used to fill gaps.
“They are taking that from our children — they are taking that investment and more,” Adair said. “It is serious.”
At the forum, legislators said that the proposed funding plan by Ohio House Republicans would mean more tax burden would be placed on residents. Hearcel Craig said those concerned need to make their voices heard by contacting their legislators.
“We have our work cut out for us, but I will also say to you that we will fight vigorously,” Craig said. “(The Republicans) have turned their backs on the (“fair school funding”) plan.”
Abdullahi said that in addition to contacting legislators, concerned residents need to protest in opposition to the budget plan for public education.
“Our education is on the line so we need to be showing up and not giving them a moment of rest…,” Abdullahi said. “They want to pretend like you don’t exist, like you don’t matter. And when testimony happens, they forget about it the next day.”
This article was updated to correct the spelling of Rep. Dontavius L. Jarrells’ name
Cole Behrens covers K-12 education and school districts in central Ohio. Have a tip? Contact Cole at cbehrens@dispatch.com or connect with him on X at @Colebehr_report
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: At a town hall, Ohio Dem lawmakers and Columbus school officials decried the state budget
Reporting by Cole Behrens, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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