Mount Vernon News

MOUNT VERNON — School funding in Ohio is based on a theory of shared responsibility between the state and the local community, with the goal of making sure every student has the chance to receive an adequate education. However, there are widely disparate opinions on what comprises an “adequate” education, and the unique fiscal and social characteristics of the school districts, along with political realities, produce significant variations among districts in spending, facilities, materials and programs.

The accompanying graph helps illustrate the variations that exist in per-pupil revenues and expenditures between local school districts. To compare information about school districts of similar size, demographics and income levels, refer to the “New Cupp Report” by the Ohio Department of Education Center for School Finance at odevax.ode.state.oh.us.

One of the ways the legislature has tried to equalize school funding is through foundation funding, a combination of state and local contributions. Federal and state money contribute to a school district’s coffers, but usually have strings attached; that is, the money is provided for specific purposes and cannot be spent at the school district’s discretion.

The first time the state specified what the local share should be occurred when the first foundation program was established in 1935. At that time, according to Scott Blake, media relations specialist with the ODE, the state required school districts to collect at least 3 mills of property tax to support education. The current minimum amount, or floor, is 20 mills, but, for funding purposes, the state assumes each district is collecting at least 23 mills. However, there is no requirement that schools tax 23 mills, and many districts are at the 20-mill floor.

What does that mean to districts? Imagine you are a school district. The legislature has determined it takes $50 to provide an adequate education. You have $20, and through the shared responsibility theory, you take for granted that the state will give you $30 to make sure you have an adequate amount of money. Wrong.

The state assumes you have $23 dollars, and therefore only gives you $27, leaving you $3 short. To make up that $3 difference, you might have to go to the voters and ask for more money.

That scenario has resulted in what the Ohio Supreme Court has said four times is an unequitable school funding system and one which is overreliant on local property taxes to pay for public education.

Two times a year those local property taxes are collected by the county treasurer. The county auditor divides that money among three or four local taxing entities such as, county, township, municipality and schools, plus any others the voters may have approved, including recreational districts and ambulance services. The current tax statement, under the heading “Where Your Taxes Go,” lists each recipient and the distribution amounts.

There is another quirk in using property taxes to fund schools. What happens if property values increase and more taxes are therefore due? The homeowner pays more taxes, but the schools don’t get more money. By law, as residential and agricultural property values go up, the taxes charged are adjusted downward so that the schools get no more money than the amount specified when the particular levy was first passed by the voters. The local districts will receive the same amount of local property tax money as listed in the chart.

However, that increased valuation means the state thinks the district is wealthier and therefore decreases the amount of state aid, often causing school districts to repeatedly ask voters for more local money.