Let's talk about Ohio school funding

It'll be interesting. I promise.

I’m 36 years old, and Ohio’s school funding system has officially been unconstitutional since I was in the 2nd grade.

The Ohio Supreme Court first declared our school funding system illegal in 1997. After that, it took nearly two decades for Ohio legislators to FINALLY come up with a meaningful, bipartisan solution.

Republicans, Democrats, tax policy experts, and data experts spent years drafting and editing a detailed solution called the Fair School Funding Plan. Incredible amounts of research, edits, and debate went into this formula.

And now one man is trying to take it all away.

Ohio’s bipartisan Fair School Funding Plan is so complex that it needs to be implemented over a period of six years (which is three state budget cycles). We’re currently in year four. We’re supposed to be fully implementing the final phase of the plan in this year’s state budget.

Instead, Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) has ripped the plan from the state budget, claiming it’s “unsustainable.” He is lying.

The bipartisan Fair School Funding Plan is only “unsustainable” because Matt Huffman wants it to be. Budgeting is all about priorities.

For example, Ohio spends nearly $1 Billion per year on vouchers to private (often religious) schools. Our state’s education funding all comes from the same pot of money — so every dollar spent on vouchers is money that’s not going to the public schools.

Data shows us that 90% of the people using vouchers in Ohio are NOT low-income. In fact, most people using Ohio’s voucher program are wealthy families who were already sending their kids to private schools. Now, they’re just doing it for free! Your tax dollars pay for their kids’ private education.

Why don’t we just get rid of universal vouchers and fully fund the public schools instead? Probably because public school officials aren’t the ones giving hefty campaign donations.

Statehouse Republicans have been receiving intense, statewide pushback on their proposal to kill the Fair School Funding Plan. In fact, they received so much pushback that Ohio Senate Republicans have actually recommended restoring some of the basic frameworks of the Fair School Funding Plan. They also intend to throw a bunch of money at the public schools this budget cycle.

This solution allows Republicans to claim they’ve restored our bipartisan formula AND provided more school funding than ever before!

It all sounds great if you aren’t paying attention.

Here’s what they’re really trying to do:

They’re trying to restore the basic skeleton of the Fair School Funding Plan, but with none of the calculations or data inputs that make it work.

Picture the metal frame of a car. If you have the metal frame, but no engine or transmission or any of the parts, you could technically still call it a car…but it ain’t gonna run.

Senate Republicans like to broadcast that their proposal would give public schools $100 million more than the House proposal…but this money would go to high-performing or “improving” districts. That means schools with highest report card ratings will get extra money — instead of the schools where the most resources are needed.

In fact, Senate Republican's’ plan includes no updates to the costs of Special Education programs or programs to help students learn English as a second language. And it actually cuts Disadvantage Pupil Impact Aid (DPIA), which provides reading intervention, physical/mental health services, and additional services for low-income students.

You may also hear Senate Republicans claim that 60% of Ohio’s public schools will actually receive MORE money under their “new” formula. This must mean the plan they invented over drinks last month is better than the bipartisan formula that took a decade to develop, right?

Nope. If you look at the data, the Republicans’ plan gives the least amount of money to the poorest schools in the state. And it gives the richest schools more money than they need! It’s egregious. This chart makes me sick to my stomach:

So what can you do?

I’ve put the full list of action items in this document, but a few key people to contact are listed below:

Call and/or Email these Ohio Republican senators (even if they don’t represent you!):

SAMPLE SCRIPT / EMAIL:

[START BY: SHARING YOUR OWN POSITIVE PUBLIC SCHOOL EXPERIENCE (if applicable)]
Ohio’s bipartisan Fair School Funding Plan took years to pass. Years of research, edits, and debate went into it. Legislators from BOTH sides of the aisle made this a reality. There is NO excuse for abandoning this plan now, in its final phase of implementation.
The Senate restored the basic skeleton of the plan — but it won’t work without updated data inputs!
Will you promise to restore the full, bipartisan Fair School Funding Plan INCLUDING the updated inputs?
I will be sharing your response with my friends/family/networks.

1.) Senate Finance Chair — Jerry Cirino:

• 614-644-7718

• Cirino@OhioSenate.gov

• Twitter: https://x.com/SenatorCirino

• Facebook: ttps://www.facebook.com/ElectCirino

• DON’T LET HIM (or his staff) claim that it’s too late because the budget has passed the Senate. He’s the Chair of Senate Finance Committee and he’s on the “conference committee” that controls the next step of the budget process

• NOTE — Ask if he’s going to do everything Matt Huffman tells him to do, or if he’s his own man and chair of the Senate Finance Committee

2.) Senate Finance Vice Chair — Brian Chavez:

• (614) 466-6508

• Chavez@OhioSenate.gov

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/SenBrianChavez

• DON’T LET HIM (or his staff) claim that it’s too late because the budget has passed the Senate. He’s the Vice Chair of Senate Finance Committee and he’s on the “conference committee” that controls the next step of the budget process

• NOTE — Ask if he’s going to do everything Matt Huffman tells him to do, or if he’s his own man

3.) House Finance Chair — Brian Stewart:

• (614) 466-1464

• rep12@OhioHouse.gov

• Fax: (614) 719-3961

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrianStewartOH

• DON’T LET HIM (or his staff) claim that it’s too late because the budget has passed the House/Senate. He’s the Chair of House Finance Committee and he’s on the “conference committee” that controls the next step of the budget process

• NOTE — Ask if he’s going to do everything Matt Huffman tells him to do, or if he’s his own man and Chair of the Finance Committee

4.) House Finance Vice Chair — Mike Dovilla:

• (614) 466-4895

• rep17@ohiohouse.gov

• Fax: (614) 719-6957

• Twitter: https://x.com/mikedovilla

• DON’T LET HIM (or his staff) claim that it’s too late because the budget has passed the House/Senate. He’s the Vice Chair of House Finance Committee and he’s on the “conference committee” that controls the next step of the budget process

• NOTE — Ask if he’s going to do everything Matt Huffman tells him to do, or if he’s his own man.

5.) Senate President — Rob McColley:

• (614) 466-8150

• McColley@OhioSenate.gov

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Rob_McColley

• NOTE — Ask President McColley if he’s going to do everything Matt Huffman tells him to do, or if he’s his own man running his own chamber.

• DON’T LET HIM (or his staff) claim he can’t help you because he isn’t on the budget “conference committee” — Remind him that he’s the Senate President.

6.) House Speaker — Matt Huffman:

• (614) 466-6344

• rep78@ohiohouse.gov

• Fax: (614) 719-3977

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/matthuffman1

• DON’T LET HIM (or his staff) claim he can’t help you because he isn’t on the budget “conference committee” — Remind him that he’s the House Speaker.