School Funding…A New Way

Advocates for Ohio’s new school funding plan say it should finally provide a level of fairness and reliability that past spending programs lacked. The Fair School Funding Plan, approved as part of the state budget, spends about $12.4 billion dollars this year and $12.6 billion in 2023. At its core…the plan changes how the money the state provides districts for each student is calculated. The new system weighs a district’s expenses to come up with the base per-pupil funding amount. Though the plan passed by wide margins in the House and Senate, it’s not universally applauded. Senate President, Matt Huffman, says he’s concerned about the plan’s cost over time. Meanwhile, educators, while welcoming the concept, note that lawmakers removed language at the last moment that addressed the need to phase the plan in over six years.