Latest news with #Cupp-Patterson
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bath schools talks school funding with Manchester
Mar. 7—BATH TOWNSHIP — The latest version of Ohio's two-year budget bill uses outdated data to calculate the cost to educate a child, according to Bath schools Treasurer Joel Parker. The proposed budget, introduced by Gov. Mike DeWine in February, phases in the remainder of the so-called Cupp-Patterson school funding formula. But the bill freezes cost inputs used to calculate how much schools spend to educate a child at 2022 levels, while relying on 2024 property tax valuations and income data to determine how much local taxpayers can afford to contribute. The formula would effectively decrease the state's share of per-pupil funding to Bath schools, Parker told state Sen. Susan Manchester (R-Waynesfield) during a special visit to Bath schools Friday. Bath schools spends an average of $12,977 per student, the third lowest in Allen County. The state's share of per-pupil funding to Bath schools would decline from 50% to 39% by fiscal year 2027, according to estimates Parker shared Friday. If lawmakers adopt those changes to the formula, Bath schools may need to ask voters for property tax increases "sooner," Parker said. Potential changes to federal funding if the Trump administration eliminates the Department of Education could be costly too: Bath schools receives about $1.3 million in federal funding for reading instruction, special education and school lunches. "If (federal funding) goes away," Parker said, "it is flipped over to the local voters." Featured Local Savings
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Plan for K-12 education funding in Ohio takes shape as budget hearings begin
The debate over how to pay for K-12 ublic education has resumed in Ohio, as hearings over the state budget continue this week. The amount of money a school district receives from the state is determined by a formula developed by former state representatives Robert Cupp and John Patterson in 2017. The funding plan is based on many factors, such as where students are educated, their needs and demographics. The formula provides more money to districts without the means to raise money locally and uses property values and income to decide the money the state provides. The plan was meant to be phased in, with lawmakers voting on it every two years, but this last phase of funding may not be approved as House Speaker Matt Huffman has said he doesn't believe the spending is sustainable. Gov. Mike DeWine supports continuing the Cupp-Patterson formula, but gradually reducing the funding guarantee in his two-year budget plan. Dewine's plan would provide $23.4 billion for 2026 and 2027 and would reduce the guarantee to 95% in 2026 and 90% in 2027. It's still early in the debate, but some Republican lawmakers have expressed interest in "tweaking" the funding formula. Rep. Tom Young, R-Washington Township, said at a budget hearing Thursday the current school funding formula is inadequate and inequitable and that property taxes are a burden on Ohioans. Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney, D-Westlake, said she wants to be careful about shifting the burden of inflation onto local school districts. "I just see if we do not adjust for inflation, but we're gonna ask our locals to, we're going to shift all the burden and we are not gonna have schools. I mean, we have to fix the system," she said at the hearing. Stephen Dackin, director of the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, said the department wanted to start the budget process by planning for the final two years of the Cupp-Patterson plan with small adjustments and that there is the chance to take a deeper look. Erin Glynn is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio. This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio officials resume debate over school funding, inflation
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ohio House begins discussions of state education budget proposed by governor
Ohio Department of Education and Workforce Director Stephen Dackin speaks to the Ohio House Finance Committee on a new education operating budget. Photo courtesy of Ideastream/The Ohio Channel Hearings have begun in the Ohio House Finance Committee to dissect Gov. Mike DeWine's executive budget proposal, including a lengthy discussion on Thursday with regard to the education provisions included in it. 'This budget takes the next steps toward fulfilling our key policy priorities,' said Ohio Department of Education and Workforce Director Stephen Dackin. DeWine's proposal recommends $12.4 billion in funding to state schools in fiscal year 2026, and another $12.6 billion in 2027. That recommendation includes the final two years of a public school full fair funding formula that has been a point of contention for legislative leaders, particularly House Speaker Matt Huffman, who has called the funding model 'unsustainable.' The governor's proposal also gives community schools an increase in per-pupil funding and 'continues access to Ohio's five scholarship programs,' including the state's private school voucher program. Many members of the House Finance Committee asked about the foundational funding for state school districts, for which the executive budget recommends a state share of 35%, with no adjustment for inflation to the 'inputs' of the education costs in the formula. Some Republicans on the committee questioned the continued use of the Cupp-Patterson funding formula (also called the Fair School Funding Plan), along with the burden of property taxes in their districts used to pay for schools. 'The school funding formula is inadequate and it's inequitable,' claimed state Rep. Tom Young, R-Washington Twp. 'We do not award the merit of outcomes in the funding formula.' While Dackin said he is 'a fan of performance-based funding,' he reemphasized comments DeWine made about the overall budget when he introduced it: that the document was a starting point from which to build the final budget, with room for adjustments. Dackin also pushed back on concerns from Democratic members about a lack of oversight for private schools receiving significant state monies compared with the oversight public schools receive. 'The concern for a lot of people is, what are we getting for those dollars, because we have very little oversight in how that money is being used at these schools,' said House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington. Dackin said there is 'some measure' for schools accepting scholarship money, but he has a higher measure that he takes into account. 'Every day, parents make a decision where to send their kids, and parents make decisions based on a variety of issues,' Dackin told the committee. 'The ultimate accountability is where the parents send their kids.' Literacy is a main tenet of the governor's education proposal, with objectives that included continuing the ReadOhio program and implementation of an Ohio Literacy Coaching Model by the Department of Education and Workforce, and further training on the Science of Reading model. 'The department supports the use of high-quality core and intervention instructional materials, provides educator professional development and supports literary coaches who provide targeted support to schools and districts,' the budget document states. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The executive budget notes nearly 72,000 teachers and administrators have completed one of six 'Science of Reading Professional Development pathways' as of Jan. 15 of this year, and 84 'literary coaches' were used during the 2024-2025 school year in 93 school districts in Ohio. Dackin told the finance committee reading is a 'lynchpin skill' that is vital to successful outcomes for Ohio's students. 'I feel like that is our moral obligation as adults, to make sure that (bad outcomes don't) happen in Ohio,' Dackin said. 'I see no reason why Ohio can't lead the country in literacy rates, zero.' The science of reading is also a priority in executive budget proposals for the Ohio Department of Children and Youth. DeWine noted a goal to improve state kindergarten readiness through a 40% increase in the number of children in licensed early care and education settings 'with a curriculum aligned to the science of reading and early learning and development standards,' according to the budget document. Included in the plans from the governor to increase the numbers is the expansion of the Childcare Choice Voucher Program. A spokesperson for the governor did not elaborate on what would be expanded about the program, but a representative of the Department of Children and Youth said the program currently uses monthly payments directly to approved licensed child care providers. Families apply for the voucher through their local county Job and Family Services Department, and eligibility for the program is determined by income, family size, and job or education status. Families with children enrolled in licensed child care programs and monthly incomes between 146% and 200% of the federal poverty level are eligible for the voucher program, according to Kari Akins, of the children and youth department. For a family of four, that's between $45,552 and $62,400 a year. Legislators brought up a possible federal issue during the discussions of the executive budget: whether the U.S. Department of Education will be able to provide the usual funding, or whether the department will even exist in the near future, based on President Donald Trump's potential executive order and comments that he plans to dismantle the department. 'We hear occasionally, from time to time in the news that there might be consideration in Washington, D.C., to change the (U.S.) Department of Education,' said state Rep. Adam Bird, R-New Richmond. 'I'm curious as to whether you've heard whether any changes to the U.S. Department of Education might come with changes to funding for Ohio schools.' Dackin had a simple answer to the committee. 'We don't know, to be honest,' Dackin said. 'We've received no guidance at this point, no direction from the US DOE on anything related to funding.' Prior to the budget discussion, Dackin joined education administrators from 10 other states in a Jan. 28 letter to 'Administrator McMahon,' seemingly the currently-unconfirmed Trump nominee for Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, asking the new administration to 'prioritize … policies that trust and empower state educational agencies to shape education systems that meet the unique needs of their students.' Those priorities include state control of education funds and 'guidance aligned with congressional intent that defers to state law and policy,' according to the letter, provided by the the Department of Education and Workforce. 'We know that the department must work with Congress to achieve many of these changes to (the Elementary and Secondary Education Act) but, in the meantime, please defer to state and local decision-making as much as possible in your actions,' stated the letter, signed by Dackin and administrators from North Dakota, Alaska, Idaho, Wyoming, Florida, Utah, Mississippi, Indiana, Arkansas, Iowa and South Carolina. The executive budget will continue through hearings in education and finance committees within the Ohio House before a legislative budget document is created, and the Ohio Senate begins its own consideration. A final budget is due by July. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
School funding: Formula of calculating educational cost is under scrutiny
Feb. 4—LIMA — Bob Cupp spent years working to fix Ohio's school funding formula. The former House speaker from Lima partnered with Democratic colleague Rep. John Patterson to devise a new formula to calculate the true cost to educate a child and a school district's capacity to raise revenue through local taxes. The result — known as the Cupp-Patterson or Fair School Funding Plan — is in question four years after lawmakers agreed to gradually phase in the formula through the state's operating budget, as lawmakers debate whether the state can afford it. A persistent problem Cupp's political career started in the 1980s when he became a county commissioner. He won a seat in the Ohio Senate in 1985 where he remained until 2000. He returned to the legislature in 2014 after working as a judge for the Third District Court of Appeals and Ohio Supreme Court, and spent his final term in elected office as Speaker of the House. School funding dominated Cupp's career: The Ohio Supreme Court ruled against the state's school funding model four times starting in 1997 while Cupp was still a senator. The court gave lawmakers one year to correct the formula, which was deemed unfair to districts in poor neighborhoods where property taxes are insufficient, so a child's zip code wouldn't determine the quality of their education. But many of the problems identified by the DeRolph case, brought by a coalition of public schools now suing Ohio's voucher system, remained when Cupp returned to the legislature nearly two decades later. More than 500 of Ohio's 610 public school districts had their state funding capped or guaranteed, penalzing districts with growing enrollments, so Cupp and Patterson formed a working group to devise a new formula. Their plan tied funding to enrollment and each district's capacity to raise its own funding through local taxes, using property values and resident income to determine how much state aid a district needs. The plan attempts to calculate the true cost to educate a child in each district, with additional funding made available for students living in poverty, relying on special education and other factors. Lawmakers approved the formula through the state's operating budget in 2021, with the intent of phasing new funding in gradually over three budget cycles, but did not pass standalone legislation for the plan. Cupp did not return requests for comment. "I'm hopeful the next two General Assemblies will keep it intact," Cupp told The Lima News when he retired from the legislature in 2022. He didn't see a conflict between his plan and private school vouchers either. "There's no reason both can't be available," Cupp said at the time. 'A marketing technique' The formula is under scrutiny again as lawmakers draft their next operating budget, with the expiration of federal pandemic aid and expansion of private school vouchers creating new financial pressures. Fellow Lima native and House Speaker Matt Huffman described the formula as "unsustainable" when the General Assembly convened in January. Huffman criticized the plan as it took shape through the budget four years ago, while he was Senate president. "Legislatures don't make decisions for six years," he said. "The concept that there's a three-part phase in of some plan that isn't legislatively approved and hasn't been approved is, for the most part, a marketing technique." Huffman said the legislature has approved "six or seven" school funding formulas over the last two decades. This session will be no different, he said. "People are going to say wait a minute, these schools have these unique problems, you need to edit this," Huffman said. Gov. Mike DeWine introduced his proposed budget Monday, which calls for the full implementation of the Cupp-Patterson plan. The budget will now be considered by the House and Senate, which have until June to reach an agreement. Lima schools Superintendent Jill Ackerman said she's disappointed but not surprised to learn the legislature may not implement the final phase of the Cupp-Patterson plan. "It will force districts to go back to taxpayers to ask for more money," she said. Lima schools is planning to cut $700,000 from its budget this year with the expiration of federal pandemic aid, though Ackerman said she hopes to accomplish the cuts through attrition. Ackerman and other superintendents say the expansion of private school vouchers, which are now available to any child regardless of where they live or how much their parents earn, are to blame for the state's pending budget troubles. The state spent nearly $1 billion on the program last school year. "When you take $1 billion out of the budget and put it towards private schools, yes there is going to be less money for public schools," Elida schools Superintendent Joel Mengerink said. The district, which is also looking to cut at least $1 million from its budget this year, would receive nearly $1 million a year in additional funds under the Cupp-Patterson plan. "We simply can't afford more cuts or it will have an even more serious impact on kids," Mengerink said. Featured Local Savings
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump order prioritizes school choice and vouchers, which Ohio has been expanding for decades
Getty Images. An executive order signed by President Donald Trump directs an emphasis on school choice and private school voucher programs when it comes to education funding, something that's been happening in Ohio for several decades now. While it's unclear how much power the executive order will have with spending decisions decided by Congress, the executive order directs to the U.S. Department of Education to prioritize 'school choice' programs in grant funding, and requires the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to guide states on block grants that can be used for private schools. The executive order also directs the U.S. Department of Education to release guidance on using federal funding formulas for private school scholarship programs, and for military families in particular to be given information on scholarships. It's not yet clear how this will affect individual states, but Ohio has already vastly expanded its private school voucher programs over the last two decades, and recently passed near-universal levels eligibility. Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman began 2025 by saying the six-year phase-in of the public school funding model in Ohio was 'unsustainable,' which received massive pushback from public school supporters, especially after the lawmakers poured nearly $1 billion into private school scholarships last year. Huffman called the future of the current funding model – also called the Fair School Funding Plan or the Cupp-Patterson plan – a 'fantasy,' but has seemingly softened his stance for now after hearing from members of his own party. A spokesperson for Huffman and the House Majority Caucus did not respond to a request for comment on the executive order. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The president and CEO of EdChoice, Ohio's private voucher program, praised the order in a statement, saying prioritizing and expanding such programs 'is a crucial step toward empowering families and giving them greater control over their children's education.' 'This initiative reflects a commitment to funding students not systems and to ensuring the proper role of the federal government in education,' EdChoice President and CEO Robert Enlow said in the Wednesday statement. 'It recognizes both the appropriate role of the federal government on education and the fact that education is primarily a state function.' Public school advocates feel the same way about a federal push for private school funding expansion as they do about state-level funding increases, for which a lawsuit was filed in Franklin County Common Pleas Court to eliminate the private school voucher program. The lawsuit argues that funding for private schools is coming out of the coffers of the public school system, something the state is constitutionally obligated to fund properly. 'Diverting public money to unaccountable and ineffective private schools is a failed strategy that runs counter to public opinion,' Ohio Federation of Teachers head Melissa Cropper told the Capital Journal. A 2024 survey done by All4Ed, Lake Research Partners and the Tarrance Group, found a majority of American voters support public education, and an increase in funding to improve public schools. This included 58% of Republicans surveyed. Only 34% of GOP voters polled said funding for voucher programs should be increased. 'Voters view public schools, including their local public school, more favorably than charter, private or religious schools,' the study stated. Cropper called the move by the Trump administration 'a strategy straight of Project 2025,' the playbook written and supported by right-wing Heritage Foundation members, some of whom have become players in the Trump administration, including the White House budget office. 'Regardless of what politicians do, Ohio educators and school staff will continue fighting for the resources that our students deserve,' Cropper said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
