Latest news with #Cupp-PattersonFairSchoolFundingPlan
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Ohio educators rally for school funding at Statehouse ahead of budget announcement
Attendees of a rally to support public education hold up signs at the Ohio Statehouse. Photo by Morgan Trau/WEWS Ohio educators held one last rally to urge the state Senate to fully fund public schools ahead of the chamber's budget proposal. Teaching at Jefferson Area High School in Ashtabula County was only supposed to be a temporary job while John Patterson finished graduate school. 'I discovered that teaching was my calling, and it was my mission,' said Patterson, a retired teacher of 29 years. Like him, education is a passion for many teachers. Dozens made their way to the Ohio Statehouse to show their support for public school funding. 'It's important for Ohio's kids, it's important for Ohio's future, to get the school funding formula totally in place so there's predictability and sustainability for all of our schools in every corner of the state,' Patterson told me. The educators protested against the House's passed budget, one that slashes hundreds of millions of dollars from the expected school spending. The program currently in place, the Cupp-Patterson Fair School Funding Plan (FSFP), was a bipartisan formula that Patterson helped create when he was a state representative. 'I spent a great deal of time with my dear friend (former Republican House Speaker) Robert Cupp to come together to put something out there for the legislature that is sustainable, that is transparent, and that is good for the future,' Patterson said. But Speaker Matt Huffman says that funding level is 'unsustainable.' Now the future of the education budget is in Senate Finance Chair Jerry Cirino's (R-Kirtland) hands. 'When we make a move in the budget for school systems, it impacts different systems in different ways,' Cirino said during the start of the budget process. 'That's what makes it complicated.' Senate President Rob McColley (R-Napoleon) warned that the funding formula could actually decrease the amount of money for schools this year. 'There's a chance that schools would see negative numbers as a result of that formula going into place,' he said. According to lawmakers who work closely with schools, including state Rep. Jamie Callender, R-Concord, about 5% of districts would have less money this year than they did last year because they have fewer students enrolled. 'Are you fine potentially seeing negative numbers for some of these school districts?' McColley asked. Patterson said that this makes the funding breakdown more equitable for public schools across the state. With the House's budget, every school would receive significantly less money than they planned for, which districts have already said could lead to staff and program cuts. 'Shop classes or (Future Farmers of America) classes or art, music and gym that aren't necessarily required, those sorts of programs could get put on the chopping block,' Patterson continued. The retired teacher is hoping that the Senators hear him before the budget amendments are announced this week. 'To help kids, that's who I am,' Patterson said. Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
What happens in Ohio if the U.S. Dept. of Education is defunded?
Middle school teacher Joe Decker sits with Statehouse reporter Morgan Trau. (Photo by Morgan Trau, WEWS.) Ohio public schools have been begging the state for funding for air conditioning, for pencils, for special needs supports in their buildings. The U.S. Department of Education helps to fund many of their facilities, but with the looming threat that this money is going to be pulled, teachers are paralyzed. 'I see kids whose families don't have enough to eat,' middle school teacher Joe Decker said. 'Kids who have to share beds with siblings.' Decker knows that he serves some of the least privileged kids in the state. Columbus City Schools receives more federal money than any other district in Ohio. 'I already have students who are falling asleep because they're hungry; I already have students who aren't coming to school because they have to take care of a sick sibling; I have students who are afraid to come to school because of ICE, that think they're going to be snatched up by law enforcement just because of where their family is from,' he continued, referencing how the Trump administration is permitting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to go into schools. Every single student, more than 50,000, enrolled in Columbus City Schools in 2018 was considered 'disadvantaged,' according to research done by The Ohio State University. At the time, the average household income was about $47,000. Anecdotally, Decker said that where he teaches, Mifflin Middle School, is on the lowest end of the average income level. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled in 1997 in DeRolph v. State that the way the state funds schools is unconstitutional, relying too much on property taxes. Throughout the next three decades, lawmakers went back and forth on policy in an attempt to fix the unconstitutionality. The Ohio Education Association (OEA), as well as lawmakers on each side of the aisle, have deemed that it has been unconstitutional since then. However, some Republicans argue that because they are no longer using the struck-down policy, and since nothing else has been deemed 'unconstitutional' in court, it can't be considered unconstitutional. Either way, there has been a bipartisan effort for years to fix the funding system. In 2021, a proposal that advocates cheered was finally passed. It required $333 million additional dollars a year for K-12 education funding — or about $2 billion overall. It is called the Cupp-Patterson Fair School Funding Plan (FSFP). The rollout was supposed to take six years and is meant to change how public dollars are provided to schools. It would give additional support to local districts. The first two years were partially funded, the second two years were fully funded, and there are just two years left to go. However, cuts are still taking place — and not every school gets what it needs. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX With cuts made by lawmakers, Decker is already dealing with an increase in the number of kids in his class. 'There are no limits on how many special education children could be placed in my classroom — I might have 24 along with like 10, 15 more mainstream kids,' he said. 'I've had classrooms from 42 to 26, I think.' 'You have much bigger issues than worrying about school funding,' this reporter remarked to him. 'The safety, the care, the hunger.' To each item mentioned, he nodded. 'Yes,' he said. 'It brings me to tears when I'm talking about my students.' From the consolidation of their English as a Second Language classes to deciding to close numerous schools this past December, school funding is always top of mind for Decker. Columbus City Schools receives about $70 million from the federal government per year, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education. Statewide, OEA reports that the federal agency funds $1.5 billion through programs like Title 1 to help low-income families and the IDEA program to assist families with special needs. 'What would happen to your classroom if that funding went away?' we asked Decker. 'It's already happening; the boat is sinking,' he replied. 'We're bleeding our schools dry.' President Donald Trump and his allies have proposed defunding the U.S. Department of Education with an executive order set to come soon, according to state lawmakers. Some Ohio Republican leaders are encouraged by the administration's endorsement to disband the agency. 'We're going to have a better idea of what Ohio education needs are than they are in Washington D.C.,' said Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon. McColley is one of the decision-makers who determines how much state money gets sent to Ohio schools. We asked him what benefits he sees, and he said flexibility. 'The Constitution originally envisioned the federal government would have no role in education and that it would be the states that control their own education,' he continued. 'The problem after the Department of Education was established is it's now basically legal bribery to the states to say 'You have to take this federal money, and you have to do everything that we're asking you to do.'' That so-called legal bribery, Decker responds, is just money for marginalized students. McColley argued back that the right amount of money would go into the best hands if state leaders got access to it. 'We're much more likely to figure out the education issues in this country by doing it that way than having a top down approach,' the Republican said. But Trump can't do this himself. Constitutionally, Congress would need to decide how federal funds are distributed. This could mean that states would be put in charge of funding for low-income students and special needs resources. There are some safeguards to Title 1 and IDEA, and they can't just disappear without further congressional action. 'We would be better served to block grant that money to the state of Ohio and to all the other 49 states and basically say, 'Look, the beauty of this country is we have 50 laboratories of democracy,'' McColley continued. 'Some states are gonna get it right. Some states are gonna get it wrong. But we're going to be able to figure out the states that got it right and then hope to implement that on a wider basis.' But if Ohio does get a lump sum, Decker doesn't trust elected leaders will do the right thing. 'I know lawmakers won't do what is right because I've watched what they've already done,' the teacher said. 'It's going to the private schools.' For years, Ohio has been a champion of another Trump priority: private school vouchers. Trump and his new education secretary Linda McMahon are focusing on shifting funding priorities to 'school choice,' or selecting alternative options to public schools. Federal funding will open up to private schools, and there will be grants that enable families to pursue faith-based education. Ohio spent nearly a billion dollars on private school voucher scholarships in 2024 Just last year, the GOP leadership in Ohio sent roughly $1 billion in public dollars to private schools. Families in Ohio can get thousands of dollars to send their children to a nonpublic school. This year, the House Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, is looking to slash at least $650 million in public education spending in this General Assembly's budget, arguing that private schools are better than public. 'What is the least expensive, acceptable educational product for the taxpayer?' Huffman asked rhetorically. 'If someone says they're willing to take a $7,000 scholarship voucher and go to a private school rather than going to the school that… on average in the state, it's about $15,000 — that's better for the taxpayers.' Gov. Mike DeWine has said he would be fully funding public schools, but an analysis by the Legislative Service Commission shows a $103 million cut from traditional public schools over the two-year budget while costs for private charter schools and vouchers would go up another $500 million. 'We're proud to be offering students and families more choices than ever in terms of how they receive their education,' the governor said when announcing his budget in February. 'Ohio has a long history of supporting parents and supporting choices made by parents regarding the education of their children.' At the time of the budget announcement, journalists and the public were unable to see what the funding breakdown was. 'Do you think the voucher system is a way to privatize education?' this reporter asked Decker. 'Most definitely,' he responded. 'Governor DeWine is giving our public school money to families out in New Albany, out in Pataskala, out in Dublin, so that they can hand over tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars to a private school. The people at that school are going to turn around and give the money back to Governor DeWine and other people who will just keep that circle going.' Decker mentioned the wealthy suburbs of Columbus, and he isn't wrong about money going there. The number of students receiving Ohio 'EdChoice Expansion' vouchers increased from 23,272 students during the 2022-2023 school year to 82,946 students during the 2023-2024 school year, according to data provided by the Ohio Department of Education & Workforce (ODEW). But the number of students enrolled in private schools during the 2023-24 school year only increased by 3,719 students, according to ODEW. DeWine and other legislative leaders argue that some public schools don't have what parents want. 'There's no educational system where one size fits all works for everyone,' now-U.S. Senator Jon Husted said while he was still lieutenant governor during a press conference. Another problem with vouchers, according to Decker, is the lack of accountability they have. Private schools aren't fair because they get to pick and choose their students, Decker argued. 'Talking about political realities — it's de facto segregated,' he said. Mifflin, he explained, has a student body population that is 70% Black students and 20% Hispanic, 5% Asian-American, and the remaining 5% white. All the kids who can't afford private schools, even with a voucher, or won't get in due to racial discrimination, will be stuck at the grossly underfunded public schools, he said. 'Taking away money from our public schools is demoralizing our public schools, it's demoralizing our students and just cutting them 1,000 times over and over,' he said, welling up with tears. 'It is heartbreaking to watch day after day.' Now, at the Ohio Statehouse, lawmakers are still debating how much state money should be going to schools. With the threat of cuts to both state and federal money, teachers believe the privatization of education is imminent — and the least privileged will suffer the most. Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on X and Facebook. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Can Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine protect full public school funding in the state budget due this summer?
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine. (Photo by Morgan Trau, WEWS.) Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has taken a stand, deciding in his budget to fully fund public education after some of his Republican colleagues threatened to cut K-12 spending. But educators can't rest yet, as GOP lawmakers are already digging into his proposal. Ohio's history with school funding isn't the brightest. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled in 1997 in DeRolph v. State that the way the state funds schools is unconstitutional, relying too much on property taxes. Throughout the next three decades, lawmakers went back and forth on policy in an attempt to fix the unconstitutionality. The Ohio Education Association, as well as lawmakers on each side of the aisle, have deemed that it has been unconstitutional since then. However, some Republicans argue that because they are no longer using the struck-down policy, and since nothing else has been deemed 'unconstitutional' in court, it can't be considered unconstitutional. Either way, there has been a bipartisan effort for years to fix the funding system. House Bill 1, introduced by state Reps. Bride Rose Sweeney, D-Cleveland, and Jamie Callender, R-Concord, in 2021, required $333 million additional dollars a year for K-12 education funding — or about $2 billion overall. It is called the Cupp-Patterson Fair School Funding Plan (FSFP). Their bill was an amended version of policy that passed the House but not the Senate in the General Assembly prior, which was created by former Speaker Bob Cupp, R-Lima, and former state Rep. John Patterson, D-Jefferson. House Bill 1 was finally passed as part of the state budget and signed into law. The rollout was supposed to take six years, or three budget cycles, and is meant to change how public dollars are provided to K-12 schools. It would give additional support to local districts so they can rely less on property taxes. The first two years were partially fully funded, the second two years were fully funded, and there are just two years left to go. In early January, comments made by new Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, angered viewers, readers, parents and education leaders across the state. 'I don't think there is a third phase to Cupp-Patterson,' Huffman told reporters. 'As to the expectation that those things are gonna go in… I guess the clear statement I can say is I think those increases in spending are unsustainable.' The G.A. from four years ago shouldn't be able to 'bind' what the future lawmakers can do, he said. Half a dozen GOP legislators personally reached out, vowing to protect K-12 education. Those six, and at least 15 others to whom we have spoken, say that one of their main priorities is supporting public schools. A week later, we brought the topic back up to Huffman due to the immense backlash. He doubled down. 'If people are upset about it, they still need to address the facts,' the speaker said. 'I think the current system, especially if we did the third part of what some people are calling the plan, is really unsustainable.' He called the continuation of the current funding plan a 'fantasy.' The Republicans went on a caucus retreat at the beginning of the G.A. During the private three-day-long trip, policy was discussed. We've confirmed with half a dozen representatives that the speaker's team gave a presentation about how the current funding formula needs to be cut due to it being 'unsustainable.' After the supporters spoke, numerous Republicans stood up to advocate for fully funding public schools, starting a larger discussion. 'School funding is a longer discussion that I think really cannot be had in earnest and detail until the governor introduces the budget,' Huffman said on Jan. 22. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine introduced his budget on Monday with full funding for public schools. Public educators are breathing a sigh of relief — for now. 'We're hopeful that the governor would be aggressive and ambitious in what he puts forward for public education because we know it's not coming from the other side of the aisle,' Parma City Schools Superintendent Charles Smialek said. 'We have really a wide array of opportunities for our students, and without the funding to maintain them, that dwindles,' the superintendent said. DeWine said that he always focuses on what he thinks is the most important — which includes child welfare and education. 'In my other three budgets, and in this budget, we know going in that both [chambers] have a real interest in what that formula is and so we didn't really change much of the formula knowing that,' DeWine said. 'I think the main thing that we did, is we said, 'Look it's time that [for] schools that continue to lose students — we not be funding empty desk, that we not be funding phantom students.' Right now, some districts have guarantees that a portion of their funding will not be reduced, even if their enrollment goes down. In the governor's budget, he slowly reduces that guarantee from 100% to 90% over two years. 'We start down the road to not eliminate… But to take down the guarantee,' the governor continued. 'That's probably the most significant thing in what we have proposed to the state.' Ohio's budget is projected at $108 billion for fiscal year 2026 and $110 billion for fiscal year 2027 — $218 billion total. That is a significant amount more than the 135th G.A.'s budget, which was $191 billion. Smialek said just because the funding formula has been protected by the governor, doesn't mean it will remain. 'I'm not making any predictions on Day 1 about school funding,' House Finance Chair Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, said Tuesday. Stewart explained that DeWine's proposal has been well received by some members, but discussions will continue. It isn't totally clear if DeWine proposed any other major changes to the FSFP due to it not being accessible for journalists or the public in his 'Blue Book' proposal. We have requested additional information from the Office of Budget and Management. This also means it is also unclear whether the private school voucher system will be increasing in any additional way. In short, Huffman champions the private school voucher system. Under his watch, the state spent roughly $1 billion in public money to send kids to nonpublic schools last year. Educators like Smialek argue that funding private schools instead of public schools is unconstitutional. 'We've continued to lose ground, and we are hopeful to at least maintain the ground that we stand on right now — but being realistic, we know it's an uphill battle,' Smialek said. The House Finance Committee will hear the budget over the next few weeks before making changes and sending it to the Senate. Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on X and Facebook. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio GOP backtracks on cutting public school funding
Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman. (Photo by Morgan Trau, WEWS.) Ohio Republican leadership has backtracked on their steadfast effort to cut funding for public education. Our extensive reporting led to massive backlash for lawmakers, and numerous GOP members spoke out privately. Ohio's history with school funding isn't the brightest. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled in 1997 in DeRolph v. State that the way the state funds schools is unconstitutional, relying too much on property taxes. Throughout the next three decades, lawmakers went back and forth on policy in an attempt to fix the unconstitutionality. The Ohio Education Association, as well as lawmakers on each side of the aisle, have deemed that it has been unconstitutional since then. However, some Republicans argue that because they are no longer using the struck-down policy, and since nothing else has been deemed 'unconstitutional' in court, they argue that, by definition, it can't be considered unconstitutional. Either way, there has been a bipartisan effort for years to fix the funding system. House Bill 1, introduced by State Reps. Bride Rose Sweeney (D-Cleveland) and Jamie Callender (R-Concord), in 2021, required $333 million additional dollars a year for K-12 education funding — or about $2 billion overall. It is called the Cupp-Patterson Fair School Funding Plan (FSFP). Their bill was an amended version of policy that passed the House but not the Senate in the General Assembly prior, which was created by former Speaker Bob Cupp (R-Lima) and former state Rep. John Patterson (D-Jefferson). House Bill 1 was finally passed in the budget and signed into law. The rollout was supposed to take six years and is meant to change how public dollars are provided to K-12 schools. It would give additional support to local districts so they can rely less on property taxes. The first two years were partially fully funded, the second two years were fully funded, and there are just two years left to go. In early January, comments made by new House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) angered viewers, readers, parents and education leaders across the state. 'I don't think there is a third phase to Cupp-Patterson,' Huffman told reporters. 'As to the expectation that those things are gonna go in… I guess the clear statement I can say is I think those increases in spending are unsustainable.' The G.A. from four years ago shouldn't be able to 'bind' what the future lawmakers can do, he said. We did a follow-up story several days later, in which half a dozen GOP legislators personally reached out, vowing to protect K-12 education. Those six, and at least 15 others we have spoken to in recent weeks, say that one of their main priorities is supporting public schools. This comes as Gov. Mike DeWine would not commit to supporting the current bipartisan funding formula, saying that 'difficult choices' will need to be made. A week after that, we brought the topic back up to Huffman due to the immense backlash. He doubled down. 'If people are upset about it, they still need to address the facts,' the speaker said. 'I think the current system, especially if we did the third part of what some people are calling the plan, is really unsustainable.' He called the continuation of the current funding plan a 'fantasy.' Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District gets roughly 75% of its funding from local taxes, with the rest coming from the state's FSFP. But Board of Education member Dan Heintz said his district, and all of K-12 schools, would suffer under Huffman's plan. 'We're looking at reduced programs, we're looking at larger classrooms, we're looking at less one-on-one and small group work with our students,' Heintz said. Huffman has been adamant about slashing at least $650 million in public education spending in this General Assembly's budget. 'The implementing of the Cupp-Patterson plan that many believers say — fait accompli — that we decided four years ago, that in this budget we're going to do that, in my estimation, is a fantasy,' the speaker said on Jan. 14. Huffman explained that this year's budget is going to have significantly less money due to the federal COVID dollars drying up. And for him, public education is on the chopping block. Ohioans have called their lawmakers. Former Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill), Callender and a dozen more Republicans reached out to share they would fight for school funding. And it seems they have. This week, Huffman seemed to backtrack from his firm stance. 'School funding is a longer discussion that I think really cannot be had in earnest and detail until the governor introduces the budget,' Huffman said on Jan. 22. The Republicans went on a caucus retreat at the beginning of the G.A. During the private three-day-long trip, policy was discussed. I've confirmed with half a dozen representatives that the speaker's team gave a presentation about how the current funding formula needs to be cut due to it being 'unsustainable.' After the supporters spoke, numerous Republicans stood up to advocate for fully funding public schools, starting a larger discussion. Some of the lawmakers have been focused on public schools for years. Others haven't always been the most vocal supporters but still wanted to speak up, while others are education leaders in the state. 'I don't think we landed, because it's so enormous, on anything in particular,' Huffman said. Huffman mentioned how his colleagues expressed frustration with real estate taxes. 'Seventy percent or 75% — the number I found was actually 63% on average — are the real estate taxes that go to your local government,' the leader continued. 'No matter what happens, the taxes go up — and so we have to address that and therefore address school funding.' Although what Huffman said may technically be true, since schools fall under local government, real estate taxes mainly go to education — not township officers or child services. For example, we searched Huffman's address in Lima and found that more than 70% of his real estate taxes in 2023 went to the school system, while less than 10% went to the village/corporation. Parma City Schools Superintendent Charles Smialek is still worried about Huffman's championing of the private school vouchers. Under Huffman's watch, the state spent roughly $1 billion in public money to send kids to nonpublic schools. 'If we're gonna squeeze our public schools, what is the commensurate squeeze on the other side?' he asked. Huffman and many GOP politicians believe spending that much on EdChoice is necessary in order to have the money 'follow the child' or have the students avoid poor-performing public schools. 'This program is designed to acknowledge the unique abilities and needs of Ohio's student population and to foster an educational environment in which every student can have access to the best learning environment for them,' state Rep. Riordan McClain (R-Upper Sandusky) said in his testimony for one of his bills supporting vouchers. A parent shouldn't be forced to choose between moving to another school district for their child to go to a different school, he said. 'Ohio has made strides with the EdChoice Scholarship to provide new opportunities for financially challenged families as well as students in 'failing' districts,' he added. If you can afford to pay out of pocket for education or you make a lower amount of income and are eligible for an EdChoice scholarship, you are able to have 'educational options,' the lawmaker said. The number of students receiving EdChoice Expansion vouchers increased from 23,272 students during the 2022-2023 school year to 82,946 students during the 2023-2024 school year, according to data provided by the Ohio Department of Education & Workforce (ODEW). But the number of students enrolled in private schools during the 2023-24 school year only increased by 3,719 students, according to ODEW. 'What is the least expensive, acceptable educational product for the taxpayer?' Huffman asked rhetorically. 'If someone says they're willing to take a $7,000 scholarship voucher and go to a private school rather than going to the school that… on average in the state, it's about $15,000 — that's better for the taxpayers.' Huffman is referencing the average operating expenditures per pupil, according to the Legislative Service Commission. Many schools, like CH-UHCSD, reached out to share that their pupil numbers are much lower than that. They amount they receive is roughly $2,300. 'The state of Ohio will send about three times that, $8,400 to educate the same student at a private school,' Heintz said. But for public schools, the EdChoice program is siphoning money from them, and the voucher system doesn't have a record to show for transparency. 'You would think with the $1 billion in public investment, we'd be very concerned about what exactly that's going to,' Smialek said. 'And yet we don't have any type of report that can generate that type of information for us.' Public schools are held to higher standards than private schools, Smialek said. We questioned Huffman on the lack of transparency with that state money, in which he said schools with voucher programs already have accountability because 'lots of folks' send their kids to private schools. Heintz is furious at Huffman. He is also more than just a school board member. He teaches American history at Chardon High School — and is part of the steering committee for Vouchers Hurt Ohio, the organizing suing the state for the private school voucher system. Exactly 200 public school districts are part of the organization, according to the website. More than 130 are a part of the lawsuit. This includes Lima City School District, where Huffman is from. 'Here we have a man who five years ago voted in support of the fair school funding program and promised the future full implementation of the fair school funding program… Now he switches to the House and seems to have put on a different brain because he's all of a sudden saying 'the fair school funding program is unsustainable,'' Heintz said. 'I say back, 'Mr. Huffman is not sustainable.'' The speaker has remarked that even back when he voted on the FSFP, he didn't believe that it could require him to support it years later. 'That's often how a lot of projects go — early on it doesn't cost very [much] money — but some other governor or General Assembly will have to figure out how to pay for it,' Huffman said in early Jan. 'As it turns out, I am the other General Assembly years in the future, or possibly am, and I don't think the spending is sustainable.' Just because Huffman isn't as resolute about public school spending doesn't mean that funding is safe, but Smialek said it's a step in the right direction. 'His caucus is giving some pushback here and really putting a little bit of a speed bump in terms of some of the initial conversations,' Smialek said. Huffman referenced the governor's budget. Although lawmakers are the ones who get to pick and choose what to do with the state's funding, Gov. Mike DeWine gets a say, too. His budget comes out first, then goes to the House for review and later to the Senate. We asked DeWine in early January if he would fully fund public schools, but he was noncommittal. 'It would be unfair of me at this point to come out here and say we need to do this, this, this and this,' the governor responded. Former Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, now a U.S. Senator, jumped in, giving a more straightforward answer. 'Funding for the education of children will continue to be a huge budget priority going forward… as he's made sure of in the past,' Husted said. Still, there is a coalition of House Republicans that would be able to get the FSFP into the budget or prevent a budget from passing that doesn't have it. Callender is one of the most vocal GOP supporters of all schools. 'I have fought since my first term, when the DeRolph decision came out, for public education at our local district schools and will continue that fight as long as the voters give me the chance to,' Callender said. Only 16 out of 65 House Republicans need to join the Democrats to block a cut to funding. 'If taxpayers and community members turn up the heat on their local legislators, that heat will be felt in Columbus,' Heintz said. It clearly already has. Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on X and Facebook. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
