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New State Budget Cuts K-12 Education Funds

Posted: Wednesday, March 16, 2011

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Governor Kasich’s new state budget includes overall cuts to k-12 education funding, with some caveats. ideastream’s Michelle Kanu reports school districts are still trying to figure out what this means for them.

The proposed two-year budget includes a slight increase in state dollars for k-12 education, but due to the loss of federal stimulus money, there’s a big decrease in funding overall.

Basic aid support—or the money set aside for school district operations— drops by 12 percent in 2012 and another 7 and a half percent in 2013.

School districts are still trying to figure out exactly what this means for them. The state will tell them what their share is once the legislature approves the budget. Having been forewarned, many districts have already accounted for a loss of funds.

Peter Raskind, the interim CEO of the Cleveland Schools, says he’s not surprised by the cuts, but he admits they won’t make his efforts to close the district’s looming $47 million deficit any easier.

Raskind: “Unfortunately, I do not see any way that staff reductions are not part of that puzzle. Because frankly, the lion’s share of the cost of the school district are people, salary and benefits.”

Raskind says the district will meet with the school board on March 22nd to discuss a host of other options for closing the gap including school closures and selling district buildings.

Despite the overall cut to education, Governor Kasich’s budget doubles funding for school vouchers, and lifts the cap on the number of charter schools that can operate in the state.

Additional Information

2012-2013 Proposed Budget for State of Ohio

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