Stark County public schools will have to cut staff and bring more levies before voters if Ohio legislators approve proposed changes to public school funding, officials warned in a community forum Tuesday.
A panel of Stark County superintendents and school board members voiced concerns about provisions tucked into both the House and Senate versions of the budget, including changes to the overall funding formula and how much money schools can carry over each year.
A key issue, according to Plain Local Schools Superintendent Brent May, is that state legislators are taking decisions about staffing, programming and education away from school districts and their local communities.
“If there’s one thing to take away tonight, [it] is your public school district will not look the same next year, if some of these things in Columbus happen,” said Brent May, superintendent of Plain Local Schools in Canton, said at the forum. “Public education is under attack like we’ve never seen before, and the narrative that is going on in Columbus and nationwide is wrong and quite honestly, at times, it's downright embarrassing.”
The Senate’s version of the budget released last week would allocate $634 million to public schools, increasing the amount of money going to public schools compared to the House's earlier proposal.
While legislators have said most Ohio school districts will receive more funding under the Senate’s proposed biennial budget, Ohio’s largest urban school districts – including Canton City School District - stand to lose money.
Out of the other urban districts in Northeast Ohio, Canton City stands to lose the most when comparing the Senate’s proposal to how much they currently receive – about $6.6 million over the next two years, according to the legislation.
The school district receives 80% of its funding from the state, Superintendent Jeff Talbert said.
The district was prepared to not see an increase in funding - but combined with a cap in how much districts can carry over each year, the proposals stand to harm the district, he said.
“Flat would be good, if we were allowed to save money. But flat doesn't help you pay an electric bill that's going to go up 25%. Flat doesn't help you pay for computers and paper and supplies that are going up," Talbert said.
The new funding plan does not take into account the many other services Canton students rely on in school, such as food and mental health services, Talbert said.
Wraparound services would likely have to be cut, he said.
“We have food pantries so we can feed [students] on weekends. We give them access to healthcare. We provide mental health services," Talbert said. "We provide before care, and after care, and sports activities. All of those things are on the chopping block in Ohio.”
Similar cuts would have to be made at Plain Local, May said – from dozens of staff members, to after school and summer school programming, to school resource officers.
“There's going to have to be a lot of hard decisions made,” May said.
Suburban and rural districts would have to make tough choices also, officials said.
Changes to operating funds will lead to more levies, educators say
Educators raised concerns about changes to how much money schools can carry over in their budget each year. The Senate has proposed a 50% carryover cap – higher than the House’s proposed 30%.
Any district that exceeds a carryover of more than 50% of its operating budget would be required to refund that money to taxpayers, according to the proposal.
Schools often use these funds for planning purposes and unforeseen circumstances, school officials said.
Alliance City Schools would likely have to try to pass a levy if this change is approved, said Superintendent Rob Gress.
“Some of us have big carryovers, but it's because our local communities have asked us to have those, for some reason, so taking that away is taking away local control away from us,” Gress said.
Most districts in the county would be in the same situation, said Joe Chaddock, superintendent of the Stark County Educational Service Center. The majority of the 17 school districts have not had to pass operating levies for the past 26 years, he said.
“I think you’re going to see almost every one of these districts back to the ballot in the next five years," Chaddock said.
One such district is Lake Local Schools near Hartville, said Superintendent Kevin Tobin. The district just recently passed an operating levy after three previous tries.
“We stand to lose $5 million. We just passed a levy, [we] should be feeling good about where our future is – we’ll need to pass a resolution to put a levy on the ballot for November," Tobin said.
Ohio districts began ramping up their rainy-day funds during the 2012 recession after state legislators, at the time, asked them to, Chaddock added.
“So, we listened to them. Now we have a new general assembly that's saying, 'Well, now you have a rainy-day fund - we're going to take it and return it to the taxpayers. So, it’s the mixed messaging,” Chaddock said.
Buildings could close under current proposal
Additionally, the educators sounded the alarm about a provision that would force public schools to close buildings and sell them below market value to charter schools.
If buildings are under 60% capacity, schools will be forced to close them and sell them to charter schools below market rate, officials said.
Districts are already required to sell to charter schools first when closing schools, Talbert said.
“None of us want to cut grass [at] buildings we're not using. None of us want to heat buildings that we're not using. None of us want to have expenses that we don't need – and so keep the law on the books, right?" Talbert said. "Do not make bad policies because they do have consequences.”
Canton City Schools would have to close buildings, including an early college and career academy currently housed in the former Timken High School campus, school officials added.
Additionally, some buildings are used to educate students who have certain behavioral or mental challenges, and there are designated spaces to move students into when a student is having a crisis, Talbert said. Those buildings would have to close, under this proposal, he said.
Canton Mayor William Sherer II organized the forum after hearing concerns from Talbert, he said.
"The issues that we face are not Democrat or Republican issues right now. Our priority has to be future of our children in every community and every school district in this county and the state of Ohio," Sherer said at the forum.
Governor Mike DeWine has defended the proposal to force public schools to sell some buildings to charter schools. Public schools hold on to the properties instead of selling “for no other reason than to stop them, some competition. So that’s what the issue is,” DeWine said.
The state Senate is set to vote on its budget proposal Wednesday. The Senate and House will need to reconcile their different versions of the budget to be signed by Governor DeWine by the end of the month.
