School district leaders sound the call for fair school funding Leaders representing rural, suburban, small town, and big city school districts across Ohio are calling on the Ohio General Assembly to ensure all children can attend a public school that meets their needs and prepares them for success regardless of their ability or background. Across the state – from Medina County to Big Walnut to Cincinnati – districts have worked with community members to organize informational town halls about fair school funding in the state budget. So far, more than 230 school board members have signed on to the All in For Ohio Kids (AOK) letter asking the General Assembly to fully implement and update the Fair School Funding Plan in the 2026-27 State Budget. Ohioans, including school district superintendents and treasurers, showed up in large numbers to testify before the Senate Education Committee earlier this month, and many were forced to wait in an overflow seating room. Meanwhile, school boards across the state -- including the Mentor Board of Education in Senate Finance Chair Jerry Cirino’s district -- are passing resolutions in support of the Fair School Funding Plan. Mentor parents, students and residents rallied outside the May 13th school board meeting ahead of the resolution vote. “I introduced this resolution because the House-passed budget bill will cause a catastrophic loss of funding that will force us to make drastic cuts to staffing and programming,” said Mentor School Board Member Lauren Marchaza. “Mentor residents turned out in support because our public schools are the heart of our community.” The House-passed version of the state budget, House Bill 96, would eliminate the Fair School Funding Plan. This student-centered, adequate, predictable funding formula finally fixed Ohio’s unconstitutional school funding system by ensuring the state pays its fair share of the actual cost of educating children of all backgrounds and abilities in all districts. While the House budget shortchanges Ohio public schools by $2.75 billion, it also handcuffs their ability to raise revenue locally because of a short-sighted provision to cap districts’ carryover reserves at 30 percent. In Senate District 19, which is represented by Senate Education Committee Chair Andy Brenner, the Westerville Board of Education passed a resolution calling for fair school funding. In fact, the district opted to forgo a levy campaign this year and instead focus its advocacy efforts on the state budget. “No business model works when revenues are going down and expenses keep going up,” said Westerville City Schools Treasurer/CFO Nicole Marshall. “The cost of education is a shared responsibility between the state and the local community and we are just asking the state to do its part.” New Philadelphia City Schools would be underfunded by $8.1 million if the House budget passes. Parents and community members have called on their local lawmakers to support Fair School Funding in town hall meetings and local rallies, and in testimony at the Statehouse. The New Philadelphia Board of Education also passed a fair funding resolution. “I’m proud to serve on a school board that is taking a stand,” said School Board Member Amanda Fontana. “I urge the other school boards to do the same. And I urge our State Senators to do right by our children and pass a budget that fully and fairly funds our public schools.” Other school boards that passed resolutions include Akron Public Schools, Berea City Schools, Columbus City Schools, Jackson City Schools, New Richmond Exempted Village School District, Toledo City Schools, Xenia Community Schools, and more. (fb)

US Supreme Court blocks taxpayer-funded religious charter school A split U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday blocked a bid led by two Catholic dioceses to establish in Oklahoma the nation's first taxpayer-funded religious charter school in a major case involving religious rights in American education. With conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett recusing herself from the case, the 4-4 ruling left intact a lower court's decision that blocked the establishment of St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School. Oklahoma's top court found that the proposed school would violate the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment limits on government involvement in religion https://www.reuters.com/world/us/split-us-supreme-court-blocks-religious-charter-school-2025-05-22/ (fb)