Ohio school districts tired of losing state money are preparing federal lawsuit
After years of being denied millions of dollars as a result of arbitrary state funding caps, some school districts are preparing to take legal action if lawmakers don’t address the shortfall.
“I am sorry to inform you that, if the legislature does not address the gain caps in this biennium budget, a group of districts will be filing a federal lawsuit,” Delaware City Schools Superintendent Paul Craft told the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday.
Craft was among a handful of district officials to testify, including those from Olentangy, Whitehall, Pickerington and Licking Heights, all of whom are getting significantly less state funding than the current formula says they should receive.
The school-funding plan that passed the House as part of the two-year state operating budget does not address the funding caps. Instead, following Gov. Mike DeWine’s lead, the plan essentially leaves current funding in place with an extra $675 million over two years to districts based on student poverty concentrations. The funding is designed to support social and emotional services, such as counseling and after-school programs.
Read more: https://www.dispatch.com/news/20190529/ohio-school-districts-tired-of-losing-state-money-are-preparing-federal-lawsuit
(Columbus Dispatch)