Westshore Boards of Education Board Meeting

Saturday, May 17, 2003

Berea High School

 Exploring Current School Funding Issues

 Westshore School Boards:
Bay Village; Rocky River; Fairview Park; Lakewood; North Olmsted; Olmsted Falls;   Westlake; Strongsville; Berea/Brookpark/Middleburg Heights/parts of Olmsted Falls;

 PARTICIPANTS:

 Legislators Present:   State Senator Bob Spada

Representatives: Sally Conway Kilbane, Tom Sutton, Tom Patton and Dale Miller

 Lobbyist Present:  Barbara Shaner – OASBO (Ohio Association School Business Officers)

 State School Board Member:  Marlene Jennings

 School Board members, Superintendents, Treasurers, City officials from the Westshore area

 Newspapers:   Sun Herald

 League of Women Voters representative and residents

 SPEAKERS

 Barbara Shaner OASBO:

 State lobbyist groups for education include the Ohio School Board Association (OSBA), Buckeye School Administrators, and Ohio Association School Business Officers (OASBO)

 Recent legislation which has impacted local school budgets include:

1.      Proficiency Tests

2.      Report cards for school districts

3.      Charter Schools

4.      Senate Bill 1 gave criteria for proficiency plus the related testing

5.      Achievement tests

6.      No Child Left Behind

 De Rolf decision impact

1.      State has increased the spending

2.      No significant change to formula

 End of De Rolf Decision:

1.        The grass roots community is now responsible for identifying the education needs.

2.        The courts are not now included in defining funding rules

3.        Legislators and the courts are not now sitting in opposing positions and will hopefully find it easier to interact.

 Wealthy districts (Fairview Park is included) have been impacted by phantom revenue and student enrollment decreases.

 Even though the 2.8% funding increase has been maintained, the ADM formula change effectively reduces the amount received by all communities by changing the formula to change from enrollment (ADM) to attendance (ADA).  No one achieves 100% attendance.

 Dale Miller

 There are 611 districts.  The joint efforts of the Westshore schools provides a more influential impact than individual districts can achieve.  The leaders of the House and Senate represent agricultural communities and do not relate to urban and suburban communities.

 In the last session Brian Flannery promoted a bill to completely overhaul the state funding formula.  This bill never got out of committee.

 When asked about the recent attention, and money and priority by Kentucky to education, Representative Miller stated that we needed effective leadership to create the same priority in Ohio.

 House Bill (HB) 95 is the current budget proposal passed by the Ohio House of Representatives for the next fiscal year; this bill  reduces the Governors budget by $450 million.

 He voted against this bill. He identifies the major problems as

 1.     The pupil change in the ADM (Average Daily Membership) from enrollment which identifies the requirement for teachers, time and textbooks, and membership to ADA (Average Daily Attendance) which is never 100% of enrollment and also
2.     The elimination of professional development. expenses required to fund the No Child Left Behind requirements.  

 Current Status

 1.     Senate currently has the education budget in the Education committee.
2.     The  ADM change from enrollment to ADA attendance is expected to be eliminated.

 Representative Miller signed the Amicus Brief for the plaintiffs in the DeRolf case.

 He identified the needs of the long term view as

     1.      Overhaul of the funding system – Kentucky and Michigan school funding utilize property taxes as 15% of the school funding and Ohio utilizes 50%.

2.      Eliminate or reduce the impact of HB 920.

3.      Provide adequate provision for special needs (possibly at the cost of accountability) and

4.      Simplify the accountability system

 The enrollment vs. attendance change effectively reduces current funding even though the percentage has not changed from 2.8%, the change to attendance figures for the ADM instead of enrollment reduces the funding amount.

 Professional development was reduced by 2/3 by the state at the same time that the federal No Child Left Behind requirement mandates teaching changes.

 State funding requirements are identified as Educate, Medicate and incarcerate.

 The system needs new revenue sources.

 No structural changes outside of the student counting have been enacted.

 Governor Taft proposed a Blue Ribbon Task Force from business and education community to recommend changes to the school funding formula.

Representative Sally Conway Kilbane – State House Ways & Means Committee

 Tax reform is essential. 

       ECONOMIC GROWTH HAS BEEN LACKING  Ohio is below the national average. It is second to the last in the Midwest growth needs.

        MARGINAL TAX RATES ARE HIGHER THAN OUR NEIGHBORS   Ohio has one of the highest marginal income tax rates    (Indiana 3.4%, Michigan 4.1%, Pennsylvania 2.8%, Ohio 7.5%)

 She has recently worked on state tax studies.

 1.     It is essential for growth for Ohio to have a functioning tax system and an educated workforce.

2.      Municipal taxes need uniformity to accommodate businesses with presences in multiple communities.

3.      Property taxes can be provided protections from property tax increases.

4.      HB 920 (which eliminates any tie of revenues to inflationary cost increases) needs to be fixed. (This should be eliminated only with growth restraints.)

5.      Agricultural use property needs to be more clearly defined to eliminate abuse.

 Property tax abatements do not help economic growth. The movement of businesses from one Ohio city to another to another do not increase the state’s economic growth. The tangible personal property tax, including inventory tax, impede business growth. Specific localities now count on these taxes but the businesses are moving out.  Artificial incentives are actually an impediment to growth. 

 SOLUTION:  The tax base must be broader.  Credits, deductions, exemptions and roll back narrow the tax base and must be eliminated. Also, services must be taxed. These changes will allow the marginal tax rate to be reduced.

 Senator Spada – Vice Chair Ways & Means

 The current House funding bill (HB 95) is 2500 pages long.  The major change by the Senate will be the elimination of the ADM calculation.

 He is concerned about the roll-back of 10% for individuals and 12%   for businesses.

 Representative Patton

 The budget spending includes  37% for Medicaid, 31%  for K-12, 12% for higher education, and 8^ for the penal system.

 The first 1.8 billion in cuts were difficult but the next 1.4 billion is bloody.

 Marlene Jennings – State Board Member

 The suburban and urban communities have less state representation at the state level. 

 State funding has very limited local control.

 If the grants are reduced, there will be more funds available for all. 

 The State Board meets the 2nd Monday and Tuesday of each month.

 The Board has presented 3 resolutions to the Legislature

 1.     Comments to the U.S. Dept. of Education stating that the 1% proposed cap on the assessment of Standards is inappropriate

2.     Attempts have been made to adopt criteria for math and language arts programs

3.     The Board accepted the validity of the Blue Ribbon Task Force proposed by Governor Taft.

 The School Board works to provide a balance between the educational needs and the needs for economic growth.

 Possible actions to affect funding  - Senator Spada

 1.     Prioritize each district’s needs to representatives.

2.     Contact the Speaker of the House and the Leader of the Senate as well as local representatives who understand local problems.

 The consolidation of School Districts is being considered as a means to increase effective funding.