Politics & Government

Gov. Kasich Proposes Increasing School Funding, Lessening Mandates

The governor's plan also includes funds for a special grant, designed to encourage schools to try new approaches to increasing achievement and decreasing cost.

Gov. John Kasich on Thursday unveiled his school funding reform plan, “Achievement Everywhere,” which aims to distribute funds fairly to districts and give principals more autonomy.

The plan will be part of the governor’s overall 2014-2015 budget proposal, which is expected to be released next week. Thursday’s proposal includes $1.2 billion in new money for schools during the next two years. 

Kasich told reporters on a conference call Thursday afternoon that the additional money is possible because the state has cut costs in other areas and brought in new jobs, which increases the state’s overall revenue. He said his plan would be fully funded from the start, rather than phased in over time.

Find out what's happening in Mayfield-Hillcrestwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Ohio’s school funding formula, which is based on property taxes, was repeatedly ruled unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court. Former Gov. Ted Strickland proposed a plan to address this, as well, but it was not fully funded when passed.

Kasich’s plan would create a base funding level for all but the wealthiest districts, based on a per-student property tax base. Kasich said he wanted to empower principals and make sure that money was spent in the classroom whenever possible. According to a fact sheet on the governor’s website, this could mean districts would get more money to educate students with special education needs, English language learners and children whose families live in poverty. 

Find out what's happening in Mayfield-Hillcrestwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The proposal also includes plans for a grant program, the “Straight A Fund,” designed to encourage districts to try new approaches to increase student achievement and lessen costs. The proposal also mentions that some mandates could be waived at the district level, but does not clarify which mandates that would be.

The Plain Dealer reports that while specific funding details won’t be available until next week, no districts would lose money during the next two years under this proposal. Check out this article for a closer look at how state money would be distributed to districts under this proposal.  

The Columbus Dispatch outlines a portion of the governor’s plan not mentioned in the fact sheet—an expansion of the state’s voucher program aimed at students entering kindergarten. In the conference call, Kasich said this moved the voucher program from focusing on failing schools to focusing on helping families with low income. 

For more:


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Mayfield-Hillcrest