Ohio public-school funding criticized as ‘unsustainable’ amid attendance and discipline issues

Ohio Republicans are questioning the current model of public-school funding, with House Speaker Matt Huffman describing the billion-dollar package as “unsustainable.”

“That’s often how a lot of projects go — early on it doesn’t cost very [much] money, but some other governor or General Assembly will have to figure out how to pay for it,” the Lima Republican told WEWS-TV Cleveland. 

The Cupp-Patterson Fair School Funding Plan was passed in response to a 1997 ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court that the state unconstitutionally relied too much on taxes to support schools. The six-year plan was supposed to change how public money goes to education, but shortages loom now that federal COVID-19 funds are expiring. 

“The first two years were partially fully funded, the second two years were fully funded and there are just two years left to go. But under new leadership, that may not happen,” explained Morgan Trau for WEWS. 

‘Financially difficult situation’ 

Ohio’s budget will have “significantly less money” this year as federal funding from the COVID-19 pandemic ends, according to Trau. 

“We have to look at whether these dollars are being spent wisely in some districts,” Huffman said. “We know they are in many.” 

Medina Schools Superintendent Aaron Sable defended the current system, arguing lawmakers should consider how they’re spending state funds altogether instead of singling out schools. 

“Public schools are held to a very high standard, not only financially and how we’re spending public dollars but also how our students are performing, ensuring that our teachers and administrators are licensed and background-checked,” he said. 

However, Ohio’s schools continue to request additional funding through new levies on taxpayers just to maintain current operations. 

“It’s not to build any new buildings or facilities,” Sable said of a levy narrowly passed in his district. “It was simply to maintain what we have in place. … It’s about people being in a financially difficult situation — property values drastically increasing, a lack of understanding as to why their property values are increasing and how those tax dollars are being spent.” 

Worsening student behavior, chronic absenteeism 

The Buckeye State is also struggling with an increased rate of expulsions and chronic absenteeism in public education, with lawmakers working to address these trends in recent legislation. As previously reported by The Lion, the state legislature passed House Bill 206 in December to help schools handle negative classroom behaviors. 

The bill requires schools to expel students for 180 days – about one school year – if they present “imminent and severe endangerment” such as making bomb threats, bringing weapons to schools or causing serious physical harm to other people. 

“The goal is not to deprive the child of their education, (but to) stop unintentionally readmitting every student who may still pose an imminent threat to a school full of other students and faculty,” said state Sen. Andrew Brenner, R-Delaware. 

Schools experienced a 66% increase in expulsions due to fighting during the 2023-24 academic year, according to a report by the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce. 

“School discipline cannot be separated from Ohio’s alarmingly high chronic absenteeism rates,” argued the Children’s Defense Fund in March 2024, noting “chronic absence” means missing 10% or more of school. 

A little over 25% of the state’s students were chronically absent in the last school year, down from a high of 30% in 2022, according to the report. 

Education not to be ‘determined by your home address’ 

All this is happening against a backdrop of declining public-school enrollment and increased participation in Ohio’s EdChoice program. The number of school choice students has more than doubled in three years, from 57,400 in 2022 to almost 130,000 in 2024, according to The Center Square. 

“This program is designed to acknowledge the unique abilities and needs of Ohio’s student population and to foster an educational environment in which every student can have access to the best learning environment for them,” state Rep. Riordan McClain, R-Upper Sandusky, explained in his testimony supporting school choice legislation. 

McClain noted educational options are mostly limited to two groups: families who pay out of pocket for education and families who qualify for an EdChoice scholarship based on low-income requirements. 

“For most Ohioans who fall somewhere in between those two ends of the bell curve, the only option for your child’s education is determined by your home address,” he said. 

Parents shouldn’t be forced to move to another district just to avoid poor-performing schools, McClain argues: “Ohio has made strides with the EdChoice Scholarship to provide new opportunities for financially challenged families as well as students in ‘failing’ districts.” 

Public school proponents take issue with the program, saying it’s an effort to privatize public education and prevent it from being fully funded. However, the costs of public schools have continued to increase even after receiving millions in emergency COVID-19 relief. 

“We can’t sustain the program that we offer for students with reduced funding,” said Parma City Schools Superintendent Charles Smialek. “We have to come back to our local taxpayers or we have to make cuts, and those cuts will absolutely impact our students and our families.” 

‘Students should come first’ 

The argument over reduced funding for public schools operates under a “false premise,” argues Greg Lawson, research fellow at The Buckeye Institute, a think tank that supports free-market policies. 

“District schools are funded based on actual enrollment and all locally raised dollars remain in the district even if a student leaves, so the EdChoice program does not cost school districts state money,” he wrote in a Jan. 8 policy memo. 

The institute called on the new General Assembly to keep expanding educational options. These include reforming the transportation system for public charter and private school families and easing charter school access to unused district school buildings. 

“Students should come first, whether they learn at their local district school, a charter school, or one of Ohio’s many alternative education providers,” Lawson concluded. “State leaders should take commonsense steps to secure universal school choice and resist any efforts to undermine its success.”