Policy Matters marks Tax Day with K-12 funding report
Posted April 18, 2023 in Press Releases
Policy Matters Ohio today released a report describing how the state funds public K-12 education, the state’s legacy of unconstitutional funding, the role private school vouchers play in harming public schools, and how good-faith adherence to the letter and spirit of the Fair School Funding Plan (FSFP) will provide districts with more resources to prepare Ohio’s children to succeed.
“Tax Day is a perfect time to remind Ohioans that great public schools benefit all of us. They nurture our future caretakers, workforce, neighbors and electorate. We all have a stake in their success,” said report co-author Tanisha Pruitt, PhD, State Policy Fellow. “But Ohio leaders have underfunded public schools and other essential public services for years, and our children, families and communities are suffering from lawmakers’ unconscionable, decades-long devotion to tax cuts for the wealthy that offer little or no benefit to the rest of us.”
The report describes key investments proposed by Gov. DeWine in his executive budget and will serve as the basis for continued analysis as the FY 2024-25 state budget moves through the legislature. Notable changes in the recently-released House version of the state budget include increased income eligibility for vouchers — which use public money to pay private school tuition; increased per-pupil funding; updated base-cost estimates; and the elimination of a line item that would have paid to place armed police in every school.
“Ohio has sufficient revenue to ensure every child attends a great public school, so long as legislators make our kids a priority,” said Pruitt. “We have the money to fully commit to the FSFP today. Ohioans must come together to demand lawmakers live up to the promise of the FSFP in the next biennium and beyond.”