NEWS
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· Guest Columnist, cleveland.com
Published: Jun. 20, 2025, 5:50 a.m.
Ohio made a commitment to fairness, and it should continue that commitment to the Fair School Funding Plan, columnist John Patterson, a former state legislator, writes. Andrea Levy, Advance Local
I was first elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in 2012 determined to make a difference for the nearly 90% of Ohio children who attend public schools. As a high school history teacher, cross-country coach and Model U.N. adviser, I’ve had the privilege of serving Ohio’s students.
I also negotiated contracts that reflected both the financial constraints our school district faced and the values we hold as educators. I saw firsthand the ways that inadequate and inequitable state funding affected our students -- not just in budgets, but in opportunities.
I am one of the architects of the Fair School Funding Plan (FSFP) that would finally fix Ohio’s unconstitutional school funding system. None of the proposals presented for the next two-year state budget by Gov. Mike DeWine, the Ohio House, or Ohio Senate incorporate all the necessary components of the FSFP.
In 2015, I met state Rep. Bob Cupp, a respected former justice of the Ohio Supreme Court and former state senator, then serving as Chair of the Primary and Secondary Education Subcommittee of the House Finance Committee. We recognized that Ohio’s existing school funding formula was deeply flawed, neither fair nor efficient.
We recruited a team of people who best knew the needs of Ohio’s youth: Ohio’s educators. Our charge to the workgroup — made up of superintendents and treasurers — was to develop a formula that was justifiable, research-driven, transparent, predictable, and scalable. Their painstaking work created the Cupp-Patterson Fair School Funding Plan.
At the heart of the FSFP is a base cost formula that defines the actual cost of educating a typical student. It accounts for essential elements such as teacher and staff compensation, technology, building operations, and student support services. The plan also includes targeted funding for students with additional needs: special education, career-tech, gifted, English learners, and the economically disadvantaged.
Importantly, the FSFP also uses both property wealth and income data to determine each community’s ability to support their school district. This dual approach ensures the local share is fair and reflects true taxpayer capacity. The lower a district’s capacity, the more the state contributes, just as it should be in a system that strives for equity in funding and equality in opportunity.
Because the new formula represented a significant improvement, but additional cost, we agreed to phase it in gradually over six years starting in 2022. The phase-in was a commitment to Ohio’s students, educators, and taxpayers, that we would finally move away from a broken system.
Gov. DeWine’s budget for the next two years and the version approved by the state Senate continue the phase-in of years five and six. But they fail to update the formula’s core figures to reflect rising costs, effectively freezing the base cost inputs. This oversight will force districts onto a “guarantee,” meaning they’ll receive funding based not on need, but on outdated figures from 2021.
The House’s version goes even further, abandoning the FSFP entirely in favor of a temporary guarantee that ensures districts receive as much, or slightly more, than they received in 2025, with no connection to actual student need or capacity.
The FSFP is the most thoughtful, student-focused formula Ohio has ever had. It was adopted with broad bipartisan support and crafted by practitioners with proven expertise and a shared commitment to fairness and fiscal responsibility. All they ask is the opportunity to continue that effort, working with lawmakers to refine the formula so that it remains responsive to both the educational needs of students and the financial realities of the state.
Ohio made a commitment to fairness, and it should continue that commitment to the Fair School Funding Plan.
John Patterson, Ph.D., is a former teacher, state representative and U.S. Department of Agriculture state executive director of the Farm Service Agency.
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Late Monday night, Governor Mike DeWine signed House Bill 96—the state’s biennial budget—just minutes before the June 30 deadline. Accompanying the signing were 67 line-item vetoes, announced early this morning and detailed in his official veto message.
Several vetoes directly impact education policy and school funding. The Fair School Funding Plan (FSFP) WorkGroup is closely monitoring these provisions and appreciates Governor DeWine’s thoughtful consideration of their potential effects on Ohio’s public schools. The WorkGroup is especially thankful for the Governor’s continued support of public education and his recognition of the need for equitable, sustainable funding systems.
Key Education-Related Vetoes
Item 27 — Non-Chartered Educational Savings Account Program and Tax CreditsGovernor DeWine vetoed the creation of a new educational savings account (ESA) program for students attending nonchartered nonpublic (NCNP) schools. He cited a lack of oversight and accountability, referencing concerns such as the unregulated nature of NCNP schools and implementation barriers (e.g., the absence of standardized testing data). The veto also restores an existing tax credit for tuition paid to NCNP schools.
Item 51 — STRS and SERS Employee ContributionsThis veto blocks a provision that would have altered the required employee contributions to Ohio’s public pension systems for educators and school employees.
Item 53 — Partisan School Board ElectionsThe Governor struck down language that would have introduced partisan elections for members of the State Board of Education. He reaffirmed the importance of maintaining the Board's current nonpartisan framework.
Item 55 — County Budget Commission Authority (Partial Veto)The veto removes portions of language that would have limited the discretion of county budget commissions in matters that could have impacted school district funding allocations.
Item 63 — 40% Cash Balance CarryoverThis provision, which would have penalized districts carrying more than 40% of their operating budget in cash reserves, was vetoed. The Governor emphasized the importance of preserving local control over fiscal planning.
Item 65 — 20-Mill Floor Calculation (Fixed-Sum Levies Included)DeWine vetoed changes to how the 20-mill floor is calculated, particularly those that would have included fixed-sum levies—potentially harming school district revenues in low-wealth areas.
Item 66 — School District Property Tax Restrictions (Fixed-Sum Levy Elimination)A proposal to eliminate fixed-sum levies was vetoed in full. The Governor voiced concern that the proposal would reduce funding flexibility for districts and could lead to greater inequities.
Governor’s Call for Property Tax Reform
In conjunction with these education-related vetoes, Governor DeWine announced his intent to convene a comprehensive property tax reform working group. This body will include:
Legislators
State agency representatives
School officials
Community leaders
Tax policy experts
The Governor framed the working group as a necessary step toward building a fairer, more sustainable approach to school and local government funding.
The FSFP WorkGroup looks forward to engaging with this effort and continuing to advocate for a school funding system that meets the needs of all Ohio students.
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The FY 2026–2027 biennial budget will be introduced in early 2025, and it is essential to begin advocating for Ohio’s public schools today. By working together—school leaders, community members, and legislators—we can ensure that Ohio’s children remain the top priority in budget decisions.
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The FSFP WorkGroup provided a comprehensive update on the Fair School Funding Plan at the 2024 OSBA Capital Conference. The presentation covered the progress of the six-year phased implementation, key enhancements to funding formulas, and the significant impact the plan has had on Ohio’s public schools. Attendees gained valuable insights into the changes implemented for FY 2025, including adjustments to base costs, increased transportation funding, and expanded support for economically disadvantaged and special education students.
The session highlighted how the FSFP is transforming education funding across Ohio, fostering greater equity and innovation for students statewide.
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In FY 2024, the State of Ohio distributed less money for Economically Disadvantaged students, referred to as Disadvantaged Pupil Impact Aid (DPIA) in the current funding formula, than it did in FY 2023, despite the fact that the number of students designated as eligible for those benefits grew considerably in FY 2024.
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Ohio’s Constitution establishes a partnership between the state and local taxpayers of individual school districts for the purpose of funding our public schools. In recognition of that partnership and, in the interest of fairness, the members of the FSFP WorkGroup spent countless hours as it struggled to find the right blend of property valuations per pupil and income per pupil to constitute the fairest and most accurate possible measure of a district’s fiscal capacity to support its schools.
Under normal circumstances, we are confident its formula will be fair to the overwhelming majority of the state’s school districts and taxpayers.
Today's circumstances are not normal; witness the 25+% annual increases in property valuations that have become the norm over the past two years.
The last time Ohio experienced a similar increase occurred in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, a phenomenon that prompted the Ohio General Assembly to adopt HB920, which was designed to seriously limit the severity of unvoted property tax increases caused by extraordinary increases in property valuations. HB920 is still in effect today and has largely prevented increases in tax revenue based on property valuation increases.
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To find your district’s state share as a percentage of base cost, download this Excel file and enter an IRN. Thanks to Joran Hayes, Data Verification Analyst & Supervisor of Columbus City Schools for creating this useful tool.
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