Two education management ... - Ohio School Boards



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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 16, 2011

for more information, contact:

Damon Asbury Barbara Shaner

OSBA director of legislative services OASBO associate executive director

(614) 832-6663 (cell) (614) 325-9562 (cell)

dasbury@ barbara@oasbo-

Education groups clarify impact of governor’s budget proposal on schools

COLUMBUS — Two education management organizations released comments today on Gov. John Kasich’s proposed education budget for fiscal year (FY) 2012 and FY 2013. The Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA) and the Ohio Association of School Business Officials (OASBO) indicate that while some priority and programmatic details of the governor's proposal have been shared verbally with the press and in Tuesday evening’s town hall meeting, it is too early to determine the real impact of any changes on individual school districts until the bill language is available or district-by-district simulations are distributed. However, the limited information provided about the education line items, along with statements about how education would fare under the proposal, are cause for concern.

“We differ with Gov. Kasich’s portrayal of the basic aid funding for education in his proposal as an ‘increase’ in state funds,” said OSBA Director of Legislative Services Damon Asbury. “The decision not to replace federal stimulus monies, which supported the school-funding formula along with state dollars in the last state budget, results in a loss of $1.4 billion for school districts over the biennium compared to FY 2011 levels. This, along with an approximate 50% reduction in replacement dollars for the loss of the local tangible personal property (TPP) tax, puts the education cuts at more than $3.1 billion over the biennium. This results in a net loss in education funding. The $3.1 billion loss in funding dollars cannot be absorbed without major cuts to programs and staff over the next two years.”

Barbara Shaner, OASBO associate executive director, said, “While school districts had been preparing for a reduction in state aid, the realities of the proposal are alarming. Districts will be forced to shift a bigger burden for funding their education programs to local taxpayers, while the public is being told that state funding for education is increasing. Even though Gov. Kasich says stimulus funds should not have been used for operations, many districts were forced to do so to avoid drastic cuts in programming and staff.”

The groups say the results of the proposed budget could lead to massive cuts to programs for students and cuts in staffing — teachers and other staff — affecting class size, curriculum offerings and other important programs that will directly affect student outcomes. The only way for districts to avoid these negative impacts to students would be to try to overcome the losses by raising local taxes. This represents a clear shift of the burden to local taxpayers for providing education services.

OSBA and OASBO said that while they do not have district-by-district details about the proposed legislative changes aimed at helping school districts reduce costs that have been cited by the governor and his staff, it is unlikely that those methods mentioned — health care pooling, changes in procedures for reduction in force and new regional shared services — will make any substantive difference in the upcoming budget cycle. These are possible changes that may help districts over the long term.

The organizations said they would prefer that the state adopt a balanced approach to solving the current budget crisis rather than relying on cuts alone. Some cuts are expected for education and the groups are concerned about the implications that education would be spared cuts in funding. It will make it particularly difficult for those districts that will be on the ballot this year.

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OSBA leads the way to educational excellence by serving Ohio’s public school board members and the diverse districts they represent through superior service and creative solutions.

Founded in 1936, OASBO is a not-for-profit, professional association serving the continuing education and legislative needs of public school district treasurers/CFOs, business managers, transportation directors, food and nutrition directors and district support staff. With headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, OASBO has four statewide chapters and twelve chapters across five regions, serving over 1,100 members statewide. For more information, visit our website at oasbo-.

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