The state share of funding for local schools could decrease under the proposed biennial budget put forward by Governor John Kasich.
However, local school officials have said they aren’t too concerned with the impact these variances will have on their ability to operate.
Under the budget proposed by Kasich, the estimated change in the state’s share of funding for Lawrence County schools between 2017 and 2018 would decrease by -0.2 percent for Chesapeake Union, -2.3 percent for Dawson-Bryant, -1.7 percent for Fairland Local, -1 percent for Ironton City, -19.4 percent for Rock Hill and -5.2 percent for Symmes Valley.
The only district that will see an increase in the estimated state share is South Point, going up by 0.2 percent for the district.
In neighboring Scioto County, Green Local School District would lose -2.2 percent and Wheelersburg -0.6 percent.
Collins Career Technical Center would also see a reduction, with the estimated state share decreasing by -1.4 percent from 2017 to 2018.
However, despite these numbers, final core aid actually increases for some districts while remaining flat for others. CCTC, for example, has an estimated increase of 3 percent in their final core aid from 2017 to 2018, despite the fall in state share of funding. From 2018 to 2019 the final core aid is expected to drop again, by 0.5 percent, but is expected to still remain higher than current levels.
In dollars, this amounts to an increase of $164,919 from 2017 to 2018 followed by a loss of $31,355; from a total of $5,741,517 in estimated core aid in 2018 to $5,710,162 in 2019. Estimated core aid for 2017 totals to $5,576,598. So while the estimated 2019 numbers are down from 2018, they are still higher than the estimated funding for 2017.
Stephen Dodgion, Superintendent of Collins Career Technical Center, characterized the state budge as a “shell game”.
“We’re on a cap anyway,” Dodgion said. “We’re not getting paid for all of our kids as it is.”
That cap theoretically could have gone up by as much as 7.5 percent, but under Kasich’s proposed budget that cap can’t go higher than 5 percent.
“It’s a shell game,” Dodgion explained. “The figures that you see aren’t always what you get.”
Dawson-Bryant Local School District treasurer Bradley Miller said that he wasn’t too concerned about the changes either.
“I don’t get too excited, or too upset over the governor’s initial budget proposal,” Miller said. “I found out years ago, it’s just an initial proposal and it will be vetted by the legislature. They’ll go back and forth. There will be two or three versions of it, and we probably really won’t know where we are going to stand until the end of June, early July. So I try not to get too excited, whether we got more money in the initial budget or got cut in the initial budget.”
He explained that if there were huge cuts as a result of this, there isn’t a lot most districts could cut other than staff, because of their fixed costs that don’t change with changes in student population. Things like heating, cooling and maintaining buildings and the number of bus routes that have to be run, among others.
However, if school treasurers aren’t prepared to absorb small changes such as those suggested in the initial budget, he said, they “aren’t doing their job very well.”
According to figures from the Ohio Office of Budget and Management, Dawson-Bryant lost 108 students between 2011 and 2016, for a total population change of -9.2 percent. Their estimated 2017 admission is 1,027 students. While state shares for 2017 totaled 80.6 percent, the estimated 2018 and 2019 state shares are expected to be 78.3 percent of their budget, for a change of -2.3 percent. In real numbers, core aid is expected to drop from $10,593,421 in 2017 to $10,449,280 in 2018, a total loss of  $144,141. It will then go back up slightly to $10,481,647 in 2019, a 0.3 percent or $32,336 increase over 2018. Final core aid and state aid totals are the same for Dawson-Bryant, with no transitional aid applied to the district.
Fairland Local lost 114 students between 2011 and 2016, for a total population change of -6.4 percent. Their estimated 2017 admission is 1,649 students. While state shares for 2017 totaled 54.8 percent, the estimated 2018 and 2019 state shares are expected to be 53.1 percent of their budget, for a change of -1.7 percent. In real numbers, core aid is expected to drop from $8,320,971 in 2017 to $8,204,381 in 2018 and to stay steady in 2019. State share of the $8,204,381 for 2018 is estimated at $7,411,340 and at $7,417,295 for 2019.
Ironton city schools lost 18 students between 2011 and 2016, for a total population change of -1.2 percent. Their estimated 2017 admission is 1,423 students. While state shares for 2017 totaled 64.5 percent of Ironton’s budget, the estimated 2018 and 2019 state shares are expected to be 63.6 percent, for a change of -1 percent, according to the state’s calculations. In real numbers, core aid is expected to drop from $10,007,936 in 2017 to $10,006,594 in 2018, with $9,976,234 from state aid and the remaining $30,359 coming from transitional aid, and to jump back up to $10,025,181 in 2019, a 0.2 percent increase over 2018.
Rock Hill lost 107 students between 2011 and 2016, for a total population change of -6.5 percent. Their estimated 2017 admission is 1,536 students. While state shares for 2017 totaled 62 percent, the estimated 2018 and 2019 state shares are expected to be 42.6 percent of their budget, for a change of -19.4 percent. In real numbers, core aid is expected to drop from $12,227,079 in 2017 to $12,025,014 in 2018 and to remain steady in 2019. State shares are actually much lower, at $7,714,293 in 2018 and $7,561,286 in 2019, with the additional $4,310,721 and $4,463,728 made up with transitional aid.
Symmes Valley lost 77 students between 2011 and 2016, for a total population change of -9.8 percent. Their estimated 2017 admission is 691 students. While state shares for 2017 totaled 75.1 percent, the estimated 2018 and 2019 state shares are expected to be 69.6 percent of their budget, for a change of -5.2 percent. In real numbers, core aid is expected to drop from $7,620,810 in 2017 to $7,337,336 in 2018, a change of -3.7 percent, and to grow to $7,362,067 in 2019, a 0.3 percent increase over 2018. This means that the school will lose $283,474 from 2017 to 2018, and get back $24,731 for 2019
South Point is the one Lawrence County school gaining funds. The school lost 132 students between 2011 and 2016, for a total population change of 6.4 percent. Their estimated 2017 admission is 1,913 students. While state shares for 2017 totaled 64.6 percent, the estimated 2018 and 2019 state shares are expected to be 64.8 percent of their budget, for a change of 0.2 percent. In real numbers, core aid is expected to grow from $12,522,029 in 2017 to $12,604,861 in 2018 and to $12,626,127 in 2019, a 0.2 percent increase over 2018.
In Scioto County, Green school district gained 16 students between 2011 and 2016, for a total population change of +2.5 percent. Their estimated 2017 admission is 656 students. While state shares for 2017 totaled 58.7 percent, the estimated 2018 and 2019 state shares are expected to be 56.5 percent of their budget, for a change of -2.2 percent. In real numbers, core aid is expected to drop from $4,673,139 in 2017 to $4,672,242 in 2018 and to remain steady in 2019. State percentage continue to shrink through that time though, with state contributions dropping from $4,533,845 in 2018 to $4,502,306 in 2019, and transitional aid for the same period growing from $138,397 to $169,935 to maintain the core aid levels.
Wheelersburg lost 18 students between 2011 and 2016, for a total population change of -1.3 percent. Their estimated 2017 admission is 1,384 students. While state shares for 2017 totaled 56.9 percent, the estimated 2018 and 2019 state shares are expected to be 56.3 percent of their budget, for a change of -0.6 percent. In real numbers, core aid is expected to drop from $7,237,645 in 2017 to $7,237,164 in 2018 and 2019. Like with the others, transitional aid will increase to make up for lost state contributions, with Wheelersburg’s expected transitional aid growing from $62,219 in 2018 to $71,125 in 2019, while state contributions fall from $7,174,945 to $7,166,038 over the same period.
Kasich’s figures were based on actual student population losses from 2011 through 2016, and estimated changes in school admission rates through 2019. Any districts with a population loss of more than 5 percent will see cuts, while those that have remained steady or lost less than 5 percent of their student population should receive the same amount of guaranteed funding that they received in the last budget. No district will see a budget shift up or down of more than 5 percent however.
The budget spends a combined $16.3 billion on K-12 education over two years, according to figures provided by the Associated Press, up by a total of $200 million over the current budget, despite the various cuts that will hit local schools.
For more information you can visit the Office of Budget and Management online at obm.ohio.gov/Budget/operating/fy18-19.aspx.