Despite numerous court rulings that have declared Ohio’s public school funding system unconstitutional, the state continues to rely on a process that handicaps our students.

This system has only gotten worse now because of significant cuts in state funding. Regardless of how lawmakers want to spin it, the schools have less money to work with — even though the mission is just as important as ever.

It varies widely from district to district — and also depends on if you include the loss of federal stimulus funds as well — but Lawrence County schools lost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

We applaud our superintendents for their work to trim expenses and minimize the impact in the actual classrooms. The unions should also be commended for their willingness to make concessions and put the students first.

These types of deep cuts are always painful because it is impossible to trim this volume of money from local districts’ budgets without it either impacting the lives of the men and women who teach our children or hurting the students themselves.

The State of Ohio — and ultimately the entire nation — continues to battle a difficult economy that has left government agencies across the board struggling to maintain the same level of services.

Thankfully, it looks like Lawrence County’s school districts will be able to do that because of planning and the willingness to focus on the most important element: the students.