Coalition wants the state to pick up bulk of the costs

Amendment backers need more than 400,000 voter signatures to get on the ballot.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A coalition of education groups calling for an Ohio constitutional amendment to revamp school funding says it wants to return to the days when the state picked up about two-thirds of the cost of education.
There was a time when the state's share was at 63 percent, but that has shifted over the years until local property taxes are now covering 65 percent of school district budgets, said Charles Swindler, superintendent of the Western Reserve school district and a coalition member.
Shifting that burden back to the state is one of the goals of the proposed amendment, said Jim Betts, spokesman for Campaign for Ohio's Future which is pushing the issue.
The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled four times that Ohio's current method of funding schools is unconstitutional because it doesn't provide for a thorough and efficient education for all pupils in the state.
Betts said the state has failed to address that ruling, and the grass-roots constitutional amendment approach would give a clear mandate of what the people want.
It would establish a permanent local contribution ceiling for school districts (the revenue equivalent of 20 mills of property taxes) and require the state to pick up much of the rest.
Some estimates, including one by the Ohio General Assembly, said the move would cost the state an additional 1 billion a year. Ohio is putting 10.5 billion into education annually now, with about 2.5 billion of that going directly to higher education.
Where's the source?
Although the amendment would shift most of the responsibility of paying for primary and secondary education to the state, it doesn't spell out where the state should find those funds.
That was intentional, Betts said, explaining that coalition members felt that mandating where funds should come from would become the central issue in the debate rather than concentrating on revamping the funding formula.
Finding the money will be up to the General Assembly, he said.
Getting public support for the amendment is an ongoing process.
The coalition needs to get about 403,000 signatures of registered voters on petitions calling for the issue to be put on the November ballot.
The petition-signing drive has begun, Betts added.
While shifting the financing burden, the amendment also would establish a fundamental right to a high- quality education, thereby giving the state Supreme Court the authority to enforce the amendment.
The proposal would direct the State Board of Education to conduct extensive reviews every two years to ensure that a high-quality education is being provided and require that sufficient funds be made available by the state treasurer to underwrite those costs.
It also create an Education Accountability Commission to ensure that those high quality educational opportunities are being delivered in a cost-efficient and effective manner.
Further, there would be targeted property tax relief for senior citizens and permanently disabled property owners.
gwin@vindy.com