Teachers find flaws in Ohio’s budget

COLUMBUS (AP) — Some Ohio educators and lawmakers say Gov. Ted Strickland’s new school funding formula could fall far short by underestimating the cost of paying teachers.

Some education officials say the average teacher earns about $54,200, instead of Strickland’s projected average of about $45,000, The Columbus Dispatch reported Saturday.

That 20 percent difference would create a shortfall of $993 million at current staffing levels, the equivalent of 109,000 full-time teachers. More conservative pay estimates project a deficit of several hundred million dollars.

The proposed formula relies partly on teacher salaries to determine how much funding districts will receive.

School district superintendents, treasurers and teachers said Strickland’s salary estimate does not reflect reality because it averages salaries by district.

They also criticize the formula because it considers charter schools, which sometimes have lower pay scales and which would be funded separately from the public school plan. During the last school year, all but two of the 199 districts with average teacher salaries below $35,000 were charter schools, state data show.

“If you’re going to have two formulas, then why are you crossbreeding an average salary?” said David Varda, executive director of the Ohio Association of School Business Officials.

Strickland spokeswoman Amanda Wurst says the governor believes his estimate is accurate and is open to talking more about it.

Teacher advocates suggest a better calculation would be to average all teacher salaries at the state’s traditional public schools.

They’re also concerned that the formula will not help — and might even hurt — districts that already face huge funding disparities, especially poor, rural areas, Varda said.

The Ohio Supreme Court has repeatedly declared the state’s current funding formula unconstitutional because it relies too heavily on local property taxes.

Strickland’s plan would invest an additional $925 million in local school districts over the two-year budget cycle to shift more of the financial burden to the state and away from local taxpayers.

State lawmakers have raised concerns about whether the plan, which also recommends sweeping changes in operations and curriculum, would be another unfunded mandate and whether it could hold up as unionized teachers negotiate wages.

State Superintendent Deb Delisle, who oversees the Ohio Department of Education, told lawmakers she hopes her department could help districts work with unions and find ways to save money outside of their labor contracts.