Ohio House panel adjusts funding to help school districts

COLUMBUS (AP) — An Ohio House panel is moving to hold school districts harmless in the state’s upcoming two-year budget when it comes to two streams of tax revenue.

In changes being finalized today, the House Finance Committee restored cuts to the state’s tangible personal-property tax and kilowatt-hour tax contained in Gov. John Kasich’s version of the two-year, $71.5 billion operating budget.

Kasich’s budget redirected 75 percent of the property-tax revenue to the state’s general revenue fund, causing cuts to school districts and local government funds.

House budget changes also make adjustments to Kasich’s school-funding formula in order to address concerns among lawmakers that the equation reduced funding to districts in Republican-heavy rural and suburban areas.

A provision barring unionized charter school employees from collecting state pensions was also removed.