Growing up in Southern Ohio, I decided to survey parents, students, teachers, and administrators from my area. I asked them seven basic questions to reveal their fundamental opinions about Ohio's school funding system. The first question was their position in relation to education in Ohio. Fifty percent of participants were students, thirty percent were teachers, fourteen percent were administrators, and six percent were parents. I then asked the participants how knowledgeable they are about how Ohio's school funding works on a scale from one to five. One is not very knowledgeable, and five being extremely knowledgeable. Most parents and students fell in the one to two range, while most of the educators were in the range of three or higher. This was expected as most students do not think about this. However, this system can affect them more than they know. Which led to the next question asked, "How has funding of your school affected you as a student/educator?" There were a variety of responses, mostly negative. These responses included: teachers feeling unequipped with the proper textbooks and supplies for students, staff and budget cuts, students feeling behind better-funded schools, and overall lack of resources.
On the other hand, there were some positive responses. Students, parents, and educators mentioned: free lunch programs, laptops for students, equipment and resources for extracurricular, and new buildings/facilities for schools. This is encouraging to see some positives. Educators wrote that although these new buildings are convenient, they are not funded well enough to maintain these facilities. I asked the ones filling out the survey the first word or phrase that came to mind when they thought of Ohio school funding. Fifty percent of the responses for this question were unequal or synonyms of it. After this, the candidates were questioned what they thought the positives and areas for improvement are for Ohio's school funding system.
The respondents listed the positives were new schools, technology, and free lunch/breakfast programs. The participants mentioned how the current funding formula is broken and that it is too reliant on local property tax. They stated that Ohio must create a formula that is not so reliant on property taxes and fully fund it. One respondent wrote that Ohio could generate more revenue to use for school funding by legalizing marijuana. They used Colorado as an example and said that sixty percent of tax revenue should go to school funding. If Colorado had used their sixty percent of tax profit made, they would've had almost a billion dollars for schools over the last six years to use. This is interesting and would have consequences; however, it may be beneficial for Ohio schools. The participants also mention that funding should not be tied to the performance of schools. Last, I allowed the respondents to write any other opinions and comments at the end. They reported how the current pandemic had magnified the gap in funding between districts. Educators noted that students are not getting the same quality of education, and this is an issue. They stated that rural schools with students without internet struggle to provide them with opportunities to learn away from school. The participants wrote that this issue requires hard work and people who want the good for kids in schools across Ohio. They believe House Bill 305 is a good plan but must be appropriately funded so that the state can distribute the required money to schools.
If you have any comment or ideas comment below!
Thank You!
-Payton Shoemaker
References
Churchill, A., Aldis, C. L., Murray, J., & Manno, B. V. (2021, December 3). School funding in Ohio: Are poor districts getting a fair share? The Thomas B. Fordham Institute. https://fordhaminstitute.org/ohio/commentary/school-funding-ohio-are-poor-districts-getting-fair-share.
Editorial Board, cleveland.com and T. P. D. (2019, April 7). Worthy effort on Ohio school funding equity needs adjustments and a full and honest debate: editorial. cleveland. https://www.cleveland.com/opinion/2019/04/worthy-effort-on-ohio-school-funding-equity-needs-adjustments-and-a-full-and-honest-debate-editorial.html.\
Feng, B., Partridge, M., & Perez-Silva, R. (2019, January). Taking measure of Ohio's adequacy gap in school funding . https://aede.osu.edu/sites/aede/files/publication_files/TAKING%20MEASURE%20OF%20OHIO’S%20ADEQUACY%20GAP%20IN%20SCHOOL%20FUNDING.pdf.
Hanna, R., & Morris, B. (2014, July 11). Parallel lives, different outcomes: A twin study of
academic productivity in U.S. school districts. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED564609
John, M. (2020, October 28). Despite being unconstitutional, Ohio's school funding system lives on. How is it hurting students? WCPO. https://www.wcpo.com/news/election-2020/despite-being-unconstitutional-ohios-school-funding-system-lives-on-how-is-it-hurting-students.
Johnson, J. L., & Vesely, R. S. (2017). Equity and adequacy in Ohio school
funding. Leadership and research in education , 4, 90–105. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1160836.pdf.
Overview of school funding. Ohio Department of Education. (2020, January 16). http://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Finance-and-Funding/Overview-of-School-Funding.
Staver, A. (2020, December 3). Overhaul of Ohio's K-12 school funding setup creeps forward; here's what you need to know. The Columbus Dispatch. https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/education/2020/12/02/ohio-house-votes-education-funding-cupp-patterson-2-billion-plan/6469244002/.
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