|
Columbus
Dispatch...
Schools may take
$852M hit
Latest breakdown of state cuts puts Franklin County districts at $92M
By Jim Siegel, Alan Johnson and Joe Hallett
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Over the next two years, Franklin County schools would lose $74 million
in state funding through reduced state tax reimbursements, on top of
the nearly $18 million they stand to lose through changes in basic
state operating funds, according to new data released last night by the
state budget office.
Statewide, schools would lose an additional $579million in
reimbursements over two years, on top of the $273 million cut in basic
per-pupil funding - an $852 million drop in all.
The Kasich administration released its breakdown of how much schools
would lose as the governor cuts money that has ensured that they do not
lose funding based on past decisions by state leaders to eliminate
taxes on inventory and equipment, and from utility deregulation.
The hits would come hardest next year, when the state eliminates tax
reimbursements for districts that rely on the funding for less than 2
percent of their total budgets. Those with a greater reliance would see
their funding phase out by no more than 2 percent per year.
Next year also gives schools their biggest hit in state operating
funds, a result of Gov. John Kasich’s decision to not replace more than
$450 million in one-time federal stimulus money that schools are using
to operate this year.
Columbus schools, for example, stand to lose more than $26 million in
2012 from per-pupil funding and tax reimbursements. The loss in Dublin
would be $6.5million, about $7.5million in South-Western and $5.7
million in Westerville.
The voluminous two-year state budget bill unveiled yesterday is jammed
with everything from school funding and criminal-sentencing reform to
contracting out for gypsy moth eradication and changing ombudsman to
ombudsperson.
The 98,000-line bill is a big-picture blueprint for state spending from
July 1 to June 30, 2013. It must be passed by the General Assembly.
The bill includes huge changes in school funding and nearly quadruples
the number of private-school vouchers for students in the state.
In various sections, the budget bill is a hand-in-glove complement to
Senate Bill 5, the fast-moving measure that would restrict
collective-bargaining rights for public employees.
It strikes references to teacher salary schedules and says that when
boards cut teaching staffs they “shall consider the relative quality of
performance the principal factor in determining the order of
reductions.” Boards may consider seniority, “but only after considering
other factors,” namely merit and licensing achievements.
The budget language also eliminates an opportunity for a fired teacher
to seek a hearing before an impartial referee, stating instead that
school boards will hear appeals and make final decisions.
In higher education, the budget bill requires state universities to
submit plans to the Ohio Board of Regents on how undergraduate degrees
“may be completed within three academic years.” And it stipulates that
universities’ boards of trustees adopt a faculty workload policy that
requires full-time faculty members “to teach at least one additional
course from the number of courses the faculty member taught during the
prior two-year period.”
Much-debated reforms in criminal sentencing are built in, including
diverting low-level, nonviolent offenders to community programs and
doubling the amount of property loss from bad checks, cable theft and
other crimes that would result in a jail sentence.
It also would equalize the penalties for possession of crack and powder
cocaine and increase the amount of possession of various drugs that
would trigger more-severe penalties.
Many other subjects are covered, including a provision that would allow
city, county and township governments to experiment with having
employees work a modified weekly schedule that could represent 50
percent fewer hours.
Other provisions in the bill:
• Change the bidding process for public contracts.
• Allow contracting out for gypsy mother eradication services.
• Eliminate the Division of Natural Areas and Preserves and create a
new section regulating oil and gas management.
• Wipe out many existing personnel provisions governing how the state
hires and promotes employees.
• Allow the creation of “innovation” schools and ranking all schools so
the bottom 5 percent could be closed, the principal and teachers fired
or service contracted to another party.
Read it at the Columbus Dispatch
|
|
|
|
