OH Budget & School Funding - House votes Wed. April 13! HELP!

[BillORightsMan]

From the "If you can do good you should" files...

On Wednesday, April 13 2005 the Ohio House will vote on their version of the biennium budget. Governor Taft's budget threatens to reduce funds to support school systems. Nearly all of our school districts have faced ballot issues to help fund the school systems. Part of the reason for this is that the state funding formula has no mechanism for inflation adjustment. This was done as part of H.B. 920 as adopted in a 1980 Ohio constitutional amendment. That is, as real property value increases over time, your millage for schools will not use current property values but the value of the property when the levy first passed. This creates a "phantom" revenue that can never be realized: The state uses current property value to determine the amount each district gets whereas your local portion is frozen in time.

Given our state's current economic circumstances, our education community cannot expect a final solution to school funding in the new budget, but the legislature can and should provide inflationary increases in both local government funding and K-12 funding, avoid further unfunded mandates, address "phantom revenue", and include dollar-for-dollar replacement revenue in any tax reform proposal where any local revenue source is reduced or eliminated. If local government funding is cut and school district funding is held relatively level or reduced - as projected in Governor Taft's budget proposal - cities and school districts will be competing for local revenues at a time when voter resistance is growing daily.

Local governments depend upon quality schools and lifelong learning opportunities to help attract and retain businesses and responsible residents. Residents depend upon quality schools and quality local services to ensure growing property value and an acceptable quality of life. Both schools and local governments depend upon state financial assistance to help maintain acceptable levels of services and quality of life for their communities. Loss of that support would place greater financial burdens on individual taxpayers and threaten the financial stability of communities and schools throughout Ohio.

Learn more about Legislators Advocating Sensible Education Reform (LASER)
http://tinyurl.com/6ou3g

****CALL TO ACTION****

We need to flood Governor Taft, House Speaker Jon Husted and Senate President Bill Harris with MAILED letters immediately, letting them know we want fair and equitable funding for our school districts as proposed by LASER. The Ohio House will vote on the new budget on Wednesday April 13th and then will go to the Ohio Senate, so we need this to be done right away. Mailed letters are much more effective than email!

Governor Bob Taft
77 South High Street, 30th floor
Columbus, OH 43215

Speaker Jon Husted
77 South High Street, 14th floor
Columbus, OH 43215

Senate President Bill Harris
The Ohio Senate Statehouse
Columbus, OH 43215

Also, mail a copy of your letter to your State Senator
http://www.senate.state.oh.us/senators/
and State Representative
http://www.house.state.oh.us/jsps/Representatives.jsp

THEN FORWARD THIS EMAIL to friends, family, and coworkers who live in Ohio and encourage them to write their own letters, too! We don't have much time to act. Your help is needed immediately!

In Wickliffe we are organizing a bus trip to Columbus on Tuesday April 12th. There will be a small cost to cover the bus rental. Details to follow. If you can, organize your own bus trip in your district. We are scheduled to arrive in Columbus around 10 AM and State Senator Tim Grendell will be meeting us there. Please send me a message via this forum if you'd like to participate or need help with your own bus trip.

Thank you in advance for your help.

-BillORightsMan in Wickliffe OH
billorightman at sbcglobal dot net


~~~~ s a m p l e l e t t e r s ~~~~
Go ahead and mix-n-match. Add some local flavor if you can.

Dear Representative/Senator/Governor,

I am aware of the financial problems facing our state and the tough decisions you and your colleagues will be making in the very near future. Crafting the next biennium budget will be a monumental task. Having said that, I want you to know that I am a strong supporter of public schools and they a facing a significant challenge to keep from falling apart . I am writing to you today to ask for your help in supporting our public schools. I care deeply about our public schools and they need the state's financial help now. I ask you to make public schools a priority in the upcoming budget.


Dear Representative/Senator/Governor,

I realize the difficult financial times we are experiencing in our state. I also see the devastating effect the lack of public school finding is having across the state. As a suburban resident, I completely support the funding of rural and urban districts, as well. But, I do not like the lack of funding for our suburban districts. The current funding formula needs serious revisions. I strongly encourage you to support the recommendations of the L.A.S.E.R. group. Please make public school funding your priority in the next biennium budget.


Dear Representative/Senator/Governor,

Our public schools need your help now! I know you have a tough job, but we definitely need some changes in the current funding formula to take the burden off the property owner. I have seen some proposals for change that appear to show promise. The L.A.S.E.R. proposals are solid and will help. Please consider all options and angles to help our public schools. I am witnessing our very accomplished and proud public schools fall apart and our community being divided over property tax levies. You can help to save our public school and communities by supporting the L.A.S.E.R. proposals. Thank you for your time.


Dear Representative/Senator/Governor,

I am writing you today to ask for your help in supporting our public schools. Ohio's public schools are in a state of emergency and need financial help now. I ask you to join other legislators to support to our public schools in the biennium budget. I ask that you seek long-term solutions to the funding problems our schools now face. Phantom Revenue, House Bill 920, unfunded mandates, legislation that takes monies away from public schools (unlimited charter schools, elimination of personal tangible property taxes, etc.) will only deepen the wound. Please make fair and equitable public school funding your number one priority. Thank you for your help.


Dear Representative/Senator/Governor,

Ohio is experiencing serious financial problems, which will make your job in developing a new two-year budget even more difficult.

I ask that you make K-12 education your priority as you conclude your budget deliberations. Many of your colleagues are fighting hard to retain the cost-of-doing-business factor and to generate more local revenue growth by providing some solutions for phantom revenue and H.B. 920. While these improvements will not be a complete long-term solution, they certainly will be significant and important which can be addressed right now in this budget.

Please keep me informed on how we can build support in the Ohio General Assembly for these and other constructive improvements for school funding.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HINT HINT: Whenever you hear the word "reform" it usually means "CUTS". So, I encourage you to use these synonyms whenever possible:
Synonyms for "reform" = ameliorate, amend, better, clean up, convert, correct, cure, amend, go straight, improve, make amends, make over, mend, rearrange, rebuild, reclaim, reconstitute, reconstruct, rectify, redeem, refashion, regenerate, rehabilitate, remake, remedy, remodel, renew, renovate, reorganize, repair, resolve, restore, revise, revive, revolutionize, rework, shape up, standardize, swear off, transform, uplift

[liberal N proud]

1. So many Ohio schools have already had to cut extra curricular activities

or go to a pay to play system
I am not just talking sports either. Band, Music, Art and other clubs have all been cut.
They expect these kids to go into the class room sit for 7-1/2 hours a day on broken down desks in rooms with poor heat, leaky roofs with 50+ kids in a room (due to cutbacks on teachers).
All they do now is repetitive worksheets, day-in, day-out.
That is unless you happen to live in one of the wealthy, younger communities where the school bonds all get passed with out opposition.

[KaliTracy]

2. our "wealthy" community (Lakota in West Chester) has failed 4 levies

the last by 5 votes -- for some it's a matter of accountability-- they want their dollars better spent, for others, it's just too expensive (this last one would have increased taxes $500 on a house of $200,000 (not that I have a house that's worth that much, but my taxes for this district are almost $3,000 a year). So -- they cut Bus service and they are cutting Music programs... NOT administrators or anything "back of the house" (of course)

on edit: I need to say that Lakota district is one of the largest in the state (in the top 10) and that the socio-econonmic base is all over the place -- it's not just one type of neighborhood -- it's extremely varied. A lot of older people (no more children or never had children) live in the district, too.

[BillORightsMan]

3. Donor and Reciever districts

At the meeting I attended on Monday at our high school, one of the speakers explained the concept of Donor and Reciever districts. That is, the wealthier districts get less funding from the state and the poorer districts get more funding - what he termed "The Robinhood Effect". All speakers pretty much agreed that I-70 is a kind of demarcation line for this: those south of I-70 tend to be Reciever districts, those north of I-70 tend to be Donor Districts.

A woman who taught for two years in southern Ohio explained to us that these districts haven't had a tax levy in years! They're happy to get $$$ from the donor districts! So the people they elect to Columbus are always going to be against any re-apportionment for state funds.

Here in Wickliffe, we've cut back bussing, after having 3-4 levies fail in the last two years. At my kid's elementary school, the office staff told me we will lose 5-7 teachers (increasing class size to as high as 35), no school-provided lunches, limited or eliminated art & music and more cuts. All this in the face of Taft's budget proposal to roll back the corporate franchise tax and tangible personal property tax!

Please write the house & senate leaders, the governor and your reps and senators immediately!

[Kolesar]

4. The Kirtland superintendent was complaining about charter schools

Charter schools get $424 Million of the state's education dollars. I think the state education budget is around $5 Billion, so what is that? 9%?
Welcome to the underground, BillORightsMan :hi:

[AndrewCMc78]

5. I agree

I'm an alumni of Monroe Central High School, Switzerland of Ohio School District, Monroe County. Here, kids literally go to school in 2 portable trailers in the parking lot of Swiss Hills Carrer Center, text books are ancient, and there are several more complaints I could make but would only be believed by people who went there or saw the "school." Worst part is....they haven't passes a levy since 1999, and that was a renewal of an operating levy. This is important and I have just sent e-mails to everyone on that list including our state rep and senator.

[cmd]

6. Welcome to DU, Andrew

I'm familiar with Switzerland of Ohio and the problems your home district has faced over the years. You speak the truth. It's good to have you aboard.