COLUMBUS, Ohio – Governor John Kasich and his budget chief defended their new school funding plan yesterday, with the governor calling some education officials “irresponsible” for their criticism, according to a newspaper report.
Read more: In the Columbus Dispatch
The plan factors in both residents’ income and property valuation per pupil in determining how much support each district gets from the state. According to a report in the Columbus Dispatch, that would mean the state would spend $459 million more on schools but leave about half the state’s districts with less state money after two years.
Kasich said it will take “courage” for leery legislators, including fellow Republicans, to change the existing formula.
Wealthier districts with the capacity to raise more funding locally through tax levies should do so, the governor said, and keep 100 percent of their tax money rather than coming down to the Statehouse “and fighting for nickels and dimes.”
Tim Keen, Kasich’s budget director, faced down questions from House Finance Committee members who pointed out the “winners and losers” in their regions under the plan.