School Funding

Half of Ohio's school districts are sparring with a Republican state lawmaker who’s proposed a bill to withhold state funding from them if they sue the state over that funding.

A bill introduced in the Ohio House would allow the state to claw back the money it sends to a public school district if that district sues over its state funding.

Columbus City Schools' Superintendent Angela Chapman said the cuts will save the district more than $7 million. Some of the positions were already empty.

In the long and emotional meeting, board members made more than $50 million in cuts, despite shooting down two different plans to reduce busing for high school students.

School closures, major staff reductions and discontinuing busing for certain students are among the items board members will consider at the Tuesday evening meeting at the district's South High Street office.

At times when school levies and property tax relief are hot-button political issues, a persistent myth about Ohio Lottery profits and education tends to resurface. One listener asked WOSU’s "Curious Cbus," “Wasn’t the state lottery supposed to replace property taxes as a method of school financing?”

The Republican who heads the Ohio Senate’s Education committee has a plan that he says will solve the over-reliance on local property taxes to pay for education.

On Thursday, a Columbus City Schools committee discussed closing four schools, as well as ending transportation for high schoolers at lottery schools.

Columbus spends about 6% of its $1.8 billion budget on transportation. At a committee meeting on Thursday, the school board recommended eliminating the requirement to transport students in grades 9 through 12.

The group has until the end of next month to come up with recommendations to help struggling homeowners and farmers in Ohio, while still funding local services such as schools, police and libraries.