Title
To Support the Inclusion of the Fair School Funding Plan in the State of Ohio’s 2022-2023 Biennial Budget
Body
WHEREAS, Columbus City Council recognizes the important role that an effective education plays in preparing all students to be successful adults, enhancing the vibrancy of neighborhoods, and supporting the economic vitality of Columbus; and
WHEREAS, Columbus City School District was established in 1845 and is Ohio’s largest school district, serving the needs of more than 51,000 students in 109 schools; and
WHEREAS, the Ohio Supreme Court has ruled four times that Ohio’s education funding system is unconstitutional because it does not calculate student need and forces local taxpayers to pick up too much of the cost, resulting in the State of Ohio failing to live up to its obligation to the students of Columbus City School District and other local districts to provide the necessary resources for a high-quality education; and
WHEREAS, the bipartisan Fair School Funding Plan contained in the House-passed version of the biennial budget bill (H.B. 110) represents nearly four years of work and decades of struggle to address the State of Ohio’s failure to adequately fund a high-quality education as identified by the Ohio Supreme Court; and
WHEREAS, the Fair School Funding Plan would fairly calculate the elements of a high-quality education for all Columbus City School District students and commit the state to picking up a greater share of that cost; and
WHEREAS, the Fair School Funding Plan would provide as much as $1.8 billion in additional state revenue to support the education of Ohio’s school children, reducing the burden that has been placed upon local property taxpayers to fund schools in Ohio over the last 30 years; and
WHEREAS, it is the statutory duty of the Columbus City Council to promote the general welfare of Columbus and its taxpayers, students, parents, and other patrons of the Columbus City School District and its residents who attend other local school districts; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS: That this Council does hereby strongly encourage the Conference Committee on H.B. 110 to restore the bipartisan Fair School Funding Plan to H.B. 110, the State of Ohio’s 2022-2023 biennial budget.