EDUCATION

Ohio's public schools are in crisis, and it didn't happen by accident. The legislature passed a bipartisan plan to finally fund our schools fairly, then broke its own promise. They cut $2.75 billion from what was owed, shifted the cost onto your property taxes, and funneled over a billion dollars a year into private school vouchers with zero accountability. A judge ruled the voucher program unconstitutional. The state's response was to appeal and keep expanding it.

Meanwhile, teachers are standing in front of classrooms of 42 kids, districts are cutting jobs, and 70% of new school levies fail because homeowners can't afford another hike. Every superintendent in Allen County signed the same letter asking the state to step up. This is what happens when Columbus stops working for your community.

They passed a plan to fund our schools fairly, then broke their own promise

Ohio's legislature passed the bipartisan Fair School Funding Plan in 2021 with a six-year phase-in to finally fix the state's unconstitutional school funding system. They didn't finish the job. When the final two years came due, legislative leadership called the plan they voted alongside a "fantasy" and slashed the expected increase by $2.75 billion. They cut $351 million from what schools were promised. That wasn't belt-tightening. That was breaking a promise to every kid in Ohio.

Columbus cut school funding and sent the bill to your mailbox

Ohio dropped from 35th to 45th in the nation in state funding for K-12 education. The state share fell from 44.8% to just 33.5%, a full 11.2 points below the national average. That didn't make schools cheaper. It made your property taxes higher. Every time Columbus cuts its share, your local school board has to come back to you asking for another levy.

  • Ohio's state share of education funding: 33.5%, vs. the national average of 45%. Allen County Schools Letter, Oct 2025
  • Ohio dropped from 24th to 41st nationally in state revenue per pupil; state funding per student is $2,672 below the national average. Allen County Schools Letter
  • Ohioans paid $16.7 billion in property taxes last year, the 8th highest rate in the country. WOSU, Sept 2025

A billion dollars for private schools while your kids' school can't keep the lights on

Ohio spent $1.09 billion on private school vouchers in fiscal year 2025, nearly double what it was just two years earlier. Almost half that money went to EdChoice Expansion vouchers with almost no transparency or accountability. A judge ruled the whole program unconstitutional. Meanwhile, public schools serving 88% of Ohio's kids are operating in deficit, laying off teachers, and watching their buildings crumble.

  • Ohio spent $1.09 billion on five voucher programs in FY2025. New two-year budget allocates $2.44 billion for vouchers, more than double the 2022-23 budget. Ohio Capital Journal, Oct 2025
  • A Franklin County judge ruled Ohio's EdChoice voucher program unconstitutional in a 47-page decision. Ohio Capital Journal, June 2025
  • One study suggests the increase in voucher use has mainly been driven by students already attending private school. Ideastream, June 2025

Private schools get public money with zero public accountability

Public schools have to publish their budgets, take standardized tests, issue report cards, follow anti-discrimination laws, and accept every student who walks through the door. Private schools that take your tax dollars through EdChoice don't have to do any of that. They can turn away students based on religion, sexual orientation, or disability. They don't have to tell you how they spend your money. And they're getting double the per-pupil state funding of public schools.

  • Canton City School Board President Scott Russ: "They're not subject to any of the state testing. They're not subject to a state report card. They are not subject to public records requests." Ideastream, June 2025
  • Judge Page: "'School choice' here is made by the private school, not 'as the result of independent decisions of parents and students.'" Ohio Capital Journal, June 2025

This is what underfunding looks like in the classroom

When you underfund schools for twenty years, you don't get an abstraction. You get a teacher standing in front of 42 students in Columbus, with no aide and no supplies. You get Parma schools failing four consecutive levies because homeowners can't afford another hike. You get Elida cutting eleven jobs because the district can't cover basic operations. And 70% of new school levies are failing because the state keeps pushing its costs onto your property taxes.

  • Columbus teacher Joe Decker: "I've had classrooms from 42 to 26 kids... We're bleeding our schools dry." Ohio Capital Journal, Dec 2025
  • Elida schools cut 11 jobs as part of $1.3 million in budget cuts to exit deficit spending. Lima News, June 2025
  • 70% of new school levies fail, according to district officials. WOSU, June 2025

When 330 school districts stood up for their kids, Columbus tried to take their money

More than 330 Ohio school districts joined a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of EdChoice. The legislature's response was not to fix the problem. It was to introduce HB 671, a bill that would let the state withhold funding from any school district that dares to sue. Former Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Eric Brown called it "another attempt to intimidate and bully." If this bill had existed in the 1990s, the DeRolph case that first declared Ohio's school funding unconstitutional never would have happened.

  • HB 671 would withhold state foundation funding from any district involved in legal action challenging state funding. Statenews, Feb 2026
  • Dayton Board member Jocelyn Rhynard: "If this bill had been in law at that time, we would not have been able to address the unconstitutionality in the courts." Ohio Capital Journal, Feb 2026

Google gets a 15-year tax break. Your schools get $250,000 a year.

Google is building a $500 million data center in Allen County. They got a 15-year, 75% property tax abatement. In return, Elida schools get $250,000 a year. Deals like this are happening across Ohio, and the state has done nothing to ensure communities get a fair return. Statewide, the value of property with tax abatements went from $5.7 billion in 2004 to $26.6 billion in 2024. That is revenue that could be funding schools, but instead it is widening the gap that the legislature refuses to close.

  • Google's Lima data center: $500 million investment, 50 full-time jobs, 15-year tax abatement, $250,000/year to Elida schools. Lima News, Mar 2026
  • Value of property with tax abatements: $5.7 billion (2004) to $26.6 billion (2024), an 82.2% increase. WOSU, Sept 2025

Every superintendent in Allen County signed the same letter. That tells you something.

In October 2025, every superintendent and treasurer from all ten Allen County school districts signed a joint letter to the community. Not a political letter. Not a partisan letter. A letter from educators who said: the state has shifted the burden to you, and you deserve to know the truth. They wrote that Ohio's state share of education funding dropped from 44.8% to 33.5% while your property tax burden jumped from 49.5% to 53.1%. They asked for the state to be "partners in this solution, not bystanders watching local communities struggle."

Our kids deserve better. Join us.

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