At a recent board meeting, Elida Local Schools approved a resolution in support of the newly passed Fair School Funding Plan.
Ohio Speaker of the House, Bob Cupp announced on Thursday that House Bill 305 has been cleared and will be moving onto the senate. This bill will reform Ohio's framework for school funding. The process of allocating state funds to schools will be revised and will rely less on collecting from property taxes. For Elida, this may grant them more funding they've missed out on in the past due to their higher local tax base.
“In the past, Elida has been a cap district," Elida Local Schools treasurer Joel Parker explains. "Meaning that we have been shorted probably $5 million over the last 5 years. So, this formula, they’re trying to get rid of the caps and guarantees. But again I think we like the frame work that they’ve put together. It's a stable plan that would be less reliant on taxes and have a better balance in that state and local share, that’s a simple formula that everybody can understand.”
If passed by the Ohio Senate, the bill could then take six years or more to implement. Its funding depends on Ohio’s current budget shortfall and the economic impact of COVID-19.
