COLUMBUS -More than one-third of Ohio school districts would have their state funding frozen the next two years under the Senate version of the upcoming $51 billion state budget introduced yesterday.
The plan would provide no extra money for 215 of the state's 612 school districts next year or in 2007, according to budget documents.
The House version of the budget would freeze funding for 166 school districts. Neither the Senate nor the House version of the budget reduced funding to any districts as Gov. Bob Taft has proposed.
The Senate budget would spend $6.229 billion on schools next year and $6.343 billion in 2007, slightly more than the House in both years.
Taft must sign a balanced budget into law by July 1.
Senate Republicans wanted to offer predictability to districts in tight budget times, Senate Education Chairwoman Joy Padgett said.
Some of these numbers
school districts aren't going to be happy with anyway at the freeze level said Padgett, a Republican from Coshocton in Eastern Ohio. The fair thing to do was at least no one received less than what they received before.
The Senate education plan uses a new funding equation based on factors, like the cost of teacher salaries, services for students and maintaining buildings.
The approach was first recommended in February by a committee created by Taft to study school funding.
The budget eliminates money meant to reimburse districts with higher business costs and provides $897 million in money for poor districts.
The Senate budget also would shelve a House plan to require school districts to pool together to buy health insurance in favor of studying the concept.
Like the plans proposed by Taft, a Republican, and the GOP-controlled House, the Senate budget would cut state income taxes, reduce a temporary penny sales tax by one-half cent and create a new low business tax.
By creating a tax structure that boosts the economy
our state stands a better chance of protecting the jobs we have
said Senate Finance Chairman John Carey, a Republican from Wellston in Southeastern Ohio.
The plan also begins to phase out taxes that businesses pay on inventory, equipment, machinery and furniture. The budget would eliminate a proposed doubling of the tax on beer and wine and instead would raise cigarette taxes by 70 cents a pack, 25 cents higher than the House plan.
The budget also would eliminate a proposed 10 percent cut in state funding to villages and townships and ease 20 percent cuts to cities by reducing that decrease to 10 percent on the first $1 million in state funding.
The proposal keeps a 10 percent cut in state funding to counties.
Senate Democrats said the income tax cuts would benefit the richest Ohioans and would reduce taxes for the middle class by only a few dollars per year.
The Republican answer to Ohio's budget woes seems to be to give away money to the richest Ohioans and expect everyone else to pick up the tab
said Sen. C.J. Prentiss of Cleveland, the top-ranking Senate Democrat.
17
Archives
The Associated Press
