COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio House Republicans have announced their version of the state budget, dramatically slashing school funding after months of uncertainty.
After facing questions about school funding for months, House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) and Finance Chair Brian Stewart (R-Ashville) decided not to fully fund public schools in their proposed amendment to the H.B. 96 budget.
To be fully funded based on statistics from the Fair School Funding Plan from 2021, schools would need $666 million. The proposed budget only gives them about $226 million.
Based on 2025 numbers and inflation, the amount of money to fund K-12 would be closer to $800 million, new data from public school advocates like former lawmaker John Patterson explained.
In a press conference Tuesday, the Republican leaders gave an overview of their substitute bill. Reporters were not given the legislation beforehand, nor did we get it during the event, so questions were based on what the lawmakers said without specifics.
In seemingly a way to express enthusiasm for their cut of funding, Stewart explained that the $226 million is an increase from the amount that schools got in 2025. That is misleading, Democrats argue.
"What is being produced is likely one of the lowest state shares in our state's history... meaning that it's even less state money going into our schools than when this was deemed unconstitutional," Finance Ranking Member Bride Rose Sweeney (D-Cleveland) said.
I have been going back-and-forth with GOP leaders for months about school funding and what their priorities are.
"Why the cut?" I ask Stewart.
"Well when you see the proposal, which was 'Well just increase the inputs to FY '24,' that was the ask — it cost $1.8 billion to the taxpayer," Stewart responded. "We simply don't have it."
Some of the Democrats and Gov. Mike DeWine compromised on the cost of the FSFP, which allowed them to use stats from 2022, as mentioned before, so the $1.8 billion wasn't the number being pushed, lawmakers said.
Still, why couldn't they at least do DeWine's budget amount, Smialek had asked.
"I would ask them what exactly do they envision for the future of public education?" the superintendent told me. "Is there one?"
In January, Huffman had threatened to cut public education spending, saying the state doesn’t have the budget for it and the amount for schools they were promised this year is "unsustainable." Instead, they cut $351 million.
For a further in-depth recap of education funding, click here.
This comes as DeWine fully funded public education based on 2022 data in his version of the budget.
RELATED: DeWine tries to protect school funding after GOP proposes cuts
The GOP legislators' proposal isn't final — but it likely won't change dramatically before it passes out of the House and into the Senate next week.
Reaction
Parma City Schools is asking their community in May, yet again, to increase taxes to help support education. Superintendent Charles Smialek says this time, another levy failure could be a disaster.
"We're gonna have to ask for more money, and it's a tough sell for many of them," he said about the residents.
Schools around the state have struggled to pass levies as property taxes have risen. Parma’s have failed four times.
Now, Smialek is grappling with the potential loss of millions of dollars for their schools.
"Public education is supposed to give every kid a shot at a middle-class to an upper-middle-class life, and that's what we see continuing to trickle away," the superintendent said.
If this were to go into law, Parma would have to cut jobs, require fees to participate in extracurriculars, cut down the amount of hours in class for high school students or increase class sizes to 30 kids, the superintendent said.
"When your back is against the wall, you have to limit options," Smialek continued.
Priorities
Republicans Tuesday told me that this budget was a compromise, because Huffman wanted to cut all of the FSFP increases, arguing that money for public schools is getting out of control.
RELATED: Ohio GOP continues with plan to slash public school budget, denounces current funding as 'fantasy'
But what the state can afford is $600 million in bonds for the Cleveland Browns.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime project," Stewart said.
I’ve continually asked both Huffman and Stewart about their support of this proposal versus funding public education.
"You said that you didn't have enough money to put in that $666 million — up to $800 million," I said. "Yet we are trying to get a loan to help the Browns stadium. How do you reckon—"
"They're apples and oranges," Stewart said, cutting me off. "Let's be clear. When we issue bonds, that has nothing to do with general revenue fund spending... That's not money we're taking away from anything else."
But technically, it is. The state would be borrowing the millions and would still need to pay that money back — with interest. There is also the rhetoric that funding for public schools is "unsustainable" according to Huffman, but funding a private stadium is a better idea.
DeWine said that they are directly comparable, disagreeing with Stewart and Huffman's logic.
The governor is trying to block the provision. He wants them to use his proposal — which would raise the sports betting tax for the sports books, creating a fund for all professional sports teams to get money from in the future.
"It's going to enable us to support professional teams, minor leagues, major leagues," DeWine told me Friday. "But at the same time, not take money away from education.
Stewart, and the Browns, say that the Brook Park dome will bring in more revenue than it will cost.
To help convince lawmakers they are serious, the Browns have offered $38 million upfront as collateral for the state.
"There's enough fiscal impacts or direct tax revenues to support the investment we're asking for," Browns attorney Ted Tywang said during his pitch to lawmakers in early March.
News 5 business growth and development reporter Michelle Jarboe and I have been doing team coverage of the Browns Stadium proposal. Clickhere to learn more about what the new stadium district would encompass.
Smialek argued it shows where leadership’s priorities are — and now they need to prepare.
"It could mean immediate cuts, it could mean cuts down the road," he said. "It could mean if we're not able to pass our May levy, maybe a higher number in terms of what a November levy might look like."
But there may be some hope for schools. I asked DeWine in late March if he would veto the provision if it made its way into the final budget.
"Well, I'm hoping that they're not gonna do that," the governor replied.
House representatives are set to debate the plan over the next week.
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