Journal-News.com

BUTLER COUNTY — A proposed constitutional amendment concerning school funding in Ohio has mixed support locally.

"A majority of people in Butler County support changes to Ohio's school funding system that would reduce the number of new local property taxes," Ross Superintendent Todd Yohey said.

"I think the amendment addresses many of the concerns that I hear from people who are tired of the continuous school levy cycle in Ohio."

Yohey, along with several other Butler County educators, recently met with supporters of the Getting It Right for Ohio's Future campaign to share results from the House Bill 920 survey conducted last year.

The coalition includes a number of agencies and organizations that want to improve educational opportunities for all students by "fixing" the school funding system in Ohio, a system that has been found unconstitutional, not once, but three times by the Ohio Supreme Court, Yohey said.

The amendment addresses five major issues, Yohey said:

• It realistically calculates the cost of a high quality education for every child regardless of where they live in Ohio and requires the state to pay more of that cost.

• It creates accountability for public reporting to make sure that Ohioans are getting results for their investment.

• It will reduce the number of new local property tax levies.

• It provides tax relief for senior citizen and disabled homeowners.

• It protects state funding for school facilities, local government, and higher education.

To get the amendment on the November ballot, 402,276 signatures are needed before August. Twelve education organizations including the Ohio School Boards Association have asked school districts to get one signature for each student they have enrolled.

Responses have been diverse, said Scott Ebright, spokesman for the Ohio School Boards Association

"It is a complicated issue," Ebright said. "Let's get enough signatures to put the amendment on the ballot and then let the voters decide."

"We would welcome a new funding formula that provides adequate financial resources for all school districts," said Bob Hancock, Hamilton City Schools treasurer. "It would be my hope that a new funding formula would also provide a consistent and predictable revenue stream that fully funds all educational needs and provides for inflationary increases."

Fairfield resident and Fairfield City Schools board member Arnold Engel said he believes "there is absolutely nothing in this amendment to financially benefit the Ohio taxpayer.

"It will actually cost every taxpayer more," he said. "Our taxes will go up. It is nothing but a grab for taxpayer money with no accountability for delivering a better education to our children."

The amendment calls for an exemption of the first $40,000 of market value on homes of senior citizens, Engel said.

"This clause is an underhanded bait-and-switch tactic," he said. "This may initially appeal to seniors. However, the $40,000 exemption will provide little to no relief to our seniors, as our schools are not limited to how much they can levy in the form of new property taxes."

Engel said he originally thought the amendment would roll property taxes back to 20 mills.

"The director of the OSBA, Rick Lewis, confirmed that this is not true. There appears to be a provision to gradually roll back the millage to 20 mills," Engel said. "However, this is not a requirement and districts will still be allowed to levy taxes above 20 mills."

More money does not equate to a better education for our kids, Engel said.

"The road to a better education for our children is paved with accountability not money.'"

Should the amendment pass, it will mean that more money will come from the state, Engel said.

"But the state has no money so they will have to tax somewhere," he said. "At least now we have a chance to say no, but if it comes from the state, we will not have a choice."

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2158 or lebbing@coxohio.com.