School Tax Levies Coming Soon To You, Thanks To Republicans

[Rick Rowlands]

This is great news!  School funding should be handled at the local level.  Now if only the Dept. of Education could be abolished we would well on our way of reforming the public school system.

[Dan Moadus]

Well, we won't see any property tax increases unless we approve them.

[irishbobcat]

From today's Columbus Dispatch.....


Republican legislative leaders say school districts would be wise to plan for cuts in state aid of 15 percent or more in the coming budget.

Sen. Tom Niehaus, a New Richmond Republican expected to be the next Senate president, said last week that there will be a projected shortfall of $6 billion to $8billion in the next state budget and that he is confident the GOP majority will keep its promise to not raise taxes - meaning that deep cuts will be necessary to balance the budget.

Asked if some district officials preparing financial forecasts and deciding whether to put levies on the ballot were correct to assume a 15 to 20 percent cut in state aid, Niehaus said that's what he would plan for if he were in their shoes.

State aid to primary and secondary schools accounts for 30 percent of the state budget, making it the second-largest taxpayer expense next to Medicaid. Gov.-elect John Kasich must submit his two-year budget proposal to the General Assembly by March 15, leaving schools in limbo about what can be a big portion of their district budget.

State aid, on average, makes up about half of education funding, although how much individual districts receive varies greatly.

Thank you John Kasich and all your neo-con supporters for these possible cuts and thus higher local property taxes via local school levies!