The Fair School Funding Plan, which began phase-in during the last biennium budget, continues to be phased in during the next two years under the biennium budget that was just approved. This brings Ohio’s schools ? of the way to full implementation of the plan. It increases funding for public school districts by $1.54 billion over the biennium, an 11.7% increase. It also updates the base cost inputs to FY 2022. This is a win for Ohio students.
Perrysburg Schools had been capped by the state as far as how much state funding it received, so state funding was not keeping up with our rapid student population growth, which placed an incredible strain on our operations and local taxpayers. As the Fair School Funding Plan continues to be phased in, we will continue to fill in the gap, which will lessen the burden on our taxpayers. This is a win for Perrysburg students.
I wish to thank the members of the Fair School Funding Plan Workgroup as well as the many elected officials, especially State Representative Haraz Ghanbari, who took the time to listen, understand and worked hard to bring to our state a vision of what fair school funding can and should look for public as well as private school students.
As a member of the Fair School Funding Plan Workgroup, Perrysburg Schools Superintendent Thomas L. Hosler committed himself to over three years of developing a definable, defensible school funding plan. That work included constantly seeking the input of educators from across the state and refining the plan as needed to ensure that the final product was truly reflective of what it takes to successfully educate all of Ohio’s school children.
In addition to the time Mr. Hosler invested while working with this group for the past five years in countless presentations and meetings with a wide variety of stakeholders and legislators, he also devoted a great deal of time to evaluate the current research, investigate best practices, analyze state data and consider other school funding systems from around the country. He made several trips to Columbus to testify in front of House and Senate committees. The Buckeye Association of School Administrators, Ohio’s Superintendent Association, recognized Mr. Hosler in 2021 for the personal investment he made as part of the workgroup to develop the Fair School Funding Plan. Mr. Hosler’s involvement on this team was a difference-maker for our entire state and certainly Perrysburg Schools. We are very grateful to have him here serving our students and families.