Ohio House of Representatives District 49

Our public school system is the foundation for our future. Despite the state’s constitutional obligation to fund a thorough and efficient system of education, we still have in place an unconstitutional process that unfairly places an overwhelming burden on property owners. Under the current system, gross inadequacies exist in districts of lower financial means, and the legislature’s answer has been to completely ignore four Supreme Court decisions, and cut funding in both the 2004 and 2005 fiscal year budgets. The state must set a foundation level that covers the costs of providing a high quality education for all Ohio students, not just those in high-capacity districts. The commission of a detailed cost analysis to determine this foundation level of funding is necessary. The legislature must be ready to allocate higher percentages of the General Revenue Budget to meet this obligation.