By Austin Rust-
On June 19, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed House Bill 164 into law. As explained in press releases issued the same day by State Representative Brian Baldridge (R-Winchester) and State Senator Terry Johnson (R-McDermott), this bill increases flexibility for Ohio schools in the upcoming school year and provides support to school districts with one or more power plants in their area that experienced at least a 10% decrease in their taxable value between 2017-2018 or 2019-2020. The Ohio Legislation Service Commission estimates that under House Bill 164, Manchester Local School District will receive an additional $1,318,835 in funding. It is noted (in the press release) that this annual amount is likely to increase over the next few years.
“I am incredibly pleased that we have been able to pass important legislation to help our school districts recover from funds lost due to power plant closures,” Johnson said. “Additionally, this bill will help prepare schools across Ohio for the upcoming year in the wake of COVID-19.”
House Bill 164 passed out of the Ohio House of Representatives on June 11, after House members concurred with Senate amendments made to the bill. The Ohio Senate had previously passed House Bill 164 by unanimous vote on June 10, the release (dated June 19) states.
Additions to House Bill 164 included additional funding from the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) to each school district based on its combined state foundation aid and the federal CARES Act School Emergency Relief Fund. The bill also allows the governing bodies of public schools to adopt remote learning models for the 2020-21 school year.
The release explains: “Ohio’s complex system for school funding heavily relies on a mix of state and local tax revenue. When large power plants such as Killen Station and J.M. Stuart shut down part of the local fallout is that local tax revenue for the area school district declines.”
Under House Bill 164, which includes amendments inspired by Representative Baldridge’s legislation, House Bill 651, school districts across Ohio facing local funding reductions as a result of power plant shut-downs will receive additional support from the state. Districts that will receive additional support thanks to House Bill 164 include Manchester, New Richmond, U.S. Grant Vocational, and Felicity-Franklin.
“I know first-handedly the catastrophic impact of losing the power plants, our largest employer and taxpayer, had on our community. HB 164 was an opportunity for state government to be part of the solution. State school funding has had issues due to the state calculation and the lag time on how education money is dissimulated to local school districts. I was proud to fight for and tell Manchester Local School District’s story to my colleagues, which led to sending state money to help our local community,” stated Baldridge.
“Sometimes we struggle in southern Ohio to make sure our voice gets heard, and this was a great opportunity for me to fight the fight, along with Senator Johnson,” Baldridge continued. “For me it was an easy story to tell. I went through the closures as a County Commissioner, so I know the impact. As I was giving testimony in the finance committee, I was able to really answer some of the questions that were asked by my colleagues on a personal note, and describe exactly what our community and county had went through. (House Bill 164) brings to the forefront (all of) the communities that have been there through the state of Ohio, and again, it’s just a way to fund and help those school districts. Geauga, Clermont – they’re all dealing with the same type of scenario as we are, except in Adams County and Manchester, we’ve dealt with it double. We lost two.”
Manchester Local School District Superintendent Brian Rau provided the following statement:
“The signing of HB 164 is representative of the hard work of several individuals. We are extremely appreciative for the efforts of Representative Brian Baldridge and his team, along with Senator Terry Johnson and his team. Additional integral stakeholders include Will Schwartz (Ohio School Boards Association), Kevin Miller (Buckeye Association of School Administrators), Howard Fleeter (Ohio Education Policy Institute consultant), among others. The Manchester Local School District community wishes to thank all of these individuals, and anyone who sent correspondence to their legislators, as well as Governor DeWine for addressing our current funding situation within HB 164. The funds received through HB 164 will contribute in decreasing our deficit spending for this Five-Year Forecast. Mrs. Elliott and I met with the Budget Committee and proposed a revision to our Five-Year Forecast, which we plan to introduce to the entire Board of Education at its next Board of Education meeting. Although we still have much work to do to maintain fiscal responsibility, these funds definitely fill a current void in our revenue stream.”
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June 25, 2020 at 11:33PM
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Legislation to support Manchester Local School District signed into law - The People's Defender
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