Friday, August 7, 1998
COLUMBUS -- New academic standards and fiscal accountability measures required by the legislature will cost Ohio schools more than $1 billion to meet, Senate Democrats charged Thursday.
"They just don't have the money to do what the General Assembly wants them to do," Senate Minority Leader Ben Espy, D- Columbus, said at a news conference.
The Republican-controlled legislature pushed through a package of school reforms last summer. Included in the legislation:
A requirement that districts have balanced budgets and a five-year budget forecast.
A requirement that districts set aside 13 percent of their budgets for building maintenance, textbooks and other supplies, and unforeseen emergencies.
A requirement that fourth-graders pass a statewide reading test before advancing to fifth grade.
A beefed-up proficiency test that students must pass to graduate from high school.
More required high school credits.
The gap between cost, aid
Nr. Espy asked the superintendents of the state's 611 school districts to tally up how much extra it would cost to meet the new standards, and then compare that to the extra aid they will receive next year from the state.
The gap for the 159 districts that responded was more than $282.6 million. If the comparison were extended to include all the districts, the figure would top $1.1 billion, Mr. Espy estimated.
"Bullfeathers," responded the author of the academic standards portion of the legislation.
"Aside from the obvious fact that the survey does not represent a scientific sample of Ohio's school districts, the key point to clarify is that the (bills) are not "unfunded mandates,' " Sen. Gene Watts, R-Galloway, said in a news release.
"School districts are not required to spend more money. They are only required to reprioritize the way they currently spend money -- an unfortunate necessity after watching school districts foolishly waste taxpayer dollars on administrative personnel while textbooks remained outdated and buildings fell into disrepair," Mr. Watts said.
But Richard Murray, superintendent of the West Muskingum School District in southeast Ohio, said there is no way to cover a $1.3 million deficit in an $8 million budget without asking for a big increase in property taxes.
"There is just no way to reshuffle the cards in that deck to make it work without cutting programs," Mr. Murray said.
