BY MIRIAM SMITH
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Missing a day of school in the first week of October may lead to more than just a checkmark next to a student's name.
It can translate into fewer dollars for the school district. In Ohio, public school students are counted the first full week in October. That number is the basis for state funding for the entire school year, says Robert Hancock, treasurer of the Hamilton City Schools.
Although there are some differences, Indiana and Kentucky have similar funding formulas.
In Ohio, the state assures each district that it will receive at least $3,851 in a combination of state and local funding, said Susan Tavakolian, director of school finance for the Ohio Department of Education.
Therefore, it is critical the October count be accurate, officials said.
But funding is not as simple as just multiplying student count by state and federal aid.
Ohio run its figures through a formula which pays less for kindergarten students, more for special education students, less for students who spent time in joint vocational district classrooms, and adjusts further based on the district's relative wealth. The intent is to direct more aid to poorer districts.
The formula also has revenue provisions for gifted and financially disadvantaged students.
For example, the Ohio formula takes the number of students counted that week:
- Subtracts 50 percent of kindergarten students.
- Subtracts 75 percent of students attending a joint vocational school.
- Multiplies adjusted student count by the state aid per pupil formula, which is then adjusted by the cost of doing business in each county.
A district's assessed valuation is adjusted on the district's per capita income. Therefore, districts with higher than average per capita incomes have higher assessed property values and the opposite applies to districts with lower per capita incomes.
Districts which have significant growth cannot provide the additional facilities, equipment, supplies and staff on that money alone, Mr. Hancock said. They have to depend on significant business growth, additional tax levies, adequate increases in state funding or some combination of the three in order to maintain programs.
Since districts with declining enrollments lose money per student annually, the state formula has safeguards to spread the loss over three years, he said.
Slight enrollment declines are tough to deal with because districts have less money but they don't lose enough students to cut staffing or close buildings, he said. These districts must get additional local revenue or reduce expenses and risk affecting educational programs, he said.
City districts struggle with drops in enrollment
