Ohio has grappled with how to fix the state's school funding formula since 1997.

        Come Jan. 2, a new General Assembly will take up that challenge again, this time working to fix the problem by a June 15 deadline set by the Ohio Supreme Court.

        What will be different this time is that 43 state representatives are new to their jobs.

HOW SCHOOL FUNDING WORKS

Ohio's school funding program is based on shared responsibility. Funds come from the state (about 40 percent), local sources (about 54 percent) and the federal government (about 6 percent).     Most local districts get operating revenue from “mills.” A mill is a tax unit equal to 1/10th of a cent.     Ohio taxes property on “assessed value,” which is a percentage of true market value. Land and buildings are taxed at 35 percent of true value.     As an example, a house worth $100,000 on the real estate market would be assessed at $35,000. One mill of taxation would raise $35 in local taxes, although further reductions, including homestead exemptions, often lower that rate even further.     Ohio law limits the amount of revenue a school district can receive when inflation increases the value of land and buildings. When property values rise, millage assessed is reduced.     When the millage is reduced, the new rate is called “effective millage.”     Every school district also automatically gets a certain amount of “inside millage.” This is 10 mills shared by a city, county and school districts in a given area.     Inside mills and school taxes combine to create the effective millage.

        Their ideas range from putting more money into charter schools and vouchers for private school tuition, to creating a statewide pool of business and utility taxes that would be distributed based on need.

        “Lots of new people have lots of new ideas and they should be discussed, but we can't go up there and solve a problem in six months,” said Bill Seitz, a Republican from Green Township who was elected to the 34th District House seat.

        Ohio faces the deadline to respond to the Supreme Court ruling that said the state's school- funding system is unconstitutional. The court has twice ruled that the system relies too much on local property taxes, creating disparities between rich and poor districts.

        Steve Driehaus, a Price Hill Democrat elected to the 33rd District House seat, said he thinks the legislature will have to look at the state's surplus.

        That's not a long-term solution, though. “It's important that schools have an ongoing funding stream and don't need to come back for (levy) renewals.”

        Mr. Driehaus said the state also needs to look at how different needs intersect.

        “I'm kind of shocked that we as a state don't look at the urban districts and don't see that one of the problems is that kids are moving in and out at a tremendous rate,” Mr. Driehaus said. “That's a housing issue and a community-development issue.”

        Mr. Seitz said he does not want to increase taxes. He'd like to see “circuit breaker” legislation.

        Such a measure would offer income tax credits anytime a homeowner's property taxes exceed a specified percentage of their income.

        “This would go a long way toward helping elderly homeowners, disabled homeowners, to stay in their homes and support local levies,” Mr. Seitz said. “And they would be secure in the knowledge that school taxes won't exceed a certain level.”

        Mr. Seitz said this would reduce the reliance on property taxes because other funds would be used to pay the cost of the credit homeowners would receive.

        Jean Schmidt, a Miami Township Republican elected to the 71st District House seat, said education has problems beyond money.

        Students in inner-city and rural schools are most at risk, she said. “But it's also a socioeconomic issue of parents who might not have the skills to help their children.”

        Available money, though, should be used for charter and community-based schools and possibly vouchers, she suggested.

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