To stave off a proposed state funding plan that would be “very detrimental” to Cincinnati Public Schools, the Board of Education on Monday authorized the school district's attorney to take “any and all necessary actions” to change the legislation.

        Attorney John Concannon can now rejoin a coalition of schools that sued the state over its inequitable way of funding schools.

        With a unanimous vote, the board said he could write friend-of-the-court briefs in support of specific funding fixes and can speak to the attorneys who brought the case to trial.

        The Ohio Supreme Court, which has twice found the state's school-funding system unconstitutional, gave lawmakers until June 15 to come up with a way to bring Ohio's poor school districts up to par with richer ones.
       

Worse off than anyone

               “What we believe is that this bill will be very detrimental to Cincinnati,” said Lynn Marmer, the board member who made the motion.

        “We are harmed more than any other district in Ohio.”

        The $1.4 billion compromise plan in question to fix Ohio's school funding will be discussed in the House Finance Committee this week.

        Under that proposed funding formula, Cincinnati Public Schools would lose $2.8 millionin state funding in the next two years.

        That could cause the district to go back to voters within two years to seek operating funds, Superintendent Steven Adamowski said.

        Voters in November approved a 6-mill, $35.8 million levy.
       

Enrollment factor

               State Rep. Catherine Barrett, a Democrat from Cincin nati's College Hill neighborhood, attended the meeting to talk with members about the bill.

        While the specifics of the bill will likely change, she said the district's drop in enrollment hurts its state funding.
       

Seen as punishment
               “As we see more and more students going to charter schools, it takes the enrollment down by 1.5 percent and 1.7 percent each year,” she said.

        District officials said they think the plan punishes their district because it is property-rich but income-poor.

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