An analysis of education funding proposed by the Kasich administration

Overall, the state budget proposed for fiscal years 2012 and 2013 by the Kasich administration relies on cuts to make ends meet, rather than considering ways to raise new revenue. Nowhere is the risk to Ohio’s future more evident than in the administration’s plans for K-12 education.

In this brief, Policy Matters examines the impact of the Kasich K-12 budget and finds that the governor would decrease education funding in Ohio by $2.3 billion over the biennium when compared to the FY2010-11 budget. At the same time, the administration proposes a significant expansion of charters and school vouchers. Our analysis finds that, over the past decade, state funding for schools has remained flat or dropped when amounts are adjusted for inflation; the same period saw deductions from district funds to pay for charters and vouchers soar, outstripping any annual increases in overall school funding.

Rather than depending on unproven reforms and relying on cuts to balance the budget, the governor and Ohio legislature should work to strengthen to public system that educates 90 percent of Ohio’s children.

Press Release

Budget Brief