Westerville City Schools Treasurer Nicole Marshall and Superintendent Dr. John Kellogg presented testimony before the Ohio House Finance Committee on Nov. 17 in support of the Fair School Funding plan, a new school funding formula that would reduce the state’s overreliance on local taxpayers to pay for public education and provide a more equitable state model for funding schools.
“My taxpayers are tired of our school funding system being broken,” Marshall said in her testimony in support of Substitute House Bill 305 and the Senate's companion bill, Senate Bill 376. “They deserve better. My students deserve better. School treasurers and CFOs should not be the only people that understand how school funding is calculated.”
In her address to lawmakers, she also noted the impact of the state’s current funding model, including the funding cap that results in a $12 million fewer state dollars to the district’s budget each year.
Meanwhile, Kellogg shared his support of the plan because it clearly spells out what is funded and demonstrates Ohio’s priorities for public schools, as well as how those priorities are being supported financially. The proposed formula can be used to predict what the future funding needs will be and it can demonstrate some understanding of whether current student needs are being funded equitably and adequately.
“The proposed plan was developed in a manner that demonstrates a commitment to listening to the voice, because it reflects the ideas of those who are vested in the outcome,” he said in his testimony.
Marshall and Kellogg were among several educators who testified before House and Senate committees in support of the Fair School Funding Plan.
To read the full testimony presented by Marshall and Kellogg, click here.