This morning, Sens. Peggy Lehner (R-Kettering) and Vernon Sykes (D-Akron) introduced a Senate bill that details an updated Fair School Funding Plan. This bill is a companion bill to a forthcoming substitute bill for House Bill (HB) 305, which is expected to be introduced in the House Finance Committee next week. HB 305—the Fair School Funding Plan—was originally introduced in June, 2019 by Speaker of the House Robert R. Cupp (R-Lima) and Representative John Patterson (D-Jefferson).
The Senate bill, which has yet to receive a bill number, and substitute HB 305 will be identical. By introducing companion bills in both the House and the Senate, the process of moving the bill through each chamber can be expedited as hearings can take place simultaneously.
The newly introduced Senate bill can be seen here.
Also released today are simulations that show the impact of the Fair School Funding Plan on individual districts when the plan is fully phased in.
Click on the following links to see the newly-released simulations:
Traditional School Districts
Community and STEM schools
Joint Vocational School Districts and Career & Technical Centers
Note that at this time, simulations for Educational Service Centers have not been released.
Today, at a 1:00 p.m. webinar hosted by BASA, OSBA, and OASBO, members of the Fair School Funding Plan Work Group will be providing an overview of the funding plan. If you have not already registered for the webinar, you can watch a livestream on OASBO's YouTube Channel by clicking here.
Testimony on both the Senate bill and Substitute HB 305 is expected to begin within the next one-to-two weeks. We will continue to provide information on the Fair School Funding Plan to our members as it becomes available. Please feel free to contact us with questions.
Important Links