The REAL TALK | LWV program invites the public to attend a statewide event addressing how Ohio can move from an inequitable, inadequate, unconstitutional school funding system to an equitable, responsive, high functioning funding model that serves all of Ohio’s students.
Equitable Public School Funding NOW: Why It Matters & How To Get There will be presented Tuesday, March 23, at 7 p.m. and is a statewide collaboration among bipartisan Ohio legislators, Ohio school district treasurers and Ohio superintendents. The event is hosted by REAL TALK | LWV, in partnership with League of Women Voters Ohio, Ohio Education Association, Ohio Federation of Teachers and Ohio PTA.
Register for the event at
bit.ly/RT_PublicSchoolFunding. For event information, visit:
RealTalkLWV.org.
The event will feature state Rep.Jamie Callender (R-Concord), District 61; state Rep. Bride Sweeney (D-Cleveland), District 14 ; Ryan Pendleton, Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer, Akron Public Schools; Tom Hosler, Superintendent, Perrysburg Schools; Marlon Styles Jr, Superintendent, Middletown City School District; and Claudia Zaler, Treasurer/Chief Financial Officer, Waverly City Schools.
John Patterson, former state representative (D-Jefferson), will moderate a comprehensive discussion about the state of Ohio’s current school funding system and how the Fair School Funding Plan will address those inconsistencies and failures. Ohio House Bill 1 sponsors, state Reps. Callender and Sweeney will explain why the bill is a top priority in the Statehouse. Akron Public Schools Treasurer Ryan Pendleton will break down the core components of the funding model that make the system equitable; and school superintendents and treasurers across the state will share why the new funding model is critical for their students and districts.
In 1997, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled, in the DeRolph v. State of Ohio case, that Ohio's education funding system was unconstitutional, inequitable, inadequate and too reliant on property tax valuation. In 2017, state Rep. Robert Cupp (R-Lima) and then-state Rep. Patterson convened a team of school treasurers, superintendents and front-line educators to develop a NEW school funding system to address Ohio's glaring issues. The unprecedented Fair School Funding Plan (FSFP) was born out of extensive planning, meticulous research, economic modeling and practitioner feedback. The Plan determines a true base cost to educate each student in their district, establishes an equitable cost-share for the state and district based on the district's ability to contribute, increases categorical aid and help with transportation costs, and directly funds vouchers and charter schools instead of charging local districts.
REAL TALK is a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion program amongst four Northeast Ohio Leagues of Women Voters (Akron Area, Greater Cleveland, Hudson, and Kent), in partnership with the Akron NAACP. The program examines the pulleys and levers in Northeast Ohio that perpetuate systemic and institutional racism, discrimination, cycles of poverty, disparities in education, social determinants of health, criminal injustice, environmental injustice, and employment and housing insecurity. Each event features the legislators, experts, practitioners and community members who create and drive meaningful, sustainable change -- and provides the information, resources and tools for Northeast Ohio residents to take action. Learn more at
RealTalk.org.