OHIO — State funding cuts are lurking for hundreds of public school districts across Ohio, and educational leaders across the state say they worry they won’t be able to support their students if legislators move forward with Gov. Mike DeWine’s proposed budget.

What You Need To Know

  • The state is threatening to reduce the amount of funding it provides many public school districts across Ohio

  • Over the next two years, DeWine’s proposal allocates nearly $16.8 billion to public school districts

  • Counting inflation, educational leaders say the money won't go as far

The state is threatening to reduce the amount of funding it provides many public school districts across Ohio.

District leaders are joining teachers’ unions to highlight the problems those cuts may pose. Paul Palomba is president of the Canton Professional Educators’ Association, one of the urban districts that make up the Ohio 8.

“They are not instituting the inputs so those would be calculations that would account for inflation and so if we’re already losing $1billion and then you’re not taking inflation in account that’s going to leave us with some holes,” Palomba said.

DeWine’s budget proposal would cut funding for four of those districts that make up that group.

Palomba said that could lead to a reduction of services including the students who are the most vulnerable.

“Students who may have to be strapped in so that they won’t slide out of their seat, students that may have feeding tubes, breathing tubes, students that are in emotionally disturbed units, you name it — we serve everybody,” Palomba said.

Over the next two years, DeWine’s proposal allocates nearly $16.8 billion to public school districts.

That’s a slight increase compared to the previous budget but school leaders said when you consider inflation, the money won’t go as far.

Scott DiMauro, head of the Ohio Education Association, said all of this puts more pressure on property owners to make up the difference through taxes.

“State cuts on top of federal cuts is not only bad for kids; it’s going to cause an explosion of class sizes and a loss of services and supports,” DiMauro said. “I think we all have common interest in making sure that the state fulfills its constitutional responsibility to ensure all public schools are fully and fairly funded.”

When DeWine introduced the budget earlier this year, he said it would fully fund the final phase of the school funding formula that began in 2022.

According to the Office of Budget Management, the state will have grown its public school funding by more than $2 billion over a six-year period.

Palomba said while the landscape for the budget doesn’t look promising, they will continue to fight for their students.

“We’re looking for you know that legislators will do what was promised for the fair funding formula,” Palomba said. “The inputs for the fair funding formula should in fiscal yar 2026, 83%, 100% and year six, so that sounds great, but they are not instituting the inputs. So, those would be calculations what would account for inflation, and you’re not taking inflation in account, that’s going to leave us with some holes.”