Superintendent’s Corner

Every two years, Ohio’s school districts eagerly anticipate the governor’s biennial budget proposal. This is because part of the state budget includes the percentage or amount of state funding that will be provided to school districts and communities.  

In the most recent budget, Hudson City Schools is projected to potentially lose $711,000. Although the state has instituted a Fair Funding Formula that is applauded by many to accurately reflect the cost to attend school, the leadership opposed to it have set the funding levels at the 2022 cost. This is one item on the budget that school districts are encountering, but it’s not the largest obstacle. 

The state budget proposal removes $104 million from public education while providing $265 million to the voucher program, a proposal that will greatly impact every taxpayer in Ohio. In the 2018-2019 academic year, only 7% of new EdChoice recipients had attended private schools the previous year. However, by the 2022-2023 school year, this figure had risen to nearly 55%. This trend indicates that a substantial portion of the vouchers are now utilized by families who had already chosen private education for their children. Additionally, the demographic composition of voucher recipients has changed. Prior to the expansion, 67% of participants were classified as low income. After the expansion, this percentage dropped to 17%, suggesting that higher-income families are increasingly taking advantage of the vouchers.

Public and private school educators share a mutual respect for the profession and the work. This is not about any battle that exists between public and private schools. Instead, it is about the reality that 87% of Ohio’s families choose public education, but the funding is pushing financial support away from public schools.  

Why does this matter to the taxpayers of Ohio? School districts utilize levies when those districts require additional help to fund the schools. There is a strong belief that within a few short years, more school levies will be required due to the strong support for Ohio’s voucher program and the loss of funding for public schools.  Can you help? Yes. Consider contacting our state representatives to encourage them to fund school districts at the current level and share the positive experiences you’ve had with public education. While districts recognize the importance of constantly improving, we also believe we are places of incredible opportunities for our students. State funding, though, is an important piece of keeping those amazing experiences in place, without having to further rely on local taxpayers. As always, feel free to reach out to me if you have additional questions or concerns about the potential funding loss at addisd@hudson.k12.oh.us.