How Solon's Representative Voted On Public School Funding Reform

SOLON, OH — The Ohio House passed a bipartisan plan to reform public school funding in Ohio.

Ohio's method of funding public schools was ruled unconstitutional more than two decades ago. However, change has been slow going.

House Bill 305, which passed the House on Thursday, would alter public school funding to a per pupil for individual districts, and will consider a host of factors when determining how much money each district should receive.

State Rep. Phil Robinson, who calls Solon home, cast his vote in favor of the plan. The bill would also see the state directly fund private school vouchers and charter schools, rather than penalizing the funding of public schools; an issue key to Robinson and many other Democratic lawmakers in Ohio.

Robinson said the state's current model for funding private school vouchers "pits schools against each other" and is a "bad practice."

“The funding model in HB 305 will better reflect costs of educating our children. It does this by moving away from property taxes being at the center of the funding system. This gets us much closer to equal funding for each child while not ignoring that every school district and student has different needs," Robinson said in a statement.

Some of the factors that will now be considered in determining school funding include:

· Student-teacher ratios and school staff size,
· School staff salaries and professional development,
· Career readiness education,
· Student’s social and emotional needs,
· Residents’ wealth and poverty levels,
· Preschool services,
· Special and gifted education,
· English language learners,
· STEM and technical education

Robinson called on the Ohio Senate to pass HB 305 and help implement long-awaited reform to public school funding.