The Plain Dealer

1/30/2008

Ohio should be proud of the way it is closing the spending gap between rich and poor schools.

But Ohio’s success won’t make it any easier to settle the debate on equitable funding for public schools. It’s harder to argue for changes in a system that, despite its flaws, has taken a step in the right direction.

That assessment doesn’t come from the Ohio Department of Education. It’s the finding of the Education Trust, an organization dedicated to improving the academic achievement of poor children.

According to its latest study, Ohio is one of three states (Maryland and Wyoming are the other two) that have reversed the financial gap and now give more money to high-poverty school districts. Ohio gives poor school districts $833 more per student than rich districts.

The report jibes with Ohio’s mammoth recent spending on primary and secondary education. It ballooned from $4.25 billion in 1993 to $8.77 billion in 2007, not to mention a $10 billion, 12-year construction project. That’s feasting without a whiff of famine.

Of course, all of this good news about Ohio’s gradual climb toward equity makes it harder to reach consensus on how to fix the state’s flawed funding system, which relies primarily on property taxes.

Yes, more school districts are getting generous amounts of state aid, yet some still don’t have enough - and not through their own fault. That must change.

Strickland’s challenge, should he accept it as promised, will be to propose a plan that builds on Ohio’s notable gains without digging too deeply in taxpayers’ pockets.