Recently, the Ohio House of Representatives leaders released their version of Ohio’s biennium budget. At first glance, the budget appears to be a windfall for Olentangy Local Schools by providing a 15 percent increase the first year and a 13 percent increase the second year in state aid. However, the restrictions associated with this money only impact a small percentage of the district’s students and does nothing to help the growing general population.
Olentangy’s increase is being provided for IDEA-B funds, not for general revenue. IDEA-B is for special needs programs and impacts approximately 10 percent of Olentangy’s overall student population. Under the proposed budget, Olentangy will not receive an increase in general fund dollars the first year and loses two percent in general fund dollars the second year of the budget based on FY09 dollars. In addition, the increase only relates to Federal stimulus money that is a one-time only fund. This means that money may only be used for new programming options and any staffing needs for these programs would have to be paid for out of general funds after the first year.
Olentangy Local Schools is celebrating five consecutive years of earning the highest rating possible on the Ohio Department of Education’s report card. In addition to meeting these academic benchmarks, the district is the fastest growing district in Ohio gaining approximately 1,000 students per year since the 2003-04 school year. The district already has more than 1,200 students registered for kindergarten classes for the 2009-10 school year.
“Olentangy’s mixture of extreme student population growth along with the high-level of academic achievement puts them in a unique position,” said Superintendent Wade Lucas, Ed.D. “The community has graciously supported each financial request since 1999 and the dedicated staff members have worked with parents to increase student academic achievement across the board. While we appreciate the efforts of the Ohio House of Representatives to help students with special needs, Olentangy’s growing general student population should also benefit from any state aid. Approximately 90 percent of our students will not receive any additional money from the state under this proposal.”
The budget bill now heads to the Ohio House Finance Committee for deliberations. The biennium budget will begin on July 1, 2009.