Senate eyes cuts; schools may bleed
Senate Republicans are preparing to make additional reductions to the state budget as approved by the House last week, and that could mean less for central Ohio school districts, especially Columbus.
Already unhappy that the House took longer than usual to pass the budget — shrinking the timetable for the Senate to act — senators also don’t like the fact that the House came up short in meeting the budget’s projected $800 million shortfall.
Senate President Larry
Obhof, R-Medina, said his members plan deeper cuts. And that won’t simply mean finding another $170 million to add to the roughly $630 million in changes that the House made toward the $800 million target, which was set in April as a result of continued poor tax revenues.
For example, Senate Republicans, along with Gov. John Kasich, are not fans of the House’s $106 million in gambling changes, such as adding video poker to racinos.
Some are questioning whether that move, officially an expansion of the Ohio Lottery, is constitutional. Casinos operators also are raising objections.
But removing the gambling provisions would remove a revenue source, making the remaining budget gap wider.
The Senate’s biggest costcutting could come from the two largest pieces of the budget: K-12 education and Medicaid.
There is talk of freezing school funding for two years, essentially giving districts the same amount each of those years that they get right now.
Sen. Randy Gardner, R-Bowling Green, a veteran lawmaker who has been involved in numerous education-policy debates, said funding for a number of school districts has been strong the past four years. However, he said, a two-year freeze “would be very difficult to achieve.”
“For those of us who believe education should be a priority, I’ve got concerns that a majority of the school districts in this state may lose money under the current budget,” Gardner said. Obhof has expressed a similar sentiment.
If the Senate erases the cuts for the 351 districts set to lose funding under the House-passed plan (it was about 390 under Kasich’s proposed budget), that could mean additional money for central Ohio districts such as Worthington ($1.5 million)
and Grandview Heights ($753,000), as well as Lakewood ($1.4 million) near Cleveland.
But overall, the Senate wants spending reductions. For districts such as Olentangy in Delaware County and 14 districts in Franklin County, the bigger question is whether the Senate will reduce the proposed 5.5 percent annual funding cap.
Dropping that to zero would mean significantly less money for districts including Columbus ($24.8 million), South-Western ($14.2 million) and Hilliard ($5.2 million).
“A 5.5 percent gain for a very high-growth district is not the same as a gain cap for a modestly growing district, or one that is barely growing at all,” Gardner said. “All capped districts are not equal.”
Senators also must decide how they want to factor in the continued reductions in tangible personal-property tax reimbursements for schools, and the varying tax effort of different districts.
“What if a district is gaining students but doesn’t attempt to raise local dollars? Should that be a factor?” Gardner said.
Other potential budget changes to keep an eye on:
■ Across-the-board cuts. The House made 1.5 percent cuts across the board to some agencies, and the Senate reportedly is considering going to 3 percent.
■ Prisons. The Senate would like to trim about $90 million from the prison system. That could involve more diversion of low-level offenders.
■ Medicaid. The Senate would like to take about $200 million out of Medicaid spending, though how is unclear. The Kasich administration is pushing for the Senate to reinstate its proposed shift of long-termcare patients to Medicaid Managed Care.
The Senate and the governor also are not particularly happy about an accounting maneuver by the House pushing a $184 million Medicaid payment into the next
budget to save money.
■ Opioid crisis. The House added $171 million to address the statewide epidemic. Obhof has said the Senate also will make it a priority and has signaled he has some ideas of his own, stressing that the effort doesn’t always take money.
The House plan includes earmarks of $130 million for treatment, child-protection services and kinship care, among other spending. The Senate might try to use federal money or other fees to help cover that, and has questions about accountability for some of the local spending.
■ Spending increase. Senators are considering cutting House-backed increases that totaled about $160 million. The Senate also is taking a close look at House earmarks, such as $5 million intended for Ohio State University to create a leadership institute for training future elected officials.