While the Ohio State Board of Education continues to operate on a shoestring budget, an influx of money from the state will help it get through the fiscal year.
The Ohio Controlling Board, which is responsible for appropriations and funding for state agencies, last week approved a $4.66 million emergency grant request from the Department of Education to avoid an increase in teacher training fees and to cover a $3 million shortfall that could have affected background checks on school staff.
“4.66 (million) is a number that will get us through this fiscal year,” Paul Craft, the state’s education superintendent, told the Capital Journal. “We’re going to have some tough times ahead.”
The board’s approval was a modification to the state Office of Budget and Management’s original request, which had asked for just $1.85 million after working with the Board of Education on a distribution of services and funding cuts to get through the school year.
“We have fully supported OBM in his work,” said Craft. “That certainly keeps us where we are now, which is in an extremely tight spot.”
The SBOE has warned of growing and imminent funding shortfalls since it was split off from the Ohio Department of Education and Employment and is left with only the teacher licensing fund to cover all operating costs.
The funds they receive from the license fund are not year-round income, which means that the board has to make do with very low income for certain periods during the year.
“Although we continue to seek operational savings, the fund is expected to be in deficit starting this fall, continuing through the spring and then returning to positive territory as the majority of the revenue for this fund is received in the spring,” said the Request to the Supervisory Board specified.
The spin-off from ODEW forced the board to reduce staff by nearly 20%, including payroll and housekeeping staff, Craft told the board at its Aug. 19 meeting to discuss emergency funds.
“(Payroll and budget) are now handled as shared services through the Office of Budget and Management,” Craft said. “None of the funds we’re requesting will bring those employees back.”
The SBOE has also shortened board meetings to one day and frozen travel and out-of-state conference costs. However, emergency funding is still needed to ensure teacher licensing fees remain at current levels and to pay for the Retained Applicant Fingerprint Database (RAPBACK) background checks contract.
“I’ll tell you, in my 35 years in state government and the military, I’ve never seen an agency as lean as we have,” Craft said. “I’m so proud of what our staff has done to ensure that Ohio’s 1.6 million children interact with educators every day who are well qualified and demonstrate good moral character and judgment.”
Some lawmakers on the oversight board have expressed concerns about the use of funds from the oversight board’s “emergency fund.” State Senator Shane Wilkins (R-Hillsboro) expressed concern that approving the emergency funds could result in the agency having to reapply for the same amount next year.
“I would feel better if I knew, ‘Hey, we really tried, the $1.8 million we originally asked for is not enough,'” he said at the board meeting.
State Senator Bob Hackett (R-London) questioned the need to allocate dedicated funds to background checks, while Craft stated that background checks would continue with or without those funds and that the SBOE is in contact with the Ohio Attorney General to find a solution to the funding gap affecting the background check service.
“It doesn’t really change our day-to-day operations,” Craft told Hackett and the board. “On the other hand, I have signed letters of intent with these agencies, and I would sleep better at night knowing that I agreed to them and they were being honored.”
Republican Rep. Jay Edwards of Nelsonville proposed the amendment, which increased funding for the SBOE to $4.66 million. He said discussions have been going on for months about how to resolve the SBOE’s funding problems. Because of the SBOE’s already made cuts, the proposed funding amount dropped from $10 million to the $4.66 million that was ultimately approved. He said it is up to state leaders to make sure the funds are there to keep teacher licensing fees at current levels and maintain background checks.
“People who have been part of the discussion have heard that we’re going to figure out how to pay for background checks later,” Edwards said. “I don’t think it’s responsible of the people who have the finances to allow the background checks to be done later.”
He said the “mistake made during the budget planning process… which was to transfer the funds to the Ministry of Education and Manpower” must be corrected. Not to mention that he does not want to “hear from angry teachers” in the event of an increase in admission fees.
“We’re a conservative legislature that’s constantly trying to lower taxes and fees and loosen regulations for people,” Edwards said. “I don’t think teachers are getting rich in our state, and I don’t want us to raise teacher licensure fees.”
Democrats in the Ohio House of Representatives, including controlling board member and state Rep. Beryl Brown Piccolantonio (D-Gahanna), said the funding was “a critical lifeline designed to prevent a potential 75% increase in mandatory license fees.”
“I look forward to addressing the remaining uncertainty in the SBOE budget in a more sustainable manner in the next budget,” Piccolantonio said in a statement.
Craft said the funding approval now allows the SBOE and OBM to work together over the fall to develop a plan for next year while waiting for the governor’s budget and the state’s operating budget numbers.
“It’s still early in the process and we’re still looking at some other approaches, but this should get us through,” Craft told the Capital Journal.
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