Private schools get the gold mine, Appalachian schools get the shaft

April 29, 2025

The historic DeRolph case originated in the poor, underfunded public schools of Appalachian, Ohio.

Four times, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled a funding formula that is over-reliant on local property taxes is unconstitutional.

Nick Messenger, a senior researcher for the Ohio River Valley Institute, put out a new report that shows the state budget, as passed by the Ohio House, will “slash” funding by $565.8 million in the next two years for public schools in Appalachia.

“Portions of Appalachia in Ohio are not places where property values themselves are going to be able to completely support that shortfall,” Messenger told the Statehouse News Bureau. “In Ohio, we see school districts request levies and put bond initiatives and operating levies on the ballot to raise property taxes but at some point, your voters are tapped out.”

Count 2 of our lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the harmful private school voucher program known as EdChoice points to the state’s policy decision to not fully fund the Cupp Patterson Fair School Funding Plan.

Remember, vouchers are paid for from the same line item in the two-year state budget that pays for public schools so a dollar more for EdChoice is literally a dollar less available for public schools. The House budget increases spending on vouchers to $1.25 billion in the next two years.

Messenger, in the study, also points out that the House budget requires school districts to return part of their cash reserves to taxpayers, and that this is going to create a great deal of financial chaos and force public schools to put even more levies on the ballot.

Messenger told the Statehouse News Bureau most Appalachian districts struggle to get enough cash to pay the bills. And he said Appalachian schools are experiencing rising inflation costs and can’t pass local levies to keep up.

Read the story here.

Read the report here.

Is your district part of our historic lawsuit? Check here.

If not, why not? Learn more here.

Sincerely,

Vouchers Hurt Ohio