Over $7 million from Milford EVSD has been diverted to charter schools

At the February 18, 2016 school board meeting, the board passed a resolution authorizing the Milford EVSD Treasurer to invoice the Ohio Department of Education a total of $7,757,643 for state and LOCAL funding that has been diverted to community/charter schools (collectively called “charter schools” in the rest of this article) from July 2001 to the present.

We of course have no expectation that this money will be paid; however, we want to call attention, both at the state and local levels, that significant funds are being moved from local school districts to charter schools. This money includes both state funds as well as your own local taxes.

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Do the right thing

A few months ago, the Governor announced a new plan for state funding. In the current system, there is a “formula” that is supposed to account for all the various factors determining how much money each school district should receive. The idea is that this new formula “fixes” state funding, which has been deemed unconstitutional and “broken” for years.

However, while the formula has been developed for several years now, many districts are still not receiving the amount they “should,” per the formula. Some districts, like Milford, were on a “cap” – although the formula said we should receive more money than we were receiving, we have been capped at an amount less than this. Other districts, on the “guarantee,” have been receiving more money than they should, based on the formula.