Ohio State House. (Photo by David Dewite, Ohio Capital Journal.)
A provision in the version of the two -year state budget, adopted by Republicans from Ohio House, will remove the elected members of the State Council of Education. This comes after the last budget deprives the board of the greater part of its power.
The budget adopted by the Chamber last week will reduce the membership of the board of 11 elected members and eight members appointed by the governor to five, all appointed by the governor.
When the conditions of the current elected board members expire or the positions become otherwise, the seats will be eliminated. Three of the governor appointed by the governor would also.
The budget of the Chamber also changes the requirements for the appointed board members to require “at least one member to represent each of the rural, suburban and urban school neighborhoods, a school in the community and a charted non -public school.”
According to budget documents, the reduction will save Ohio about $ 50,000. Board members received an average of $ 3,500 compensation in 2024, according to state data.
The budget is already in the hands of the Senate.
Changes to the Chamber come along with a proposal that public education advocates say they will reduce funding for public schools and eliminate the model of funding for a fair school that has existed in the last four years. The existing model requires $ 666 million, but the budget of the house will reduce it by approximately two -thirds to $ 226 million.
The Budget of the Council may come from a separate fund, not from its own licensing fund, which it is relied upon, since the last budget cycle restricts their power within the state education system.
With the establishment of the Ministry of Education and Workforce in Ohio two years ago, the powers of the board were largely taken away and the other powers were focused on the licensing of teachers and territorial disputes. It was strongly opposed by board members and public members.
The last two years have been a financial struggle after a change in the teacher licensing fund. The head of the public instructions Paul Kraft came to the legislators with requests for funding, telling the legislators and the council that the uncertainty of the teacher licensing fund could harm the lower order of the board when the reduction of staff and costs were exhausted.
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The fund’s revenue increases at certain points of the year when teachers receive or renew their licenses. For the rest of the year, the Council must live on the funds provided by the state.
With the start of a new budget cycle, Craft requested additional state support to help the cost of annual inspections for school staff. He also wanted to remove the video evaluation part of the Ohio teacher’s residence program to save more than $ 1 million.
The budget of the house eliminates the teacher licensing Fund, with the operational expenditure of the Council paid by Professional Licensing Fund and Regulatory Fund. The Fund already exists for the payment of aids for nurses, a certified education for a public accountant and a veterinary student debt.
The analysis of the Commission for Legislative Service of Budget Amendments noted that relocation to the Professional Licensing Fund “can provide more financial stability” for the Council, as this fund “serves as a shared operation fund for many professional licensing and regulatory advice and committees”. They are supported by licensing fees, fines, sanctions and “other evaluations” placed in the fund by these councils and committees.
The house also added $ 2 million from the General Revenue Fund in each fiscal year for the educator verification of the fingerprint database of the reserved candidate (or RAPBEC).
While a spokesman for the Education Council said it was “premature” to comment on the reduction of board members at this point, he said the house was changing in funding, along with the removal of video teachers, it could mean good things for the board.
“We were actually very pleased with the financial side of things,” said spokesman Alex Goodman.
Budgets based on the Chamber’s project will give $ 16.3 million on board in 2026 and $ 16.8 million in 2027.
A spokesman for Caucus Caucus Caucus did not comment on the removal of selected budget staff, but said the changes in funding “reflect the recent restructuring of the liability of the licensing and behavior of teachers.”
“By bringing the funding to almost all other licensing councils, this change deals with the long-standing status of the State Council as somewhat more outermost,” said Olivia Wil, Caucus press secretary. “It encourages the sequence throughout the system and is expected to be profitable over time, potentially reducing the pressure for increased licensing fees in the future.”
Goodman said that the board leaders are already preparing to testify in the Senate that the budget process goes to this chamber next month.
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