Wellsville BOE Gets Early Christmas Present

At the last Board of Education meeting President Tom Brophey reported the Wellsville District would lose over $1.5 million is state funding over the next two years if the State Senate did not work something out. Brophey was referring to the gap in the Governor's new two-year budget for school funding that he planned to fill with revenue from slot machines at Ohio's six race tracks. The State Supreme Court ruled that before the slots could be allowed the issue had to be put up for a state wide vote. Consequently there was no way imaginable the earnings from the slot machines would be available to cover the education funding budget cut backs.

The State's formula for education funding dates back to 1933 and relied heavily on property taxes. Franklin Roosevelt was a first term President at the time. Over the years the formula became extremely inequitable and inefficient. In 1991 a high school freshman by the name of Nathan DeRolph was forced to take a history exam standing up. There were not enough desks for all the students in that class and the school could not afford to buy additional desks. At the time DeRolph was using a 15 year old science book that was grossly outdated. DeRolph attended Sheridan High School in Perry County in Southeast Ohio. It was one of the many schools that was a victim of the unequal State formula used for funding education.

In 1993, after much foot work and research, DeRolph and his father Dale filed a lawsuit in Perry County Common Pleas Court. Southern Local was one of the parties in that law suit. In the years since then DeRolph vs. State of Ohio has been appealed four times. Each time the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the funding formula was unfair and needed to be fixed. One of Strickland's campaign platforms was to reform Ohio's school funding but his plan fell through with that ruling on the slot machines. Like Wellsville, school districts all across the state were facing serious cut backs in funding if the Ohio Senate didn't vote in favor to plug the gap.

Brophey reported that dire news on Wednesday evening, December 16. The following morning he received a phone call informing him that the Ohio Senate hammered out an 11th hour deal the previous evening. Brophey related that, in a last minute phone call before the meeting, he was told the Senators had recessed. His contact in Columbus didn't tell him they had just taken a break for supper. He didn't know that while he was conducting a Board Meeting the Senators were busy at the same time.

In a telephone conversation last week Brophey stated that he was "pleased the Senate deemed it necessary to pass legislation the Governor set forth in the new budget." All over the State of Ohio, School Boards were given an early Christmas present with the Senate action. Hopefully a more permanent solution to education funding can be found before a new budget has to be worked on again.

Thanks to Board Member Ed Bauer for the heads up on this.

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