Ohio looks over two $3 billion options for evening up schools' funding.

CHICAGO -- Ohio education experts are eyeing two proposals to equalize school funding, each of which could add another $3 billion to the cost of teaching the state's 1.7 million students.

A court-appointed panel has generated two proposals to reduce the wide disparities in funding between poor and wealthy districts. The panel is the brainchild of Judge Linton Lewis Jr. of the Perry County Court of Common Pleas, who ruled earlier this year that the stat's school funding system was unconstitutional. Lewis ordered the panel to submit reform proposals to state lawmakers by the end of the year.

Under Ohio's current funding system, almost half the $8.7 billion annual cost of education is paid by local property taxes. The state covers 45%, and the remainder comes from federal aid.

But it is unclear how or when the system will change, despite Lewis' efforts. The state is appealing the judge's ruling and while the appeals court considers the case, it has issued a partial stay of the judge's order.

"We hope the General Assembly does something," said John Rochester, assistant director for governmental relations in the Ohio Department of Education. "I think most of the legislators realize there is a problem."

The panel last week released two proposals to reform school funding, each of which guarantees a base level of per pupil funding. They set the average cost of an adequate education at $4,350 per year. Under both proposals, that cost would then be reduced or expanded for each district depending on the local cost of doing business, the district's transportation expenses, and the number of students falling into exceptional categories including special education and vocational and gifted training.

But the proposals differ in what they require districts to contribute to the base cost of education and how they reward disricts that choose to go beyond the base cost.

The first proposal would require districts to levy 25 mills of property tax to contribute to the base level. The state would contribute the remainder, and would then match -- up to a point -- money raised by property tax millage that exceeds the minimum requirement.

"Essentially, the panel is ... making sure that every school district provides an adequate level of service at the base amount and giving them additional dollars if they choose to go beyond that," Rochester said.

He said the second plan would ultimately narrow the gap between wealthy and low-income district funding more dramatically.

The second proposal would let each district set its own millage level, and guarantee a state suplement so that each mill charged resulted in a $150 per pupil stipend. Because property values are lower in low-income districts, Rochester said it is likely those districts will have to levy more mills to meet the base level, but will get more state money.

Rochester and state superintendent Ted Sanders have said projections that either plan could add $3 billion to the cost of education in Ohio are "reasonable."

The expert panel will refine their proposals and calculate more specific cost projections for a Dec. 6 meeting with a second court-appointed panel of 50 citizen activists and educators. Dubbed the reaction panel, that group will review the proposals and send them to the State Board of Education by Dec. 12. The board will then forward the proposals to Ohio Gov. George Voinovich, legislative leaders, and Judge Lewis by the end of the year.

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