Building Blocks of School Funding
House Bill 66 the current biennium budget incorporates the recommendations from the Governor's Blue Ribbon Task Force on Financing Student Success. The concept is the "Building Blocks Model" which is currently being phased in and is based on inputs, with the goal of focusing on the tools needed for student academic success.
Ohio and thirty-eight other states use a foundation formula program, which is a per-pupil base cost times the number of pupils minus the local share. The per-pupil base costs is determined by using the Building Blocks method, which is comprised of three building blocks.
1. Classroom teacher, provides for one teacher for every twenty students. For fiscal year 2006 the average teacher salary and benefits is $53,680 for the calculation. For fiscal year 2007 the level is $54,941. The per-pupil classroom teacher building block is $2,684 in fiscal year 2006 and $2,747 in fiscal year 2007.
2. Other personnel, provides funding for administrators, librarians, art, music and physical education teachers. This building block per-pupil amount is $1,807 in FY 2006 and $1,850 in FY 2007.
3. Non-personnel, provides funding for books, building maintenance and non-personal related needs. This building block per-pupil is $792 in FY 2006 and $806 in FY 2007.
Therefore, under this program the total BASE COST per pupil is $5,283 in FY 2006 and $5,403 in FY 2007. To determine the actual state aid for the base costs per pupil, subtract the local share which is 23 mills of property value. (See K-12 funding formula page, SF3 report line 4D, 5A and 6.)
In addition to the base funding building blocks are add-on building blocks. The Add-On Building Block Supplements are added to the per pupil base cost and provide all students in all districts a combination of state and local funding for the following:
1. Intervention, provides 25 hours of intervention for every student at a 20:1 student to teacher ratio.
2. Professional development, provides for professional development for all Ohio teachers.
3. Data-based decision making, provides funding to help districts use technology to better analyze student needs.
For the "add-ons" in FY 2006 the per pupil amount is $40 and $48 in FY 2007. The supplements are being phased in at 40 percent in FY 2006 and 60 percent in FY 2007. After full implementation the supplements will be increased at the same rate as the base formula amount.
In addition to "formula aid" there is categorical funding. Categorical aid programs consist of: Special Education, Catastrophic Special Education, Career-Tech/Adult Education, Poverty-Based Assistance, Gifted Education, Pupil Transportation, Special Education Transportation and Preschool Units. Each one of these programs amounts are determined by the numbers of pupils who "qualify" for each program and the demographics in the district for the poverty based and transportation aid. Pupil transportation funding is distributed with a 2 percent increase each fiscal year. Parity Aid is another program for funding for districts who are not in the top 20 percent wealth districts.
State aid is funded by tax revenues from the General Revenue Fund, consisting mostly from income and sales taxes and the profits from the state lottery. Under the foundation formula, the state provides funding that, in combination with the first 23 mills of local tax revenue, will provide a foundation level of spending per pupil. The combination for foundation funding between the state and local districts comprises the "partnership" concept which maintains local control and accountability.