School tax money: Ohio's big breast

State Rep. Jay Hottinger released a column about school financing, reproduced on WCLT's web site, that speaks convincingly of efforts by the legislature to provide adequate funding for Ohio's students. The state provides an average of $5,403 per student plus extra funding for districts that have "low property wealth," and more for districts which can't raise 23 mills in local taxes.

Meanwhile, Ohio's new governor, Ted Strickland, has proposed juicing up the state's aid to school districts from 44 percent to 54 percent, while offering property tax relief to homeowners 65 or older and those who are disabled.

All of which sounds good on the surface, but school tax money is like a big breast for unionized educators and their cadre of support personnel, vendors, and administrators. There is much sorting out to be done and many pressure groups at work. A couple places to begin understanding the considerations being considered, try these links:

Getting it right for Ohio's Future
Ohio Coalition for Equity & Adequacy of School Funding