Letter to the Editor by Andrea Bauer
“A budget is a moral document.” US Senator Raphael Warnock
The bipartisan Fair School Funding Plan (FSFP) used the actual price of educating a child to
create an equitable funding formula ensuring all students access to quality education. The
FSFP was to be implemented over three Ohio budget cycles. In this final phase the Ohio House
excluded it and the Ohio Senate could too.
Research reveals the number one determination of academic success is economics. Let that
sink in. Economically advantaged students will succeed in creating high performing schools.
Economically disadvantaged students struggle to succeed creating low performing schools. If
the goal is to educate all our students, the focus must be on the economically disadvantaged.
The FSFP’s model strives to overcome the disadvantages related to economics.
Doing nothing insures the cycle of property and impedes academic success. Students growing
up in poverty have numerous obstacles: chronic absenteeism, concentration issues due to
hunger and/or sleep deprivation, behavioral issues due to abuse and/or neglect, lack of
resources, limited vocabulary, and subpar health care. Topping this list is access to quality
preschool, the number one attribute to academic success.
I implore the Ohio Senate to fund the FSFP! This funding formula deals with issues relating to
the 54.3% of economically disadvantaged students in Ohio K-12. It supports the 88.6% of Ohio
students attending public schools. Note: every voucher dollar is a dollar from public education.
83% of vouchers go to families earning more than $150,000/yr.
