Governor proposes changes in unfunded mandates

COLUMBUS - School districts would have to put less money in reserve for textbooks and building maintenance, and the state no longer would require a "rainy day" fund, under a plan Gov. Bob Taft announced yesterday.

Taft also proposed giving state money to districts facing deficits due to "catastrophic circumstances" without expecting repayment, as long as the money is part of an approved plan to fix a district's finances.

"Where the state has mandates, the state should make sure the mandates are funded or provided for," Taft said.

Rep. Randy Gardner of Bowling Green, the second-ranking House Republican, said lawmakers would likely enact Taft's proposal this year.

"I'd put it in the 98 or 99 percent range," he said.

Yesterday's proposals were the governor's response to portions of the Ohio Supreme Court's 4-3 ruling last May declaring the state's school-funding system unconstitutional.

In her majority opinion, Justice Alice Robie Resnick identified seven areas the state needed to address to improve school-funding, including the existence of so-called unfunded mandates and the use of the state's emergency fund for schools.

The mandates require districts to set aside 3 percent of their budget each year to pay for textbooks and another 3 percent for building maintenance. The mandates also require districts to put rainy day budget reserve funds in place, generally 5 percent.

Many districts complain that the reserves tie their hands financially, putting money they could use for district needs out of reach.

Under Taft's proposal, instead of reserving 3 percent of their total budget for textbooks and maintenance, districts would reserve 3 percent of the guaranteed state aid they receive from the state for each student, or $4,294 per student this year.

The guaranteed aid doesn't include money districts receive for special education, transportation or for assisting poor students.