Loveland School Board to press Ohio lawmakers to protect funding 'guarantee' for district

The Loveland School Board on its April agenda prioritized defending the state 'guarantee' in school funding, with district leaders planning meetings in Columbus this month to press lawmakers to preserve and potentially adjust the guarantee for inflation.

Superintendent Broadwater said the board's state school funding committee developed a goal "to define problems and solutions and build a plan to advocate for solutions specific to Loveland," noting the district receives $4,066.28 per student under the state's guaranteed funding level. He said the school district's revenue per pupil ranking places Loveland well below many Ohio districts and that the current fair‑funding formula does not reflect the district's needs.

The committee presented data showing Loveland's expenditures per pupil rank roughly in the middle of Ohio districts while revenue per pupil ranks lower; Broadwater said the combination makes the district rely heavily on residential property tax. "We need to protect that guarantee," he said, arguing the guarantee is renewed only with each biennial budget and therefore is vulnerable to legislative change.

Board members and committee staff said their next steps include one more committee meeting in May and a trip to Columbus, where several board leaders will attend the state superintendent association event and meet Senator Blessing to outline concerns. The district also plans a public information effort — including newsletters to roughly 7,000 subscribers — to explain how the funding system works and why Loveland is advocating for changes.

The committee flagged two priorities: defend the guarantee so the district is not left without the state floor of support, and pursue an inflationary adjustment to the guarantee (committee members cited a 3.5% consumer price index movement as an example of a possible adjustment). The board also noted the complexity of the formula and that some districts with different revenue mixes land on the guarantee for reasons that are not always intuitive.

The board expects a presentation in May from William Schwartz, legislative liaison for the Ohio School Board Association, to help refine the district's legislative outreach. No formal legislative appropriation or policy change was adopted at the meeting; the board directed committee leaders to continue developing advocacy talking points and stakeholder outreach.