Ohio’s biennium budget cleared the legislature earlier this month by healthy margins, advancing growth in school funding, but triggering a wave of line‑item vetoes from Gov. Mike DeWine that left the state’s education landscape sharply divided.
The budget allocates roughly $2.5 billion in EdChoice voucher funding over the next two years, marking a notable expansion in direct taxpayer support for school choice. However, DeWine struck down major provisions affecting local school taxes, board elections, and an innovative education savings accounts proposal directed at non‑chartered schools.
Supporters of EdChoice heralded the expanded funding as a game‑changer for families seeking alternatives outside traditional public schools.
“It is a matter of social justice, as it allows for equal opportunities for all of Ohio’s children,” Broan Hickey, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Ohio, said. “We remain confident the EdChoice program will prevail in the appeals process”.
Troy McIntosh, head of the Ohio Christian Education Network, added that courts have consistently affirmed school choice at the state and federal levels. He warned that invalidating the program in appeals could uproot nearly 100,000 students currently enrolled under EdChoice.
Despite a Franklin County judge’s recent ruling that the EdChoice expansion violated Ohio’s constitutional mandate to support a “thorough and efficient” public-school system, state officials, including Attorney General Dave Yost, have pledged to fast-track an appeal. Yost emphasized that the program’s funding will continue uninterrupted during the appellate process.
While DeWine embraced growth in EdChoice, he vetoed several other headline measures: ESAs for non‑chartered schools; changes to levy formulas; adjustments to the 20‑mill property‑tax floor; and partisan labels for school‑board candidates.
The governor also nixed a tax‑revenue cap that could have forced districts to refund surplus revenue, potentially triggering financial instability for local schools.
DeWine justified the vetoes by underscoring the need to shield property‑tax payers, particularly those on fixed incomes, while urging future conversations on funding reform and maintaining local control.
Reacting sharply, the Ohio Education Association accused the budget of underfunding public schools, even after vetoes, which they argue jeopardize student success. The OEA did not, however, detail what fully funding public schools in Ohio would cost.
“OEA President Scott DiMauro said the budget ‘fundamentally underfunds the nearly 1.6 million students who attend our public schools across the state,’” according to the Statehouse News Bureau. He also criticized provisions described as a “cheap knockoff” of the Fair School Funding Plan, a bipartisan overhaul approved in 2021.
DiMauro lamented that public education remains “a punching bag,” spotlighting the tug‑of‑war between voucher expansion and expanding public‑school investment.
The fallout extends on three fronts:
1. The EdChoice unconstitutionality ruling will be aggressively appealed, with EdChoice supporters and school districts bracing for a drawn‑out courtroom battle.
2. Governor DeWine announced the formation of a working group, including lawmakers, district officials, and property‑tax experts, to explore levy relief and formula adjustments.
3. Districts face uncertainty, as supporters argue that vetoed rules may modestly soften cost pressures, but budget advocates fear cascading effects for levies and board campaigns.
Ohio’s budget underscores polarized views on K–12 education. Voucher proponents applaud expanded EdChoice funding and are banking on eventual legal wins. Meanwhile, public-school advocates warn that vetoed reforms are no substitute for ever-increasing investment in public classrooms serving Ohio children.
As courts and state agencies step into the vacuum, families, districts, and policymakers brace for what may become one of the state’s most consequential debates on the role and reach of government control of education in Ohio for many years to come.
