May 8, 2007 – The Shaker Heights Board of Education voted unanimously today to support the proposed amendment to the Ohio Constitution that would reform school funding in the state.

While acknowledging that the proposed amendment is imperfect, the Shaker Board of Education members agreed that it would be in the best interest of children in Ohio and has the potential to reduce the frequency and/or amount of future levies in Shaker. Board members also expressed the hope that a strong show of support for the amendment would keep pressure on the General Assembly to come up with meaningful and lasting solutions to inequities and other flaws in Ohio’s school funding system

The amendment, called “Getting It Right for Ohio’s Future,” would:

• Establish that a high quality education is a fundamental right for every Ohio child;
  
• Determine levels of funding based on student need for all types of students, including special education, vocational education, gifted or economically disadvantaged;
  
• Eliminate "phantom revenue" of untaxed property value calculations by the state, thereby reducing the need for local tax levies;
  
• Exempt Ohio seniors and disabled citizens from property taxes on the first $40,000 of the market value of their homes;
  
• Create an independent commission appointed by the Governor, Speaker of the House and Senate President to monitor districts to ensure that high quality educational opportunities are available to students in a cost-effective manner;
  
• Create and maintain a permanent local government fund to support police and fire departments, libraries and other local government services;
  
• Establish a system that ensures total state funding for Ohio's public institutions of higher education receive no less than the amount provided in 2007 and increases annually based on the state's personal income percentage.

Supporters of the amendment thus far include the state’s major educational, advocacy, and parent associations, as well as 78 school districts. In order to get the measure on the November ballot, supporters must gather the signatures of more than 402,000 registered Ohio voters. Signature petitions are circulating in communities throughout the state.

Read the full text of the Board resolution.

For more information about the amendment, visit www.rightforohio.com.

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