Heights Schools To Lose $1.4 Million In State Funding This Year

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OH — The Heights Schools will lose $1.4 million in state funding by June 30 as a result of sweeping budget cuts announced by Gov. Mike DeWine. The losses are a direct result of financial contraction due to the new coronavirus.

“Our district is ‘ground zero’ for losses due to the way EdChoice scholarships are funded, and this cut exacerbates our challenge. It should also be noted that the number of students in that deduction calculation includes our 1,416 EdChoice voucher students, so $300,000 of that $1.4 million deduction is for students who aren't even enrolled in our schools,” said Superintendent Liz Kirby in a statement.

Some of the losses in state funding will be offset by the federal CARES Act, which should send $1.2 million to the Heights Schools. The Ohio 8 Coalition — a group of superintendents from Ohio's major urban school districts — have said Ohio lawmakers are sending money intended for public districts to private schools.

Heights Schools leadership said if their CARES Act dollars weren't being diverted to private schools in the area, the district would receive $1.9 million.

“We should be using the CARES stimulus funding to address the online learning challenges that we’re facing as a result of this pandemic, but instead we will have to use it to cover a state budget shortfall,” said Kirby.

The Heights Schools are asking state lawmakers to make the following changes:

• Adjust the district's state funding cut from $1.4 million to $1.1 million to account for EdChoice scholarship students being counted among the Heights Schools enrollment
• Allow the Heights Schools to keep all of the designated CARES Act funding (boosting the receipt to $1.9 million)
• Do not count EdChoice scholarship students in the average daily membership total for funding cuts in financial year 2021
• Cut voucher payments for next year, if EdChoice funding continues to be pulled from public school budgets
• Change the formula for determining state funding and cuts

“Thankfully, we’ve already made $2.5 million in budget reductions for next year in order to
conservatively plan for our financial future,” said Kirby. “But we cannot keep tolerating additional losses without major impacts on our students and strategic planning.”