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House Finance Committee approves amended state operating bill after school funding warnings
Summary
The House Finance Committee on April 8 adopted an omnibus amendment to amended substitute House Bill 96 and favorably reported the bill 19–10 after school officials warned a proposed 25% cash-balance cap would force major cuts in districts that used federal COVID-era funds to sustain staff.
The Ohio House Finance Committee on April 8 adopted an omnibus amendment to amended substitute House Bill 96 and, following debate and testimony, voted 19–10 to favorably report the bill to the Rules and Reference Committee.
The outcome followed testimony from Westerville City School District Superintendent Angie Hamburg, who told the committee her district—serving nearly 15,000 students in Franklin and Delaware counties—relies on accumulated cash balances to smooth recurring operations and pay staff as federal pandemic funding phases out. Hamburg said an amendment that would “require the auditor to suspend property tax collections for any district with a cash balance over 25%” could force immediate, deep cuts.
Hamburg said the district’s higher-than-usual balance is not the result of property reappraisals but of legacy uses of ESSER…
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