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Garfield Heights treasurer: enrollment drop will reduce state revenue; district won’t owe money back
Summary
Garfield Heights City Schools Treasurer Philip Ocho said declining enrollment will lower the district’s state funding under Ohio’s Fair School Funding Plan but emphasized the district will not be required to repay funds.
Garfield Heights City Schools Treasurer Philip Ocho told a public meeting that declining student enrollment will reduce the district’s state revenue under Ohio’s Fair School Funding Plan, but he said the district will not be required to return money to the state.
“Since we are majority state funded, every student in district counts towards our funding,” Ocho said. He added, “we will not owe any money back to the state of Ohio. We will simply just not get as much based on our enrollment data.”
Ocho framed his remarks as a clarification after “some confusion recently with our previous board meeting about the potential loss of revenue.” He said the district’s projected state revenue will decline if enrollment falls, a pattern he said mirrors other Ohio districts this year.
The remarks were made during the meeting’s public-comment portion; Ocho invited listeners to contact the treasurer’s office with questions and said the office aims to “be as transparent as possible.” The comment also referenced the Fair School Funding Plan as the formula that ties state payments to student counts.
No formal action or vote was recorded on the topic during the meeting. The district did not provide dollar amounts, an enrollment total, or a specific projected revenue change in the remarks.
