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ESEs tell Senate committee they delivered substantial pandemic-era federal funds and ongoing cost savings to districts
Summary
Craig Buford told the Senate Education Committee that Ohio’s 51 Educational Service Centers (ESEs/ESCs) channeled roughly $400 million in federal stimulus funds and produced about $100 million in cost savings to districts in FY25 through pooled services; he urged lawmakers to preserve ESE flexibility and noted administrative overhead is about 6%.
Craig Buford appeared before the Senate Education Committee to outline the role and reach of Ohio’s educational service centers (ESEs/ESCs). "In any given general assembly ... we had $123,000,000 that flowed through ESEs" for learning recovery grants and another "$268,000,000 in emergency assistance to non public schools," Buford told the committee, summarizing federal stimulus flows that he said totaled nearly $400 million over a 3–5 year period.
Buford described the network of 51 ESCs that employ roughly 15,000 people and said ESEs provide direct instruction in…
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