Perrysburg CFO Randy Drewier launches short video series on Ohio school finance

Randy Drewier, treasurer and chief financial officer of the Perrysburg Exempted Village School District, announced a short-video series aimed at explaining how school finance works in Ohio and invited viewers to submit topics for future episodes. "My name is Randy Drewier. I am the treasurer CFO of Perrysburg Exempted Village School District," he said in the introductory recording.

Drewier said the goal of the series is to make a complicated subject more accessible. "CFO, for those who don't know, means chief financial officer, but in this case, I'm hoping CFO stands for communicating finance officer," he said, framing the videos as communications tools meant to help the public ask more informed questions.

The series will cover the three main funding components for Ohio schools: the state portion, a local portion and a federal portion. Drewier noted the local portion includes "some limited choices" about how to fund schools — principally through either property or income taxes — while the federal portion is "primarily targeted towards students who are economically disadvantaged or have special educational needs." He cautioned that school finance "is a complicated thing" and said he does not expect to reduce it to a 30-second thumbnail.

Drewier asked viewers for feedback on which topics to address in future videos and said the short formats will focus on specific questions that have raised confusion among the public. He closed by encouraging viewers to submit their questions so they can "ask intelligent questions" and better understand district finance decisions.