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Treasurer Brian Cook warns House Bill 96 could undermine fair funding; outlines district outreach and advocacy plan
Summary
Treasurer Brian Cook told the committee that House Bill 96 includes modest per‑student increases but would effectively dismantle Ohio’s fair school funding formula, potentially creating a multi‑million‑dollar hole; the treasurer and engagement staff presented a draft outreach plan targeting residents and legislators and asked the committee for rapid feedback.
Treasurer Brian Cook told the Community Engagement & Advocacy Committee that the district faces immediate advocacy needs because the state budget proposal contained in House Bill 96 would shift funding levers and could leave Columbus City Schools with significant long‑term losses.
"There is an increase in school funding... approximately 11 million for our district," Cook said, referring to the initial per‑student sweeteners in the House bill. "However, the impact of losing that formula could have a minimum of a $53 million negative impact." He urged committee members and residents to contact legislators and said district leaders (including the superintendent and Treasurer Cook) would testify in the Senate the following day.
Cook used a four‑bucket analogy (local/state/federal/other) to explain why shifting the state share back onto local property taxpayers would exacerbate Columbus’s already large local funding burden and could force more frequent ballot campaigns or deeper cuts if the state share falls later. He described the House version as a "sugar rush"—a short‑term increase that risks longer‑term harm if the fair funding formula is undermined.
The treasurer and engagement staff (Lee Cole) also presented a draft community outreach strategy meant to build financial literacy and trust, explain budget tradeoffs in plain language, and mobilize constituents. Goals included simplified messaging for non‑parents and renters, targeted work with minority and ESL media, town halls and bite‑sized video explainers, and collaboration with civic associations and legislators. The plan enumerated measurable tactics and a SWOT analysis and suggested using Google/Microsoft forms to collect committee feedback.
Why it matters: Cook and staff said the state budget must be enacted by June 30 and that district advocacy in May–June will help shape final outcomes. The plan aims to translate complex finance topics into accessible narratives so residents can engage in advocacy and understand how policy choices affect students and local taxes.
Next steps and deadlines: Committee members were asked to provide feedback (June 9 was suggested as an internal compilation deadline). Cook said the administration will continue daily outreach to legislators, will present testimony in the Senate, and will return next month with updates, including metrics from early outreach efforts.
No formal vote was taken on the outreach plan at this meeting; the committee will collect written feedback and consider recommending the plan to the full board after compilation.
