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County Schools Still Assessing Budget Impact

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Gov. John Kasich’s two-year budget plan has been finalized, spending $955 million more in state aid for K-12 schools than the previous two-year budget, but the impact Athens County would experience is still unclear.

The Messenger previously reported three out of Athens County’s five school districts (Athens, Alexander and Federal Hocking) would lose funding after Kasich announced his budget proposal in February, however, once state representatives examined the budget in the House, and made new changes to the funding formula, area representatives such as Ryan Smith (R-Bidwell), chair of the House Finance Committee, said that at minimum, districts would not lose funding.

Districts will not see a drop in funding and should use fiscal year 2015 as a baseline, said Aaron Rausch, director of budget and school funding with the Ohio Department of Education. No district will receive anything less than what was dispersed for fiscal year 2015, he added.

For the full story, go to The Athens Messenger.