Budget Prospects Improve for Solon School District, But Fight Continues

With Solon's top-ranked school district facing a , Solon residents made their voices heard in the legislative halls of Columbus.

The result of that hard work, said Superintendent Joe Regano, is a much better budget situation for the school district in the House's budget proposal.

Under Gov. John Kasich's proposed budget, Solon was set to lose $54 million over eight years in the accelerated phase-out of tangible personal property tax revenue. That would have meant 18 percent of the school's annual budget gone, year after year.

Under the House proposal unveiled in late April, Solon schools will get $39 million of that eight-year loss back, leaving a $15 million gap.

"It's still more than I think it should be," Regano told the Solon City Council during an update Monday. "We're going to continue that fight in the Senate."

Solon also received relief in losses in basic state aid. All told, the efforts of Solon residents and local government officials to change minds in Columbus has resulted in the schools winning back $41 million in funding they expected to lose over the next eight years.

Regano asked city officials and residents to not let up and to continue to push Solon's case in the legislature as the budget process labors on.

"This won't be done until June 30," he said. "We can't relax. We have to continue having our voice be heard."

When school officials learned that Kasich's budget would take a giant chunk from their budget, they to inform residents and asked the hundreds of residents in attendance to contact legislators to argue Solon's case.

School officials say that residents sent a flurry of postcards, emails and phone calls to the representatives in Columbus, and school officials testified at committee meetings to tell legislators how the budget would harm them.