1. House Bill 64- Budget Bill Willa Ebersole, President, Pappas & Associates

2.  March –April the Budget bill is in the House of Representatives  House vote April 22 nd.  May-June: Senate deliberates on the changes made by the House  Mid-June: Conference committee of House and Senate members.  Bill must be signed by Governor Kasich on June 30, 2015 at midnight.

3.  Contains school funding formula for Fiscal Years 2016-2017  Currently being heard in the House Finance Subcommittee on Primary Secondary Education  Chairman Robert Cupp interested how to improve the CTE funding

4. ◦ Revise duplicative testing requirements ◦ Career-tech funding challenges: tiers vs. percentages ◦ Algebra II Opt Out flexibility needed ◦ Resident Educator Summative Assessment

5.  “ Tiers”: The move toward these “tiers” in the last budget resulted in a significant reduction of weighted funds to CTE programs statewide as compared to the previous system of weighted funds .  Reduced by State Share: These weights are reduced by a district’s state share with no career centers receiving the full value of the weight.  Some Get None: Several career centers with a zero percent state share receive no weighted funding at all. Unlike with traditional districts, there is not even a 5% “floor.”  Caps and Guarantees: A significant number of JVSDs are on a guarantee or a cap. For those schools, the addition of new students does not draw down any additional weighted funds. 

6.  Many districts can access only a portion of career-tech funding because it is tied to the state share based on district’s wealth index.  Both groups have requested that career-tech funding be taken outside of the state share and outside the cap and guarantee through a line item tied to the 75/25 Rule.

7.  We have requested that duplicative testing requirements be removed.  An industry recognized credential OR a vocational license OR a curriculum based assessment should be sufficient for a career- technical student.

8.  A career-based pathway mathematics course could serve as an equivalent requirement for a CTE student.  Current law also requires parents, students and schools to fill out nearly 8 pages of paperwork including a career plan for students. This is overly-burdensome.

9.  SB 3: Senator Hite will be proposing an amendment next week that would make the RESA requirement permissive: schools could implement RESA or not, it would be the school’s decision.  Contact your Senators and let them know you support the Hite amendment on RESA

10.  Happy to answer any questions.  Remember decisions in politics are not made by the majority of people; decisions are made by the majority of people that show up.