Act Now!

Advocate for Equitable Funding for Springfield City School District

Right now, lawmakers in Columbus are working on the state budget for the next two years. This budget decides how much money each school district in Ohio gets from the state. For us in Springfield City Schools, this decision is a big deal.

Why It Matters for Springfield

We serve around 7,400 amazing students in 17 schools. Every one of our students qualifies as economically disadvantaged. Around 1,300 are English learners, and about 400 students do not have stable housing. Our kids have big needs, and they deserve strong support.

The state helps us cover the cost of teaching, student services, and buses. In 2025, Springfield will get about $72 million in state aid, or around $9,600 per student. That money helps keep our schools running.

But the way the state calculates how much support we get is outdated—it is based on numbers from 2022. Since then, costs have gone up for things like staff, insurance, and classroom materials. That means we are not getting what we really need.

On top of that, there is a new proposal that could limit how much money we are allowed to keep in our savings. We use those savings to cover bills between tax payments and to help pay for state and federal programs before we get reimbursed. If the cap goes into effect, we might not have enough to pay our teachers or keep buses running. That could force us to ask voters for more money more often, and none of us want that.

What We Need the Legislature to Do

We are asking lawmakers to:

Keep Springfield’s state funding strong—do not cut it.
Update the cost formula to use real 2024 numbers and adjust for inflation.
Finish phasing in the Fair School Funding Plan by 2027.
Raise the minimum amount of support every district gets.
Increase funding for students in poverty and English learners.
Get rid of the proposed savings cap—let school boards manage funds responsibly.
Continue to support transportation, career-tech programs, and preschool.

How You Can Help

We need your voice. A short phone call or email to your state senator or representative can really make a difference. Here is a simple script you can use:

Legislator Call Script

Hi, my name is [Your Name], and I live in the Springfield City School District.

I’m calling to ask [Senator/Representative’s Name] to support fair school funding in the state budget.

Springfield serves 7,400 students—100% from low-income families, and 14% are English learners.

We need funding based on current costs, and we need to be able to keep our savings to pay our bills on time.

Please fully fund the Fair School Funding Plan, remove the 30% cash cap, and protect support for high-poverty schools like Springfield.

Thank you for standing up for our kids.

Take Action Today