Introduced bill offers possibly funding help for rural school districts
According to an Oct. 24 press release, Representatives Jay Edwards and Shane Wilkin announced the introduction of the Accelerated Appalachian School Building Assistance Program (House Bill 733) in the Ohio House of Representatives.
This bill would create an Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) program for public school districts in Appalachian Ohio that have not gone through the OFCC construction process, yet. “This is a historic day – this is getting Appalachia caught up to what urban schools have had since 2000,” said Representative Edwards. “This isn’t just about schools and our children. This is a burden to taxpayers. This is reducing the burden for our local taxpayers.”
The Accelerated Urban Program has produced 250 new school buildings for six urban districts over the past 20 years. Because of this program, the state has invested about $10,000 more per student in urban schools than in rural Appalachian buildings. It limits the eligibility to districts with full or partial residency in one of Ohio’s 32 counties federally designated as Appalachian.
Locally, this could have a huge impact on River View Local School District.
“River View is one of 38 districts to never take OFCC money to build a school building,” said Superintendent Charles Rinkes. “If the bill, as it is written, becomes law, we would receive an extra 20% incentive to pass a bond issue to build a new school or refurbish two buildings. At this time our state share with the OFCC is 16%. So, our taxpayers, including me, would pick up 84% of the cost of a new build.”
“If the law passes, that incentive kicks in and our voters would pass 20% less money. Again, it’s an incentive from the state to pass a bond issue to put students in new buildings. That would be the best position our district has ever been in to build a new building and our board of education is going to have to look at it very closely to decide if running a bond issue is the right thing to do.”
Rinkes said the district would need to file paperwork for the OFCC to be considered for money. “Every school is ranked with the OFCC, and you have to apply and let them know you are ready to pass a bond to build and they, in turn, petition the state to release that money to the district if you pass your bond levy.”
“The bill needs to become law before any discussion can happen about taking the money or passing a bond. There are many bills that never leave the floor, but I do think this one has a lot of traction with Appalachian school districts and legislatures. CORAS, Coalition of Rural and Appalachian Schools, and our advocacy group, Sunday Creek, have been a big part of why we are even talking about this. I am sure we will continue to advocate for the bill to become law and then RVLSD along with many other districts will have to decide if they want to run a bond issue in the future,” said Rinkes.
Category: Education
