What Funding Assistance Will the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) Give to Bexley Schools?
The short answer is none. While Bexley Schools have taken advantage of some services offered by the OFCC, we do not expect to qualify for direct and immediate funding for building projects any time soon.
Each year, the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce creates a K-12 District Equity List ranking all 609 public school districts in Ohio from lowest to highest, based upon a district’s average adjusted valuation per pupil. See the ODEW K-12 District Equity List for Fiscal Year 2024.
While the OFCC assists in funding new or remodeled school facilities, its funding formula, by law, assists districts with the lowest average per-pupil valuation first. The FY ’24 Equity List ranks the Bexley City School District 513 out of 609 public school districts in Ohio, meaning 512 school districts are eligible for state-funding assistance for facilities ahead of us.
According to ODEW, “A school district’s priority for state assistance is factored from the district's three-year average ‘income adjusted valuation per pupil,’ as calculated by the Department of Education pursuant to ORC Section 3318.011. Under that calculation, the district's taxable ‘valuation per pupil’ is adjusted by a factor reflecting the median income of the district's taxpayers. A district's valuation is the total value of all property in the school district as assessed for tax purposes.”