Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

State Takes Back Millions In Preschool Funding

Some Ohio preschools will lose state funding due to a new rule change by the state agency that administers the funds. 

The changes quickly caught the attention of a state lawmaker. Ohio Public Radio's Jo Ingles reports.

Democratic Representative Teresa Fedor says more than 3,900 Ohio preschoolers will be affected by a new rule that says state funded schools cannot get federal funding through Head Start – which means those schools will lose $12 million state dollars.

“This is not good government. This is not good oversight. It is the worst thing I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen a lot of worse things.”

 

Fedor says the change comes as a surprise to the preschools affected. And she says that’s because it was made through JCARR, a board of state lawmakers that deals with special expenditures and approval of agency rule changes, rather than through actual legislation. She says advocates who would have wanted to have input on the discussion didn’t know about the proposed change until it had been made. Further, Fedor says there is no good reason for this change because other states leverage federal dollars to increase spending for preschool.

 

“We are also leaving millions and millions of dollars on the table, of federal money that we deserve. We send money to the federal government. Now other states are going to get those preschool dollars, not Ohio.”

 

In a written statement, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services Director Cynthia Dungey says the state now is enforcing its long standing policy of disallowing duplicative payments from the state and from the federal Head Start program – which is seen by state officials as a form of double dipping. The statement goes on to say the $12 million will be used to promote high quality outcomes for all of the 115,000 children in Ohio who receive publicly funded day care, and Dungey says none of them will lose that care because of this change. But Fedor worries the quality of child care will suffer because it has already been allotted for high quality teachers and programming. And she worries, in the end, some slots will be cut.  

The Statehouse News Bureau was founded in 1980 to provide educational, comprehensive coverage of legislation, elections, issues and other activities surrounding the Statehouse to Ohio's public radio and television stations. To this day, the Bureau remains the only broadcast outlet dedicated to in-depth coverage of state government news and topics of statewide interest. The Bureau is funded througheTech Ohio, and is managed by ideastream. The reporters at the Bureau follow the concerns of the citizens and voters of Ohio, as well as the actions of the Governor, the Ohio General Assembly, the Ohio Supreme Court, and other elected officials. We strive to cover statehouse news, government issues, Ohio politics, and concerns of business, culture and the arts with balance and fairness, and work to present diverse voices and points of view from the Statehouse and throughout Ohio. The three award-winning journalists at the bureau have more than 60 combined years of radio and television experience. They can be heard on National Public Radio and are regular contributors to Morning Edition, All Things Considered and Marketplace. Every weekday, the Statehouse News Bureau produces in-depth news reports forOhio's public radio stations. Those stories are also available on this website, either on the front page or in our archives. Weekly, the Statehouse News Bureau produces a television show from our studios in the Statehouse. The State of Ohio is an unique blend of news, interviews, talk and analysis, and is broadcast on Ohio's public television stations. The Statehouse News Bureau also produces special programming throughout the year, including the Governor's annual State of the State address to the Ohio General Assembly and a five-part year-end review.
Related Content