After Medicaid expansion was achieved via a vote of the state Controlling Board, state Senator Chris Widener told the Senate Finance Committee that the projected $400 million in savings Ohio will realize from that expansion should be used to pay for another state income tax cut. A tax cut that Policy Matters Ohio estimates would be worth $28 for middle-income taxpayers. When asked whether the money might be better spent on making up some of the $500 million in net funding cuts Ohio schools have received in the last two biennial budgets, “Widener said $400 million divided by the 613 school districts ‘would have a minimal impact.’”
An analysis by Innovation Ohio shows Sen. Widener’s claim to be demonstrably false. To the contrary, the impact of an extra $400 million on Ohio schools would be dramatic and profound.
Read the report: “The Impact of $400 Million on Ohio Schools”.
