Ohio Awaits Verdict On Revamped Finance Formula

By Jessica L. Sandham

Ohio lawmakers are bracing for a state supreme court decision that will tell them whether they can carry on with their current method of paying for schools, keep only parts of the system, or scrap the setup altogether.

They found themselves in much the same position three years ago, before the court declared that the state's property-tax-reliant system failed to meet the "thorough and efficient" standard for financing schools laid out in the Ohio Constitution. This time, it is the state's remedy—its changes in response to the 1997 ruling—that is at issue. Observers say a decision could come as early as next month.

Because the initial decision that found the system to be unconstitutional detailed several areas within the school funding mechanism that needed to be addressed, analysts say a simple thumbs- up or thumbs-down on the constitutionality of...