Ohio public school districts have three primary funding sources: state, local, and federal. 

State funding comes from the state general revenue fund, a percentage from the Ohio Lottery and additional state funds. Local funding for education comes primarily from property taxes and additional levies. The third funding source for public education is the Federal government. 

The amount of Federal funding received varies by school district. The concern of receiving federal finances is looming large, with many local districts worried about the funding that supplies much-needed special education funding. What may happen if President Donald Trump upholds his campaign promise to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education is unclear.

Trump last week told the newly appointed chief of the U.S. Department of Education, Linda McMahon, to “put herself out of a job” and close the Education Department.

The U.S. Department of Education was first established by the U.S. Congress as a Cabinet-level agency in 1980. The department's budget for 2025 states that it "supports programs that touch every area and level of education."

According to the DOE’s 2025 budget, early learning, elementary, and secondary education programs annually serve more than 17,000 public school districts and more than 55 million students attending more than 98,000 public and 30,000 private schools. In Ohio, there are 611 public school districts, 49 joint vocational school districts, 335 public community schools and eight independent STEM schools that all receive some Federal funding.

Valley school districts use federal funds to pay for programs like Title 1, which serves economically disadvantaged students, and funding from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part B (IDEA), which helps ensure that students with disabilities—ages 3 through 21—receive a free public education.

While Title 1 and IDEA are part of federal law and would take an act of Congress to change funding,

Here in the Valley, the breakdown of Federal funds that each district receives varies. Here are Valley School Districts that rely on Federal funds and the percentage of their budget it fulfills based on the district's 2024-25 school year. 

 

In September of 2023 during his campaign, a video posted to his campaign website said Trump "pledges to close the Department of Education in Washington, D.C. and to send all education work and needs back to the States."

Scott DiMauro, President of the Ohio Education Association, the union for approximately 120,000 teachers in the state, told 21 News, "School districts everywhere do rely heavily on Federal sources of funds through the (U.S.) Department of Education to fund vital programs, including Title 1, which helps support academic needs of students from low-income families — that's in rural communities and suburban communities and urban communities."

DiMauro said this also includes the Federal government's significant role in supporting special education.

"We have students — about 15 percent on average across the state of Ohio — who are identified with disabilities and individual education plans, and those Federal special education dollars are absolutely critical for helping ensure that they have an opportunity for a good education."

DiMauro said the state average for districts receiving Federal funding is around 10 percent, but districts with higher concentrations of students with disabilities or low-income families will be disproportionally affected.

"As public school educators who serve nearly 90 percent of all kids in the state of Ohio, 95 percent of all kids with disabilities, we are deeply concerned about potential Federal budget cuts — deeply concerned about the Department of Education because that will be a direct harm to the students we serve," DiMauro said.

"And it also potentially jeopardizes thousands of educator jobs across the state," he added.

While the president cannot unilaterally get rid of the department that was created by Congress, it will take an act of Congress to dismantle the department as well. McMahon, a billionaire GOP donor and former WWE wrestling industry executive, acknowledged this during her confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill last Thursday. 

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