# DeRolph v. State > Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Perry County · February 26, 1999 · 98 Ohio Misc. 2d 1 URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/6752042 ## Case - **Full name:** DeROLPH v. The STATE of Ohio - **Court:** Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Perry County - **Decided:** February 26, 1999 - **Citations:** 98 Ohio Misc. 2d 1; 712 N.E.2d 125; 1999 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 8 - **Precedential status:** Published - **Opinion:** Opinion of the court by Lewis - **Judges:** Lewis - **Cited by:** 3 later opinions in the Frix Law Library ## Citator (automated) - No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases. - Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/6752042 ## Opinion text Linton D. Lewis, JR., Judge. This action at bar, on Remand from the Ohio Supreme Court, was heard by the undersigned Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for Perry County at New Lexington, Ohio, commencing August 24, 1998 and concluding September 3, 1998. Nicholas A. Pittner, John F. Birath, Jr., Sue Wyskiver Yount, Quintín F. Lindsmith and Susan B. Greenberger represented the Plaintiffs. Attorney General Betty Montgomery, State Solicitor Jeffrey S. Sutton, Assistant Attorney General Mary Lynn Ready, Assistant Attorney General Roger F. Carroll, Asssis-tant Attorney General Sharon A. Jennings and Joel S. Taylor represented the Defendants. A Brief of Amicus Curiae was filed by Ben E. Espy as Attorney for Certain Members of the 122nd General Assembly. A Brief of Amicus Curiae was filed by John T. Ryerson, Jr., on behalf of the Ohio Association for Gifted *4 Children. A Brief of Amicus Curiae was filed by Hugh Calkins on behalf of Carey Exempted Village, et al. A Brief of Amicus Curiae was filed by Franklin J. Hickman on behalf of the Ohio Association of County Boards of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities. FINDINGS OF FACT I. BACKGROUND A. Biographies of Witnesses Samuel Kern Alexander Dr. Samuel Kern Alexander is currently President of Murray State University, a comprehensive regional state university of Kentucky with approximately 9,000 students. (Alexander Tr. 1587-88) He is into his fifth year as president there. Dr. Alexander has revised the American Public School Log, published by West’s Publishing Company, Wadsworth Publishing Company. He also authored, along with Dr. Richard Salmon of Virginia Tech, a book entitled Public School Finance by Allen & Bacon. He also wrote a chapter in The Faces of Education, which is a description of international education programs. His résumé also lists articles he has had published since 1993. (Alexander Tr. 1588-89; PI. Exh. 467) Dr. Alexander was a member of the Panel of Experts whose charge was to devise a remedy pursuant to the Court’s decision in DeRolph. (Alexander Tr. 1589) As to further background of Dr. Alexander, the Court incorporates its findings of fact relating to Dr. Alexander as set forth at pages 1-2 of this Court’s findings of fact arising from the original trial. 1 John G. Augenblick In 1992, John Augenblick was retained by the group of Ohio school districts known as the Alliance for Adequate School Funding to develop a foundation level (base cost). The Alliance schools are relatively wealthy schools. Dr. Augenblick utilized an inferential approach in connection with his 1992 work for the Alliance. (Augenblick Tr. 692-94) In 1995, Dr. Augenblick was asked to do another project with the Alliance involving special education and vocational education. He was unable to complete that work because he was unable to collect the requisite data. (Augenblick Tr. 696) In 1994-1995, he was asked to serve on the Panel of Experts by Dr. Ted Sanders. (Augenblick Tr. 697) The primary market for Dr. Augenblick’s services are state legislatures or other agencies connected with state legislatures. (Augenblick Tr. 809) Dr. *5 Augenblick worked for the State of New Hampshire in 1985. Subsequently, the New Hampshire school funding system was found to be unconstitutional. (Au-genblick Tr. 810-11) Dr. Augenblick volunteered services for the State of Colorado. He is currently contemplating assisting in a challenge to part of the funding system in place in Colorado. (Augenblick Tr. 811-12) Dr. Augenblick has never taught in Ohio. He is not licensed to teach in Ohio. He has never physically been in a school facility in Ohio except for one instance. All of the information he has about Ohio has come from sources other than firsthand information. (Augenblick Tr. 812) Dr. Augenblick acknowledges that he does not have current knowledge of the funding system in all 49 states other than Ohio. (Augenblick Tr. 813) Dr. Augenblick graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1969. (Augenblick T.Tr. 656) Dr. Augenblick received a Master’s Degree from Columbia University Teacher’s College and a Doctorate of Education from the University of Rochester in 1981. (Augenblick T.Tr. 657) Dr. Augenblick taught 5th and 6th grades in public school for three years in Connecticut after graduating from M.I.T. (Augenblick T.Tr. 661) Dr. Augenblick was research director of the New Jersey Commission on Finance in Higher Education to look at funding of higher education. (Augenblick T.Tr. 663) Dr. Augenblick worked with the Education Commission of the States (ECS). The ECS established in 1965 is an interstate compact consisting of about 47 state legislative bodies as a way for State level policy leaders to share information and try to devise solutions concerning educational issues. (Augenblick T.Tr. 664) Dr. Augenblick worked for ECS for seven years beginning in 1977. One of the projects he worked on was creating a chart to describe the school funding systems in all 50 states. Dr. Augenblick was director of ECS for three years. Other than Hawaii, Dr. Augenblick worked with every state regarding educational issues. (Augenblick T.Tr. 668) At ECS, Dr. Augenblick worked on all aspects of school finance issues. (Augenblick T.Tr. 676) In 1983 Dr. Augenblick formed his own consulting company. His company provides technical assistance regarding school finance issues. (Augenblick T.Tr. 672) *6 Dr. Augenblick has been asked to help design school funding systems in New Hampshire, Colorado, Louisiana, Kentucky, Kansas, Nebraska, and Ohio. (Au-genblick T.Tr. 673) Dr. Augenblick has served as an expert on behalf of plaintiffs challenging the validity of a state’s school funding system. (Augenblick T.Tr. 682) Dr. Augenblick has also served as an expert witness on behalf of states in defending school funding systems. (Augenblick T.Tr. 684) Dr. Alexander, Plaintiffs expert, testified Dr. Augenblick is a school finance expert. (Alexander T.Tr. 1684) Dr. Fleeter, a witness called by Plaintiffs, testified that Dr. Augenblick has a very good reputation as one of the nation’s leading experts in school finance. (Fleeter Depo. 167-168) Mr. Maxwell testified that Dr. Augenblick is one of the 10 or 12 school finance experts in the country. Mr. Maxwell’s organization BASA invited Dr. Augenblick to lecture at a workshop on school finance issues. (Maxwell T.Tr. 1475) Charles V. Barr Charles Barr has been Superintendent of the Groveport Madison School District (“Groveport Madison”) for 10 years. He began his career in education as a teacher at Brice Elementary in Groveport Madison from 1965 to 1971. He was principal of Asbury Elementary School from 1971 to 1980. He was director of pupil personnel in the district from 1980 to 1981 and then proceeded to be administrative assistant from 1981 to 1982. He held the position of Assistant Superintendent from 1982 until he became Superintendent in 1987. (Barr Depo. Exh. 1; Barr Depo. 9-13) • Superintendent Barr is a member of the American Association of School Administrators, the Buckeye Association of School Administrators, the Alumni Association for Educators at the Ohio State University, and the American Association for School Development. (Barr Depo. 14) Charles Brovm Charles Brown is the Assistant Director, Division of School Finance within the Ohio Department of Education. Mr. Brown is in charge of the Office of School Management Assistance and has held that position from 1989 to the present time. In that capacity, he is responsible for providing technical services to school districts in connection with school district borrowing, fiscal analysis, staffing analysis, technical studies, building reorganization and related matters. Mr. Brown last testified in this case on December 22 and 23, 1992 when he was deposed. (Brown Depo. 4-6) *7 David Brunson David Brunson is Assistant Director of the Ohio Legislative Budget Office, a division of the Legislative Service Commission. The Legislative Service Commission is governed by a group of legislative leaders who are appointed to the Commission and who govern the staff of the Commission. The Service Commission staff does most of the professional work of the Ohio General Assembly. It specializes in legal and general research, bill drafting, and bill analysis. (Brun-son Depo. 5-6) The Legislative Budget Office (the “LBO”) was created by a resolution of the Service Commission in 1973 and is governed by a group of legislators that are appointed to the Legislative Budget Committee. The Legislative Budget Office is also governed by the Service Commission director and the Service Commission itself. The Legislative Budget Office specializes in fiscal and economic related research. It answers questions by legislators and provides fiscal information on bills being considered by the General Assembly through fiscal notes or other means. (Brunson Depo. 6) The Legislative Budget Office is a non-partisan organization. (Brunson Depo. 7) As Assistant Director of the LBO, Mr. Brunson supervises the office budget and supervises a group of staff people that are in the tax and education areas. Mr. Brunson identified as a particular area of his expertise the fields of tax and education, particularly elementary and secondary education. (Brunson Depo. 7-8) He joined the Legislative Budget Office in 1974 and has been employed there continuously since that time. (Brunson Depo. 9) Mr. Brunson graduated from East Carolina University in 1972 with a major in math and a minor in economics. He received a master’s degree in economics from The Ohio State University in 1974. (Brunson Depo. p. 8.) Charles D. Buroker Charles D. Buroker has been Superintendent of Lima City Schools since 1988. (Buroker Depo. 31) He has also taught courses for Wright State University as an adjunct professor. (Buroker Depo. 32) As to further background of Charles D. Buroker, the Court incorporates its findings of fact relating to Charles Buroker as set forth at pages 3-4 of this Court’s findings of fact arising from the original trial. Matthew Cohen Dr. Matthew Cohen is an employee of the Ohio Department of Education. He was last deposed in this case on March 19, 1993. Between the time of his last deposition and the current time, he has been the head of the Policy Research and Analysis Division of the Ohio Department of Education. He has held that position since 1993 or 1994. Dr. Cohen is the supervisor to Dr. Jim Payton, Dana *8 Shams and Francis Rogers, each of whom also has testified by deposition in this case. (Cohen Depo. 4-6) Elizabeth Mane Connolly Elizabeth Marie Connolly is the Director of Policy and Communication for the Ohio Senate Majority Caucus and has been since December 1996. In this position, Ms. Connolly provides research and communications assistance to Senate Republican members on pending legislation and coordinates efforts between Republican Senators and the Legislative Service Commission. The Legislative Service Commission usually drafts the first version language of a bill per the legislator’s described intent. (Connolly Depo. 19) Ms. Connolly graduated from Mount Union College in 1985 with a bachelor’s in political science. Since graduation, she has worked at the Statehouse in a number of research positions for the Republican party. Connolly was a staff member of the Governor’s task force in response to DeRolph. She worked with Senator Finan and Terry Geiger, brainstormed, reviewed reports on school funding, and facilitated communication between senators and the Legislative Services Commission. (Connolly Depo. 20) Ms. Connolly began working at the Statehouse in December 1985 as a Legislative Service Commission Intern. In 1987 she was a legislative aid and in 1994 became a research assistant with the Senate Majority Caucus. In December 1996 she became Director of Policy and Communications for the Senate Majority Caucus. (Connolly Depo. p. 8) Robert Cupp Robert Cupp is a member of the Ohio Senate, representing the Twelfth Senate District, which is an area in West Central Ohio. He currently serves as President Pro Tempore of the Ohio Senate. (Cupp Tr. 334) He has been a member of the Senate since 1985. (Cupp Tr. 337) In 1987, Senator Cupp was appointed to the Senate Education Committee and has served on that committee ever since. That committee addresses issues involving primary and secondary education and reviews the school funding portion of the biennial budget as it proceeds through the Senate. (Cupp Tr. 338-39) He also served as chair of the School Finance Panel of the Gilmore Commission on school funding. He is chair of the Joint House Senate Committee on Technology. (Cupp Tr. 339-40) Senator Cupp is familiar with the Supreme Court’s decision in this case issued March 1997. (Cupp Tr. 343) In the fall of 1997, he was asked by Speaker Davidson and the President of the Senate if he would coordinate a group of interested legislators to put together a plan that could be drafted into legislation and considered by the General Assembly. He was familiar with Dr. Augenblick’s proposal of July 1997. (Cupp Tr. 344) *9 No evidence was presented to the Court that Mr. Cupp holds himself out as a statistical expert, tax analyst, or expert in education. Senator Cupp grew up on a farm around Columbus Grove in Allen County. He received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Ohio Northern University. He graduated from Ohio Northern University law school in 1976. He served as Assistant City Law Director and Prosecutor for Lima until 1980. From 1980 until 1984 he served as an Allen County Commissioner. In 1984 he was elected to the Ohio Senate from the 12th District. He has served on the Senate Education Committee from 1987 until the present. The committee has jurisdiction over all issues involving primary and secondary education. In 1987 he chaired the School Finance panel of the Gillmore Commission on School Funding. The Commission looked at the issues of school funding in Ohio, identified the problems and recommended ways to improve it. Senator Cupp is currently chairing a Joint House Senate Committee on Technology which is looking at the implementation of technology in schools. (T.Tr. 337-345) Jo Ann Davidson Jo Ann Davidson was first elected to the Ohio General Assembly in 1980. She currently holds the position of State Representative from the 24th House District and is Speaker of the House. In her 18 years in the legislature, Speaker Davidson chaired the House Finance Committee and for 12 years chaired the House Budget Committee. Speaker Davidson described March 24,1997, the day the Supreme Court issued its decision in this matter, as “not a very good one.” She was surprised and disappointed. She tried to “deal with the shock of the decision.” However, she felt somewhat better after she developed an understanding that the Supreme Court had not taken into consideration what the legislature had done since 1991. (Davidson Tr. 7-8) Speaker Davidson was not presented to the Court as an expert witness. Rather, she was presented as a fact witness who identified the State’s legislative response to the Supreme Court’s decision and the process which preceded the enactment of certain pieces of legislation. While Speaker Davidson clearly has expertise in the legislative process, including the legislative budget process generally and as it relates to funding primary and secondary education, there was no evidence presented to the Court laying any foundation that Speaker Davidson has expertise and qualifies as an expert in school funding methodologies, regression models, statistics, financial projections, financial impact projections, school district budget management, or, for that matter, primary and secondary education at either the state or local level. Speaker Davidson herself testified, “I do not believe in my earlier testimony I *10 even claimed to be an expert * * *. .1 do not hold myself out to be an expert in methodologies of school funding.” (Davidson Tr. 2320-22) In the field of education, Speaker Davidson did not feel competent enough to opine as to whether a minimum student teacher ratio of 25:1 was academically “a good thing.” (Davidson Tr. 259-61) There was no evidence presented that Speaker Davidson is either a tax analyst or an education analyst. Accordingly, while the Court finds instructive Speaker Davidson’s testimony as to her descriptions of the legislation at issue, the Court gives little weight to her testimony as to the expected impact of that legislation. As background, Speaker Davidson was a volunteer in the public schools and president of the PTA for an elementary and junior high school. She served on the Reynoldsburg City Counsel. She was elected to the General Assembly in 1980 as a representative from the 24th House District. She is currently Speaker of the House. Previously she chaired the House Finance Committee. For 12 years she chaired the Budget Committee of the House. Paolo DeMaria Paolo DeMaria has been the Director of the Office of Budget and Management (“OBM”) since he was appointed in March 1998. In this position, Mr. DeMaria oversees financial transactions of the State, including everything from budget preparation to financial reporting. By virtue of being Director of OBM, Mr. DeMaria is a member of the Information Learning and Technology Authority and the School Facilities Commission. Mr. DeMaria’s education includes a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science and a master’s degree in public administration. After receiving his education, Mr. DeMaria began working for the Ohio Legislative Services Commission as an intern. Mr. DeMaria worked his way up to his current post through fiscal analyst positions with the Senate Republican Caucus staff and then being the assistant director of the Office of Budget Management. (DeMaria Tr. 1237-43) William Driscoll William Driscoll is a partner in the consulting firm of Levin & Driscoll. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and a Juris Doctor degree from the College of Law, The Ohio State University, in 1975. From 1983 until October 1991, he was employed by the Ohio Department of Taxation. He left the position of Deputy Tax Commissioner in 1991 to form the consulting firm of Levin & Driscoll which currently provides consulting services in the area of taxation for a wide range of clients. (Driscoll Depo. 4-6) Mr. Driscoll and his partners served as members of the Panel of Experts. (Driscoll Depo. 9) The clients served by Mr. Driscoll include the Ohio Department of *11 Education, the Ohio School Boards Association, and the Education Tax Policy Institute. (Driscoll Depo. 7) Mr. Driscoll was contacted by Dr. Cohen of the Ohio Department of Education in the late fall of 1996 and asked to begin working on options that the State might have in anticipation of a decision by the Supreme Court in DeRolph. (Driscoll Depo. 16-17) Prior to March 24, 1997, Mr. Driscoll was involved in the work of the BEST organization at the request of the Ohio Department of Education. (Driscoll Depo. 18-19) Howard Bruce Fleeter Howard Bruce Fleeter is employed by The Ohio State University as an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Policy and Management. Dr. Fleeter completed his bachelor’s degree in economics at Northwestern University and spent six years at Berkeley where he completed his Ph.D. in Public Finance in May 1990. (Trial Court’s Findings 1994, p. 5) Since the time of his deposition in this case in 1993, Dr. Fleeter has worked as a consultant to the Ohio Department of Education, has worked with the Ohio School Boards Association and the Education Tax Policy Institute. In 1993-94, he worked on a project dealing with moving from a unit funding system for categorical programs, particularly special education, to a pupil-based funding system. (Fleeter Depo. 5-6) Carolyn Funk Carolyn Funk has been a school district treasurer for 19 years. She began her career as a treasurer with Salem City Schools in 1979, and recently moved to be the Treasurer for Youngstown City Schools in 1997. She has a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, pursued further course work in business management, and has her master’s degree in educational administration. (Funk Depo. 6-10) John Goff John Goff is the Superintendent of Public Instruction for the State of Ohio. He last testified in this case in 1993. He became the State Superintendent of Public Instruction in the fall of 1995. In Dr. Goffs capacity as State Superintendent of Public Instruction he served as co-chair of BEST, a coalition of organizations working for comprehensive school reform. (Goff Depo. 11-13) His co-chair was Mr. Bob Wehling, Senior Vice President of Proctor & Gamble. (Goff Depo. 14) Dr. Goff has been in education for 38 years, 25 in Ohio. He was a high school mathematics teacher, junior high school mathematics teacher, junior high assistant principal and junior high school principal. He has a Bachelor of Science in education with an emphasis in math, a master’s in education administration and Doctorate in Education administration. He was Assistant Superintendent and Superintendent of Vandalia Butler School District. In 1981-1989 he was Super *12 intendent of Kettering School District. He then became Assistant Superintendent of the Ohio Department of Education. He became State Superintendent in 1995. As State Superintendent he is a member of the School Facilities Commission and Information Learning and Technology Authority. (Goff T.Tr. 457-464). Colleen Grady Colleen Grady is an expert in gifted education. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in finance and accounting from the University of Nebraska (1984) and has held a variety of positions in industry, accounting, and business management. She is currently a member of and vice-president of the Strongsville Board of Education. She is in her fifth year as a member of the Board of Education and has served as president of that board for two years. Ms. Grady has volunteered in the field of education in a variety of capacities including serving in leadership positions for a number of organizations, including the PTA and gifted organizations. She has been asked to be a presenter at both national and state conferences in general education, parental involvement and gifted education over the last seven years. Ms. Grady has served two terms as the president of the Strongsville Association for Gifted Children. The Strongsville Association for Gifted Children provides resource materials, in-service for professionals and parents, and program provided enrichment for 400 to 450 students within the district and surrounding districts. (Grady Depo. 11-13) She has been a member for eight years of the National Association for Gifted Children and currently serves as co-chair for the Parent-Community Division. She is also a member of the State of Ohio Superintendents’ Gifted Advisory Council, which was created in October 1977 by Dr. John Goff. She has also served as a charter member and a member for the last six years of the Strongsville City Schools Gifted Advisory Council. She has been a member of the Ohio Association for Gifted Children for the last seven years and has been a member of its governing board for the last five years. She has served in three major capacities for the Association: scholarship endowment trustee, vice-president of the organization, and currently advocacy co-chair. (Grady Depo. 5-10; 19) The purpose of the Ohio Association for Gifted Children is to disseminate information on the educational, social, and emotional needs of gifted children to provide support and opportunities for self-education and self-improvement, professional development for educators, parents and other interested individuals, and to provide scholarships and programs for gifted students. Currently, the association has approximately 1,200 members, and the governing board meets four to five times per year. The organization publishes a quarterly publication entitled The Review and holds an annual conference which is attended by approximately 900 persons. The governing board is approximately 22-24 persons with representatives from around the state. Ms. Grady and Ms. Sheldon have been the *13 advocacy co-chairs of the Ohio Association for Gifted Children for two years. (Grady Depo. 17) As advocacy co-chairs she and Ms. Sheldon work with individual school districts, traveling to 25 to 30 districts a year and addressing parents and teachers about issues within gifted education. ■ Ms. Grady speaks about the effectiveness of gifted advisory councils and testifies before the General Assembly relative to budget matters and policy matters. She serves as a representative to the State Gifted Advisory Council. Ms. Grady and Ms. Sheldon serve as co-directors of a consortium research and demonstration project which is identifying research-based best practices in diverse school districts, their costs, and improved data collection and reporting at the school district level. Surveys were sent to every district in the State of Ohio to accomplish this study. (Grady Depo. 18) The comprehensive cost study of gifted education will be the first of its kind. (Grady Depo. 37) This study is the study of gifted education referred to in House Bill 770, upon which the legislature intends to base future decisions regarding gifted education. The study is funded by a grant through the Department of Education. (Grady Depo. 54-55) As advocacy co-chair for the last two years, Ms. Grady has had the opportunity to testify before both the House and the Senate of the General Assembly, and has provided a variety of information and analysis to the Department of Education, and to the State Board of Education, as well as to the General Assembly. She and Ms. Sheldon are recognized as individuals with the knowledge and expertise dealing with fiscal and policy matters and the state of gifted education in Ohio. (Grady Depo. 24) Kirk Grandy Kirk Grandy is Treasurer of the Southern Local Schools and has held that position since September 1992, He is the Treasurer of the Perry-Hocking Educational Service Center (ESC) and has held that position since June 1, 1996. He has about 6 years of experience as a treasurer. Mr. Grandy is a working treasurer in that he not only supervises but he does the everyday work also. (Grandy Depo. 6-8) Mr. Grandy has an associate’s degree in Business Management and an associate’s degree in Accounting from Hocking College in Nelson-ville. He has also taken classes at Ohio University working toward a bachelor’s degree. Mr. Grandy worked for the State Auditor’s Office from October 1989 through August 1992 in the division called Management Advisory Services, which is now known as Local Government Services. Mr. Grandy was involved in assisting school districts with financial forecasts and certifying deficits, assisting with conversions to GAAP (General Accepted Accounting Principles), consulting services, financial reconciliations, and financial reconstructions. (Grandy Depo. 11-12) Mr. Grandy holds a license from the Ohio Department of Education to be a school treasurer. (Grandy Depo. Ill) *14 Kirk Hamilton Kirk Hamilton has been Superintendent of South-Western City Schools since January 1, 1998. (Hamilton Depo. 8) Prior to that, he was Superintendent of Batavia Local Schools in Clermont County and had been in that position since the fall of 1994. (Hamilton Depo. 10-11) Allan Hutchinson Allan Hutchinson is the Treasurer of the South-Western City School District and has served in that position since November 1991, nearly 7 years. He has also served as Treasurer of the Whitehall City Schools, the Gahanna City Schools and the Apollo Joint Vocational Schools in Lima and has work experience in the Auditor of State’s Office. His total work experience as a treasurer is 15 years. He has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Finance from Milligan College in East Tennessee and a master’s degree in Education from Ashland University. (Hutchinson Depo. 6-7) Mr. Hutchinson was involved in the process of developing rules for implementing the set aside requirements and for the five-year projection documentation with the State Department and the Auditor’s Office. (Hutchinson Depo. 9, 16) Thomas W. Johnson Thomas W. Johnson is currently a member of the House of Representatives of the General Assembly of Ohio and has been a member for 22 years. (Johnson Depo. 5) He represents the 96th House District which includes all of Morgan County and parts of Muskingum, Washington, and Athens Counties. Representative Johnson is currently chair of the House Finance and Appropriations Committee (the “Finance Committee”) and is in his fourth year of that position. (Johnson Depo. 6) Prior to being chairperson, he was the ranking Republican member of that committee and has been a member of that committee for 22 years. (Johnson Depo. 7) The Finance Committee examines and passes budget bills, capital bills, and other legislation relating to finances. One of the regular tasks of the Finance Committee is to look at school funding, which is a component of virtually every biennium budget bill. (Johnson Depo. 7-8) Timothy Scott Keen Timothy Scott Keen has been the Director of Finance for the Ohio House of Representatives since 1995. As Director of Finance, Mr. Keen works primarily for the Republican caucus on matters relating to the budget and taxes, including working with the House Finance and Appropriations Committee, interacting with various state agencies regarding proposed legislation, analyzing proposed legislation, and communicating with the Senate. As the Director of Finance, Mr. 'Keen was a staff member of the School Funding Task Force. Mr. Keen has a Bachelor of Arts in communications and a master’s degree in public policy. Mr. Keen’s *15 career began as a budget analyst in the Ohio Legislative Budget Office and he worked his way up through budgetary or fiscal analyst positions until reaching his current post. (Keen Depo. 5-11) Mr. Keen has become very familiar with the school funding formulas and statutes from his work with the legislature. (Keen Depo. 11) While working on House Bill 650, Mr. Keen reviewed and became familiar with the Panel of Experts’ report, Dr. Augenblick’s report, and the Fair Share Plan developed by the Legislative Budget Office. (Keen Depo. 19) Stephen P. Klein Dr. Stephen P. Klein is employed as a Senior Research Scientist with Rand Corporation in Santa Monica, California. In addition, he operates his own consulting practice. Rand Corporation is a research institute with approximately 1,000 employees of which over half are at the Ph.D. level in a wide variety of disciplines. Dr. Klein graduated from Tufts University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1960. He received his master’s degree and his Ph.D. in industrial psychology from Purdue University with a doctorate being awarded in January 1965. Following receipt of his doctorate, he was employed by the Educational Testing Service in Princeton, New Jersey, for 4 years before moving to UCLA, where he taught in the graduate school of education. In connection with the Educational Testing Service, Dr. Klein conducted research dealing with evaluation and educational program development, educational testing, and various kinds of analyses in the field of education. At UCLA, he taught in the graduate school of education where he did research and taught courses in research methods testing and measurement. His teaching work included research methodology, statistics in education, and educational and testing measurements. (Klein Depo. 1, 4-9) While at Rand, Dr. Klein has designed, conducted, and supervised research projects in a wide variety of areas. Currently, Dr. Klein is working on a research project for the National Science Foundation designed to determine whether or not certain teaching methods are achieving desired outcomes. In connection with that research, he reviews 11 sites around the country, gathers data at each site regarding teaching practices, student performance in mathematics, and a variety of community factors including public schools in Columbus, Ohio. In connection with his research work, Dr. Klein has published over 200 papers in a variety of fields, including education, health, criminal justice, fuel, and military manpower. In addition to that, he has authored a book on the licensing of teachers. He has testified in a number of cases, has served as a consultant to the United States District Court and has testified in Congress. In addition to his work in education, Dr. Klein also serves as an advisor to Boards and Bar Examiners in over two dozen states, including the State of Ohio. A substantial portion of Dr. Klein’s work includes utilization of statistical analysis, *16 including regression techniques. In addition, Dr. Klein has served on three blue ribbon committees for the National Research Counsel. Dr. Klein is currently serving on a panel that involves a nationwide examination of school finance plans for public schools at the K-12 range. Dr. Klein is serving on this panel with Jim Guthrie, Alan Odden, Robert Schwab, Dennis Epple, and Ted Sanders, who formerly served as Superintendent of Public Instruction in the State of Ohio. In connection with that service, Dr. Klein has been asked to coordinate a subcommittee to look at the issue of school funding adequacy. (Klein Depo. 21-23) Due to illness, Dr. Klein’s testimony was submitted by deposition. It was taken at his home in Santa Monica, California, on Wednesday, September 2,1998. Dr. Klein’s curriculum vita was identified as Plaintiffs Exhibit 488. David E. Lanning David E. Lanning is the Superintendent of the Southern Local School District Board of Education. Mr. Lanning holds a Bachelor of Science in Education with a major in English from Ohio University and received a master’s degree in Administration from the University of Dayton in 1984. Mr. Lanning has taken additional course work from Ohio University and from the University of Dayton. He taught 5 years at Zanesville High School as an English teacher, worked 13 years at Berne Union High School, became Principal of Miller High School in the Southern Local School District for 3 years, and has been Superintendent for 2 years. (Lanning Depo. 5-7) Richard Maxwell Richard Maxwell is employed by the Buckeye Association of School Administrators. His current job title is Deputy Executive Director for Governmental Relations. Mr. Maxwell publishes a school finance newsletter, conducts workshops on school finance four to six times a year, and also teaches school finance and school facilities classes for Ashland University. He has taught at Ashland for the past 18 years. In addition, he has authored a text book now in its second edition called, Ohio School Finance — A Practitioner’s Guide to Ohio School Finance. The book has been adopted as a textbook by several universities in Ohio. Mr. Maxwell has also served as a consultant for individual school districts. He has been a local school district superintendent, a county school district (now known as ESC) superintendent, an administrator and a teacher. He has been involved in public education for a total of 36 years and has been engaged in the study of Ohio school finance for 34 years. A current copy of Mr. Maxwell’s vita is included as Plaintiffs Exhibit 464. In his capacity as Deputy Executive Director of Governmental Relations, he has been involved in the passage of House Bill 412, Senate Bill 55, House Bill 650 and House Bill 770. 2 (Maxwell Tr. 1358-61) *17 As to further background of Mr. Maxwell, the Court incorporates its findings of fact relating to Mr. Maxwell as set forth at page 9 of the Court’s findings from the original trial. Jan L. Osborn Dr. Jan L. Osborn is the Superintendent of the Putnam County Educational Service Center (ESC), a position that he has held for the last five years. The Putnam County ESC is a regional education service agency that provides services to nine local districts in Putnam County. (Osborn Depo. Exh. 8, pp. 1-2) Dr. Osborn has published articles that have been distributed to other special education professionals. He has completed twenty-four years at the Putnam County Educational Service Center during which time he has had different responsibilities directly or indirectly with special education. (Osborn Depo. 6, 8-9, 14-15) From 1995 to 1997, Dr. Osborn was the chair of the State Superintendent’s Advisory Panel on the education of students with disabilities, which is mandated under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) ( 20 U.S.C. § 1412 (a)(21)(A)). One of the duties of the panel is to advise the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) of the unmet educational needs of students with disabilities. ( 84 C.F.R. § 300.652 (a)). Dr. Osborn is the chair of the board of the Northwest Ohio Special Education Regional Resource Center which provides support services to school districts in thirteen counties. (Osborn Depo. Exh. 8, pp. 1-2) Dr. Osborn has been a member of an advisory group of four persons called The Four Plus Two Committee, which advises and assists John Herner, Director of Division of Special Education, Ohio Department of Education, and also Dr. Jane Wiechel, Director of Early Childhood Education, Ohio Department of Education. The committee provides feedback and concerns to the two directors. The advisory group meets at least once a month, but during increased activity of the legislature, it might meet as often as once a week. (Osborn Depo. 65) Dr. Osborn has attended between 2,000 and 4,000 individualized education program (IEP) conferences since 1977. (Osborn Depo. 87) Stacy Overly Stacy Overly is the Treasurer of the Chillicothe City School District. He has been the district’s treasurer for 2 years and has a total of 7 years of experience as a treasurer in Ohio school districts. He has a Bachelor’s of Business Administration and a Master’s of Business Administration from Ohio University. (Overly Depo. 5-6) Jim Payton Dr. Payton is employed by the Ohio Department of Education in the Policy Research and Analysis Division. He works under the general direction of Dr. *18 Matthew Cohen in conducting simulations of the effects of proposed legislation and other simulations conducted at the request of members of the General Assembly and others. Dr. Payton last testified in this case in February 1993. His current position is identical to the one held by him at that time. (Payton Depo. 4-6) As to further background of Mr. Payton, the Court incorporates its findings of fact relating to Mr. Payton set forth at page 12 of the Court’s findings of fact arising from the original trial. William L. Phillis William L. Phillis testified in this case in the fall of 1993. Since that time he has served as the Executive Director in a consultant relationship with the Ohio Coalition of Equity and Adequacy of School Funding. He has also served as an Assistant Professor at Ashland University until June 1998. He has continued to write articles for Banks Baldwin’s Ohio School Law Journal. The courses he has taught are graduate-level courses in education, including personnel administration, school facilities and grounds, and superintendency. In his role as Executive Director of the Coalition, Dr. Phillis has sought to advance the mission of the Coalition, which is to secure a high quality of education for each young person in the State. The Coalition’s membership consists of approximately 550 school districts throughout the State. (Phillis Tr. 1980-84) As to further background of William L. Phillis, the Court incorporates its findings of fact relating to Mr. Phillis as set forth at pages 12-13 of the Court’s findings of fact arising from the original trial. Francis Rogers Francis Rogers is an employee of the Ohio Department of Education assigned to the Office of Policy, Research and Analysis. Mr. Rogers works there under the direction of Dr. Matthew Cohen. (Rogers Depo. 11-12) Mr. Rogers received his bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University in 1988 and in 1990 a Master of Arts Degree from the University of Georgia with majors in geography and research. Prior to joining the Ohio Department of Education, Mr. Rogers worked at the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission in Columbus, Ohio, from 1990 through 1993. (Rogers Depo. 9-10) Warren G. Russell Warren G. Russell is currently Director of Legislative Services for the Ohio School Boards Association. As a policy analyst, legislative agent, and lobbyist for the Ohio Department of Education, the Buckeye Association of School Administrators, and the Ohio School Boards Association, Mr. Russell has spent 20 years covering hearings, analyzing proposals, and providing testimony on education related legislation. A particular focus of Mr. Russell’s has been in the area of *19 school finance. Mr. Russell produced an administrator’s guide to the biennial budgets for fiscal years 1994-1995, 1996-1997, and 1998-1999. Those guides included an analysis of the biennial budgets which Mr. Russell wrote and were presented in August 1994,1996, and 1998 at budget analysis seminars which were attended by over 1,000 school administrators. Mr. Russell planned two seminars relating to the instant case, one entitled, “After DeRolph,” held in April 1997, and a second seminar entitled, “Proposed DeRolph Remedy,” held in May 1998. Two resource guides were produced for these seminars. Mr. Russell has read, analyzed, and participated in the legislative process on the pieces of legislation which have been listed in the.State’s statement of compliance with the DeRolph decision, filed with this Court March 24,1998. He has likewise followed proposed and enacted legislation which he believes has or will have an impact on the local tax structure of public schools and other local entities. Such bills involve changing the assessment rate on personal tangible taxes, eliminating the inventory portion of personal tangible taxes, the deregulation of the telecommunication and gas utility industries, and the proposed deregulation of the electric utility industry. He has also been involved in issues relating to the overpayment of personal tangible taxes, particularly the General Electric Corporation’s overpayment of personal tangible taxes in excess of $12 million, which affected 72 school districts in Ohio, causing them to repay such overpayment plus interest. (Russell Depo. Exh. 1; Russell Depo. 6-7) As to further background of Mr. Russell, the Court incorporates its findings of fact relating to Mr. Russell as set forth at pages 14 and 15 of the Court’s findings of fact arising from the original trial. Since Mr. Russell last gave testimony in this case in 1993 as a State witness, he continued his employment at the Department of Education, which provided staffing to the Panel of Experts, and was the Department’s Director of Governmental Relations. (Russell Depo. 29, 163) He was involved in the development of the State Board’s legislative positions and proposals. He left the Department of Education in January 1995, and has been with the Ohio School Boards Association since that time as their Director of Governmental Relations. He helped form the Education Tax Policy Institute and directs its research activities. (Russell Depo. 163) Daria Shams Daria Shams has been employed by the Ohio Department of Education for approximately 10 years. All of that time he has been employed in the Simulation Unit. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Public Administration and a master’s degree from The Ohio State University. (Shams Depo. 5) *20 Stephen Sites Stephen Sites has served as the Treasurer of the Dawson-Bryant Local School District for the past nineteen years. (Sites Depo. 5-6) Mr. Sites was educated in the Dawson-Bryant District and went on to earn a degree in accounting from Ohio University. (Sites Depo. 6) Ernest Strawser Ernest Strawser is the treasurer of the Jackson City Schools and has held that position for the last twelve years. Mr. Strawser graduated from Ohio University with a degree in finance, received a master’s in public administration from Central Michigan University, and has attended Ohio University in the doctoral program. Before his employment with the Jackson City Schools, Mr. Strawser worked for the State Auditor’s Office for four years. Mr. Strawser has been very active in the treasurers’ professional association, the Ohio Association of School Business Officials, and has served as its president. He has worked with the Secondary School Principals Association, Elementary School Principals Association, Buckeye Association of School Administrators, Ohio School Boards Association, and the Ohio Department of Education, and has made presentations at more than 40 seminars for these organizations on a variety of topics, including school finance in general financial projections for districts, five-year projections and implementation of H.B. 412 requirements. He participated on an external advisory committee for the Department of Education for nine to ten months, providing practitioner input to the formulation of rules for the implementation by H.B. 412 and has spoken extensively on the topic of implementing the requirements of H.B. 412. Mr. Strawser has worked with the State Auditor’s Office on a spread sheet for use by school treasurers to complete the 5-year projections required by H.B. 412. Six or seven times during his tenure as Jackson City Schools Treasurer, Mr. Strawser has been employed as a consultant to other school districts. (Strawser Tr. 1756-1760; 1767; 1801) Mr. Strawser has significant experience analyzing Ohio school funding levels and the impact of legislation upon local districts, and the Court found that Mr. Strawser’s background and experience qualified him as an expert witness. (Strawser Tr. 1774) John Sonedecker Dr. John Sonedecker is the Superintendent of the Mt. Vernon City School District in'Knox County and has been since 1996. (Sonedecker Depo. 12) Prior to that, he had been Superintendent of the Gahanna School District for 2 years, (Sonedecker Depo. 11-12) was Assistant Superintendent of the Newark City School District, and had been an administrator in the Upper Arlington School District for 10 years. (Sonedecker Depo. 9, 26) *21 Dr. Sonedecker is currently chair of the State Superintendent Technology Committee. (Sonedecker Depo. 6) He is a member of the School Net Instructional Design Team which is engaged in identifying competencies that students need at various levels and staff competencies in order for technology to make a difference in schools. (Sonedecker Depo. 20) Dr. Sonedecker formerly served on the committee which was involved in the development of the State report card. (Sonedecker Depo. 27) He has expertise relating to the environment in which teaching and learning occurs and has done presentations and consultations with the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development as well as the Buckeye Association for School Administrators. (Sonedecker Depo. 25-27) Donald Washburn Donald Washburn is currently the Superintendent of the Plaintiff Dawson-Bryant Local School District, having held that position since August 1992. Mr. Washburn testified at the trial of this matter in 1993, and the Court hereby incorporates its findings from that trial regarding Mr. Washburn’s background and work experience. ' (Trial Court’s Findings 1994, pp. 21-22) At the time of trial in 1993, Mr. Washburn was a member of several governing boards and was serving or had served on five committees to which he was appointed by a representative of the Ohio Department of Education (ODE); two committees dealt with teacher in-service, the other two dealt with revision of state regulation of special education, and the fifth was the Lerners Outcome Panel, that was charged with restructuring all elementary and secondary standards for education in Ohio. In 1989, Mr. Washburn was recognized as the outstanding visionary in the State of Ohio by the ODE. (Trial Court’s Findings 1994, p. 22) Since 1993, Mr. Washburn has been active on several state committees as well as the professional organization BASA (Buckeye Association of School Administrators). He has served four years on the legislative committee of BASA and has recently been elected to its executive committee. Mr. Washburn received the BASA Exemplary Leadership Award in 1997. He participated in the Ohio School Leadership Institute, involving 160 hours of instruction in leading schools through changes and restructuring. The Institute is sponsored by the Ohio Department of Education and BASA and is funded through a grant of the legislature. Also, Mr. Washburn was one of two superintendents from Ohio selected by Dr. John Goff to attend six days of training in integrating technology into the educational process sponsored by the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL). (Washburn Tr. 1893-95) At the request of the Governor’s Office, Mr. Washburn gave a presentation on interrelation of collaboration in the public schools system at the National Governors’ Meeting in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1996. In 1998, he co-presented with Dr. *22 Robert Slavin, who is one of the leading educational researchers in the country, at Johns Hopkins University on implementing the Success For All reading program. (Washburn Tr. 1893-95) James Williams James Williams has served as Superintendent of the Dayton City School District since 1991. Before that, he served as Deputy Superintendent at Dayton City Schools for three years. (Williams Depo. 9) He is responsible for the fiscal and academic operation of the school district. (Williams Depo. 10) B. School District Descriptions and Economic Climate Chillicothe City Schools The average daily membership (ADM) for the Chillicothe City Schools in FY98 was approximately 3,688. The average income of the district was about $31,529 in tax year 1996, but in FY98 the district had an aid for dependent children (ADC) percentage of 17.9. The district has received no equity funds. (State’s Exh. 76). The district will receive 8/10ths of a percent increase ($42,000) in State funding for FY99, but will be required to pay $200,000 of additional costs for special education services to the Ross County Educational Service Center (ESC). (Overly Depo. 55-56) Chillicothe City Schools five-year projections show a deficit of $1.6 million in FY01 that grows to a deficit of $5.7 million in FY03. (Overly Depo. Exh. 1) Dawsortr-Bryant The Court incorporates its findings as to Plaintiff Dawson-Bryant Local School District from its findings of fact issued following the original trial of this matter: “There is very little industry in the Dawson-Bryant School District and surrounding region. Most of the people who reside within the school district that have employment, work outside the district and, in many instances, outside the state. Average income in the district is quite low compared to other districts in the state. The largest employer within the Dawson-Bryant Local School District is the school system. “The residents of Dawson-Bryant passed a 5.9 mill levy in May of 1993. Because there is no industry in the district, the tax is placed directly upon residents. Obviously, residents of the district do not have discretionary income to pay additional taxes. Thus, a tax levy for operations is not a viable option.” (Trial Court’s Findings 1994, p. 67) *23 Except as to events since 1993, the testimony of Superintendent Washburn and Treasurer Sites indicated no change in this description of the district, and the State has offered no testimony indicating any change in these conditions. The ADM for the Dawson-Bryant Local School District in FY98 was approximately 1,393. The average income of the district was about $24,053 in tax year 1996 and the district had an ADC percentage of 22.5 in FY98. (State’s Exh. 76, p. 16) The district’s TANF count (formerly ADC count) has dropped approximately 25% in the last three years. The free and reduced lunch count of the district has gone from 32% in 1991 to a district-wide average of above 60% in FY98, with a 63% average at the elementary level. (Washburn Tr. 1916-17) The district’s five-year projections show a deficit of $73,000 in FY02 that grows to a deficit of one-half million dollars in FY03. (Sites Depo. Exh. 1) Dayton City Schools The ADM for the Dayton City Schools in FY98 was approximately 25,790. The average income of the district was about $26,246 in tax year 1996, and the district had an ADC percentage of 44.5 in FY98. (State’s Exh. 76, p. 22) Groveport Madison The Groveport Madison Local School District has many of the same problems that an urban district has even though they are considered a suburban school district. (Barr Depo. 204-05) The ADM for the Groveport Madison Local School District in FY98 was approximately 5,921. The average income of the district was about $31,813 in tax year 1996, and the district had an ADC percentage of 8.9 in FY98. The district has received no equity funds. (State’s Exh. 76, p. 10) The five-year projection for the Groveport Madison Local School District shows a deficit in FY99 of approximately $45,000 that grows to a deficit of $10.2 million in FY03. (Barr Depo. Exh. 12) Jackson City Schools The Jackson City Schools has an overwhelming need for facilities. (Strawser Tr. 1814; 1816-17) The district residents increased their rate of taxation by 25% between the years 1990 and 1997. At the same time, expenditure per pupil for the district decreased relative to the state average from $800 less per pupil than the state average to $1,100 less per pupil than the state average. (Strawser Tr. 1777; 1806) The Jackson City Schools’ ADM in FY99 is approximately 2,549, the district’s average income is about $25,990, and the ADC percentage is about 18.37. (Strawser Tr. 1860,1785) *24 The district’s five-year projections show a deficit of approximately $123,400 in FY00 that grows to a deficit of $2,095 million in FY03. (PI. Exh. 487) Lima City Schools 70% of the students in the Lima City School District are enrolled in the free and reduced lunch program. The district is one of the poorest districts in the State of Ohio in terms of local property tax as well as personal income. (Buroker Depo. 117) The Court incorporates its findings as to Plaintiff Lima City School District from its findings of fact issued following the original trial of this matter: “a. The general population of the suburban area around the City of Lima has grown slightly over the past ten years, while the population within the city has declined. Of the population decline over the past ten years, 85 percent is represented by individuals under the age of 18 who are white. As a result of the population shifts, demographics of the Lima City School District have continued to change to the end that school districts contiguous to the City of Lima have grown substantially, with one having grown over 200 percent since 1974. “b. People who move into the Lima City School District tend to be people who are moving to take advantage of low-income housing. As a result, the individuals who attend the Lima City Schools tend to be poor. “c. Lima City School District has not proposed the passage of additional tax levies to its voters because it has one of the lowest tax bases and one of the lowest per capita incomes of any school district in the State of Ohio. The tax payers of the district are already assuming a significant burden. In addition, the voters of the city experience municipal overburden charges through the requirement that they pay for the services of water, sewer, and police protection. Thus, the existing tax burden, combined with an ever increasing population living below the poverty line, makes the prospect of passage of an additional tax levy unlikely.” (Trial Court’s Findings 1994, pp. 67-68) Except as to events since 1993, Superintendent Buroker’s deposition testimony contained no change in this description of the City of Lima and Lima City School District and the State has offered no testimony indicating any improvement in these conditions. The Lima City Schools’ ADM in FY98 was approximately 5,917. The average income in the district for tax year 1996 was $25,203, the ADC percentage for FY98 was SI. 5. (State’s Exh. 76, p. 1) The five-year projection for the Lima City Schools shows a deficit in FY01 that grows to $6.9 million in FY03. (Buroker Depo. Exh. 7) *25 Mt. Vernon City Schools The City of Mount Vernon has a population of approximately 15,000 and the school district has about 4,200 students. The district itself encompasses an area outside the city and is approximately 158 square miles. (Sonedecker Depo. 31) The Mount Vernon City Schools’ ADM in FY98 was approximately 4,224. The average income in the district for tax year 96 was $30,316, and the ADC percentage for FY98 was 9.1. The district received no equity funds. (State’s Exh. 76, p. 16) Putnam County Educational Service Center The Putnam County Educational Service Center (ESC) serves nine local school districts including Columbus Grove, Continental, Jennings, Kalida, Leipsic, Miller-City, New Cleveland, Ottawa-Glandorf, Ottoville, and Pandora-Gilboa. Of the nine local school districts in Putnam County, five are in the lowest wealth quartile in the state. Seven districts are ranked in the poorest 291 districts and are therefore eligible for State equity funds. (Osborn Depo. 25-26; Osborn Depo. Exh. 8, p. 2) The Putnam County Educational Service Center offers classes for multi-handicapped, severe behavioral handicapped, developmentally handicapped, and preschool handicapped children. The Educational Service Center provides a supplemental service teacher, gifted education teachers in three locals, gifted education coordinators for all nine locals, 1.6 special education supervisors throughout the county, work study coordinators, speech therapists, and a school psychologist. The Educational Service Center also provides services in general education, including general supervision K-12, a technology coordinator, a preschool program in six locals, an early intervention coordinator, and a substance abuse educator. The Educational Service Center also operates over twenty different grants. It provides programs and services for all nine locals. The Educational Service Center employs about 78 people, with most all of the employees out providing services in the various local school districts. The Educational Service Center has four employees that could be considered administrative: treasurer, assistant to the treasurer, administrative secretary and superintendent. (Osborn Depo. 26-27) The Putnam County Educational Service Center is a fiscal agent for a countywide insurance consortium, which involves managing approximately $1 million per year. The budget of the Educational Service Center is around $4 million per year. (Osborn Depo. 43-44) Southern Local Schools The Court incorporates its findings as to Plaintiff Southern Local Schools from its findings of fact issued following the original trial of this matter: “The economic situation in Southern Perry County and in Plaintiff Southern Local School District is poor. Employment is scarce, companies have closed their *26 doors, and some of the larger employers in the county, coal businesses, have ceased operations. At one time the railroad was the major employer in the county, but it has closed its operations.” (Trial Court’s Findings 1994, p. 69) Except as to events since 1993, the testimony of Superintendent Lanning and Treasurer Grady indicated no change in this description of the district, and the State has offered no testimony indicating any change in these conditions. The Ohio Department of Education simulation printout of June 1998 indicated that the Plaintiff Southern Local School District in Perry County has a valuation per pupil of $24,177, which ranks it 607th in the state. Its federal average income per return for tax year 1996 was approximately $23,279, ranking it 604th in the state. Its current operating millage for FY97 is 33.3, ranking it 494th in the state. Its class one effective millage for FY97 is 23.83, ranking it 474th in the state. The district’s expenditure per pupil for FY97 was $5,329, ranking it 299th in the state. (Lanning Depo. Exh. 2) The ADM for the Southern Local School District in FY98 was approximately 1,102. The average income of the district was about $23,279 in tax year 1996, and the district had an ADC percentage of 22.9 in FY98. (State’s Exh. 876, p. 24) While the expenditure per pupil for the Southern Local School District has increased between FY91 and FY97, so also has the percentage of teachers with bachelor’s plus 150 hours of education and also increased is the percentage of teachers with a master’s degree. The average teacher’s experience in the district has also increased. These increases in teacher education and experience cause additional salaries to be paid to teachers. Also, the district’s teacher-to-pupil ratio has increased between FY91 and FY98. (Lanning Depo. Exh. 4) The five-year projections for the district show a deficit in FY01 that increases substantially through FY03. (Grandy Depo. Exh. I) Southr-Westem City Schools South-Western City Schools has a student population of 18,500, the seventh largest in the state. (Hamilton Depo. 15,229) It has 28 school buildings, including 3 high schools. It is a unique district which includes rural, urban, and suburban areas. It includes Grove City, a city with the population of 25,000 to 27,000, an area known as Westland which adjoins West Broad Street, and Franklin Heights which borders and includes part of the City of Columbus. (Hamilton Depo. 15-16) Its community population includes areas where the average value of a home is $175,000 and most of those homes have one or more parents with a college education. The community also includes homes where the average income is below the poverty level and families live in subsidized housing. (Hamilton Depo. 16) The district employs about 2,100 employees. (Hutchinson Depo. 7) *27 The ADM for the South-Western City Schools in FY98 was approximately 18,493. The average income of the district was about $32,196 in tax year 1996, and the district had an ADC percentage of 11.3 in FY98. The district received no equity funds. (State’s Exh. 76, p. 10) The five-year projections of the district show a deficit in FY02 of $8.35 million that grows to a deficit of $28.7 million in FY03. (Hutchinson Depo. Exh. 4) Youngstoum The Court incorporates its findings as to Plaintiff Youngstown City School District from its findings of fact issued following the original trial of this matter: “The Youngstown City School District’s local revenue has been hurt by the economy of the Youngstown area. The Youngstown business community has been devastated since the steel mills closed down, and the City of Youngstown has given tax abatements to industry in an attempt to draw business to the area. The combination of the steel mills closing and the abatement process has had a detrimental impact on the Youngstown City School District’s financial projections.” (Trial Court’s Findings 1994, p. 69) Except as to events since 1993, Treasurer Funk’s deposition testimony indicated only a worsening of these conditions. The ADM for Youngstown City Schools in FY98 was approximately 12,599. The average income of the district was about $22,905 in tax year 1996, and the district had an ADC percentage of 57.5 in FY98. (State’s Exh. 76, p. 20) The Youngstown City Schools has three outstanding emergency school assistance loans for a total of $37,202,587. (Brown Depo. 67-68) The district’s five-year projections show a deficit of $6.6 million in FY99 that grows to a deficit of $49 million in FY03. (Funk Depo. Exh. I) C. Overview of Legislative Activity School Funding Task Force After the Supreme Court issued its decision in March 1997, there was assembled what became known as the School Funding Task Force. The Task Force included the Governor, Speaker of the House, and the President of the Senate, minority leaders of the House and Senate, and was chaired by then State Budget Director R. Gregory Browning. 3 (Davidson Tr. 77) The Task Force also had a staff which included representatives of the Department of Education, The Office of Budget and Management, and the Legislative Budget Office. The staff *28 included Jack Jackson of the Ohio Department of Education, Dave Brunson from the Legislative Budget Office, Mike Spino and Anthony Tripody from the Office of Budget and Management and, to a lesser extent, Liz Connolly and Tim Keen. (Cohn Depo. 87-88) Dr. Goff was appointed to the School Funding Task Force by the Governor in April 1997. Matt Cohen was assigned by Dr. Goff as a staff member from the Ohio Department of Education. Dr. Cohen involved Department of Education employees Dana Shams, Jim Payton and Francis Rogers in performing the work that he performed. (Goff Depo. 50, 53) Dr. Goff directed Dr. Cohen and his staff members to work with other members of the School Funding Task Force. (Goff Depo. 55) Dr. Goff received periodic reports from Matt Cohen concerning the work of the department staff in connection with the School Funding Task Force. (Goff Depo. 57) The Task Force staff generated many types of analysis and data, particularly from the Department of Education and the Legislative Budget Office. (See Section IV, infra) At about this time, the Department of Education also engaged Dr. John Augenblick as a consultant and requested that he develop a methodology to determine the base cost of an adequate education. Dr. Augenblick issued a report to the Task Force in July 1997. (Davidson Tr. 27-28) Engagement of Dr. Augenblick The engagement of John Augenblick was thoroughly discussed with the staff members of the School Funding Task Force prior to the decision to engage the services of Dr. Augenblick. (Cohen Depo. 93) Dr. Cohen believed that each staff member of the School Funding Task Force was familiar with Dr. Augenblick’s work from his participation on the Panel of Experts. (Cohen Depo. 95) In the course of developing his recommendations, Dr. Augenblick met with the staff of the School Funding Task Force on several occasions, discussed ideas and tried to get a feel for the direction the task force members were interested in going. The task force members most often met with in that regard were Mike Spino, Anthony Tripody, Jack Jackson, Dr. Matthew Cohen and David Brunson. In addition, Debra Zadzi and Wendy Zahn from the Legislative Budget Office were present, as well as Dr. Bruce Gensemer for at least one of those meetings. (Cohen Depo. 105-06) Work of the Task Force, Staff, Augenblick, and Others In connection with the work of the staff members of the School Funding Task Force, Dr. Augenblick had the primary responsibility to develop a base cost and Dr. Gensemer, Dr. Fleeter and Dr. Cohen had the responsibility to develop the “add ons” (cost-of-doing business factor, special education, DPIA, and transportation). (Cohen Depo. 112-14) *29 At the time that John Augenblick was hired by the School Funding Task Force, it was understood that his work would involve utilizing the inferential process. The task force had discussed, understood and agreed that that was the approach to be utilized by Dr. Augenblick; no alternatives were discussed. (Cohen Depo. 123) The staff of the School Funding Task Force (core group) met approximately ten times during the course of developing recommendations for the School Funding Task Force. Dr. Augenblick was present for approximately half of those meetings. (Cohen Depo. 306-07) Dr. Goff did not consider gathering any new or additional data in connection with the recommendations of the School Funding Task Force other than data that already existed within the Department of Education’s files. (Goff Depo. 67-68) Each of the options considered for inclusion in Dr. Augenblick’s recommendation were presented to and discussed with the staff members of the School Funding Task Force. Each of the options considered also had information showing the cost of the choices under consideration. (Cohen Depo. 144-45) Base cost options were reviewed with the staff members of the School Funding Task Force and with Dr. Augenblick. Dr. Augenblick urged the staff members of the School Funding Task Force to consider using the expenditure flow model (EFM) screen as a measure of efficiency. (Cohen Depo. 153) No studies or analyses were conducted to determine whether or not school districts with high or low expenditures as measured by the expenditure flow model were efficient or inefficient. (Cohen Depo. 155) Cohen Deposition Exhibit 4 represents the database from which the various options considered by the staff of the School Funding Task Force and Dr. Augenblick were derived. (Cohen Depo. 174) The base cost recommendation arrived at by Dr. Augenblick and the staff members of the School Funding Task Force was presented to the School Funding Task Force in late June 1997. After that time, the focus shifted to work being done by Drs. Gensemer and Cohen on the development of recommendations for special education funding, DPIA and related recommendations. (Cohen Depo. 181-83) Cohen Deposition Exhibit 9 is an outline of the report proposed to be authored by John Augenblick in connection with his work for the School Funding Task Force. The outline was prepared by Dr. Cohen and given to Dr. Augenblick. (Cohen Depo. 209-11) Dr. Cohen’s work with the staff of the School Funding Task Force concluded when Budget Director Browning presented a proposal to that task force in the summer of 1997. (Cohen Depo. 224-25) *30 Attachments 1 through 10 and 14 to Dr. Augenblick’s July 1996 report (Cohen Depo. Exh. 13) were prepared by the Ohio Department of Education. (Cohen Depo. 238, 244-47, 254, 265-69, 271, 274) The issue of what documents to attach to Dr. Augenblick’s report was discussed with the School Funding Task Force staff as well as with Dr. Augenblick. (Cohen Depo. 277) The staff members of the School Funding Task Force decided that “everything that they could possibly present would be part of an attachment to the report.” (Cohen Depo. 315) Dr. Fleeter was asked to recast Dr. Gensemer’s paper and recast the work into a different format. He was not asked to undertake any independent study or analysis of the work conducted by Dr. Gensemer. (Cohen Depo. 281) The work performed by Dr. Fleeter on behalf of the staff members of the School Funding Task Force became a paper attached to the Augenblick report. (Cohen Depo. 143) It was this work that was the basis for the special education weights. (See “Special Education,” infra) Senator Espy, a member of the School Funding Task Force, proposed that the 1990 school facilities study be updated to the current year. That proposal was rejected by vote of the School Funding Task Force. (Goff Depo. 109) The basic premise of the School Funding Task Force’s approach is represented by the statement conveyed to Dr. Goff by Director Browning: “By using the performance accountability standards as criteria for establishing the cost of a basic education, we are linking our cost estimate to our desired outcomes.” (Goff Tr. 612) The work of the School Funding Task Force was governed by the timeline for getting issues on the ballot in the fall. One of the issues discussed for inclusion in the ballot would have limited the authority of the Judiciary to review issues regarding school funding. (Goff Tr. 6, 12-13) Director Browning, as Chair of the School Funding Task Force, issued “School Funding Policy Recommendations” on July 1, 1997. One of his recommendations was three amendments to the Ohio Constitution, including limiting the reviewing authority of the judiciary regarding school funding. (PI. Exh. 502; Joint Resolution 2) Activity Moves to Legislature By mid-summer, three material pieces of legislation were pending in the General Assembly in response to the Supreme Court’s decision. Those were S.B. 55, generally known as the academic accountability statute; H.B. 412, generally known as the fiscal accountability statute, and Senate Joint Resolution 3, which would have placed on the ballot a 1$ sales tax designed to raise $1.1 billion for funding primary and secondary education. (State’s Exh. 2; Davidson Tr. 202-3) Governor Voinovich sent a memorandum to the members of the General Assembly dated December 16, 1997 describing the Governor’s proposal, which *31 was- moving through the Legislature in the summer or late summer of 1997. (Johnson Depo. 33-34; Johnson Depo. Exh. 1) The proposal included: • Increase the State’s sales tax from 5% to 6%, constitutionally earmarking the increase for schools. • Provide $5.8 billion in State assistance for school facilities over a 10-year period, including $2.8 billion in State issued debt. The State assistance is estimated to leverage an additional local contribution of about $7 billion, creating a total facilities program of approximately $12.8 billion. • Allow school districts to pass levies that are not subject to H.B. 920 property tax growth restrictions. • Increase the cigarette tax by 12