LISBON — Local school board members are concerned that some at the state level still aren’t knowledgeable about exactly how public school funding works.

Columbiana County Educational Service Center (ESC) board member Marilyn Parkes said she felt “very uneasy” after attending the Ohio School Board’s Association biennial budget update in Columbus.

According to minutes of the March ESC meeting posted online, Parkes said in her report to the board that she feels that some of those who represent public schools at the state level are not fully informed.

According to Parkes at least one individual at the budget update believed that all property tax revenue goes to schools, while she noted that is not the case.

In Ohio, public schools receive two-thirds of the property tax revenue levied, with the remainder split between all other local governments in the state, according to the Ohio Department of Taxation.

The amount of tax revenue received locally can fluctuate based on property tax values as approved by the county auditor’s office, the amount approved by local voters to be collected on a local tax levy for schools, and any state changes to the state funding formula.

School districts may also receive some revenue from income tax levies passed by voters.

Parkes also told the board that she believes public schools are losing support at the state level.

She also said the OSBA is working to reduce school transportation costs and looking into better solutions for ESC funding.

Currently, as stated by the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, state funding to ESCs is for the support of basic operations and legally mandated services.

“State funding of about $52.4 million per year makes up 14.4 percent of the total funding received by ESCs,” the ODWE states on its website, education.ohio.gov.

Parkes encouraged the board and anyone else interested to write to their state representative expressing their concerns, noting that often times the “squeaky wheel gets the grease.”