The Ohio House Finance Committee passed its version of the state budget Tuesday afternoon but not before making a few tweaks to it. And one of those changes involved a controversial provision that would allow local taxpayers to get a refund if their school districts carry over more money in their operating budgets than lawmakers deem necessary.
Rep. Brian Stewart (R-Ashville) said the decision was to allow the school districts to carry over 30% of their operating budget before being penalized. The earlier plan capped that amount at 25%. Stewart said even at 30%, local property taxpayers in more than 400 school district will get a refund because of high carryover.
“Our determination is this. If this bill has been in effect already, this would constitute a $4.2 billion…