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Budget cuts threaten Dayton Early College Academy

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By Dave Larsen, Staff Writer Updated 11:19 PM Tuesday, June 23, 2009

DAYTON — The Dayton Early College Academy could have its funding eliminated under Gov. Ted Strickland’s latest budget proposal, according to school officials.

Strickland’s budget eliminates $12 million in early college funding from the current Ohio House and Senate versions of the budget, said Thomas Lasley, dean of the University of Dayton School of Education and Allied Professions, which operates DECA.

“The removal of those dollars would jeopardize the sustainability of the school,” Lasley said.

DECA is one of nine Ohio early college high schools threatened by the cuts. More than $40 million has been invested to start and operate the schools by the KnowledgeWorks Foundation, the State of Ohio and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The schools would retain their basic funding, but lose access to supplemental funding that enables urban students to prepare to succeed in college, Lasley said.

All 26 of this year’s DECA graduates have been accepted to college. Strickland’s framework is intended as a starting point and talks continue with the legislature to address a projected $3.2 billion shortfall in revenue, said spokeswoman Amanda Wurst.

“The framework is not a matter of the worthiness of programs. It’s a matter of having limited resources,” Wurst said.

DECA has sufficient operating capital for the 2009-2010 school year, but funding beyond that is “highly questionable,” Lasley said.

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