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Our Agency

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About the Educational Service Center of Central Ohio

The Educational Service Center of Central Ohio (ESC) provides school districts and schools with professional development, technology, human resource, and administrative supports, and direct student services that help improve student learning, enhance the quality of instruction, expand equitable access to resources, and maximize operating and fiscal efficiencies. 

We serve 29 client school districts and three career technical centers in Delaware, Franklin, Licking, Madison, Marion, Morrow, Ross, and Union counties, with over 225,000+ students impacted. In addition to these districts and schools, the ESC is able to provide support to any school or district, even if they're not a client district. We also partner with the state of Ohio to provide support and services regionally and statewide. We’ve provided over 133,000 hours of professional learning and placed over 3,200 active substitutes in schools. We’re happy to help districts and schools however we can! 

What Are ESCs? 

All ESCs started the same way, as county boards of education in 1914! The General Assembly created the Ohio Educational Regional Service System and positioned ESCs to serve as the channel and delivery system for Ohio’s statewide school improvement and education reform efforts. Under this law, ESCs implement state- and federally-funded initiatives assigned to them by the General Assembly and the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce.  

ESCs are classified as... 

  • local political subdivisions 
  • school districts under state law  
  • local education agencies or LEAs under federal law 
In the spirit of maintaining local control of public schools, ESCs work under the oversight of a locally elected Governing Board. The day-to-day operations of ESCs are conducted by ESC superintendents, treasurers, and other administrators. 

In Fiscal Year 2024, ESCs:

  • Spent 94.76% of their funds providing services to students and schools;
  • Provided $100 million in cost savings to schools in five service areas alone (per state High-Performing ESC data);
  • Identified, applied for, and secured $317.33 million in local, state, and federal grants on behalf of schools; and
  • Generated a range of $9-$14 in additional value for every $1 received in state operating subsidy.

To learn more about ESCs, visit the Ohio ESC Association website.