Ohio children are among the fattest in the nation and their waistlines are only projected to swell in the future.

The obesity rate for Ohio children could surpass 50 percent by 2018, resulting in billions of dollars in health-care costs, according to a new study by the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease.

As a result of this concern, a new collation of businesses and health-care groups is pushing for standards to make Ohio students healthier. The cost of the proposed legislation, however, is raising some concerns in school districts that have already seen their state funding cut and mandates increase.

“Again, it’s an unfunded mandate that sounds good, but all the ins and outs have not been fully vetted and this is why it’s frustrating,” said Julie Wagner Feasel, Olentangy Board of Education president.

Olentangy, the fastest growing district in the state, worries it will be hit hard by unfunded state mandates due to its continued expansion. The district was initially projecting a roughly $10 million operating deficit in fiscal year 2011 due to revenue lost from changes to the state funding system.

Olentangy, Big Walnut and Buckeye Valley school districts will receive one percent less state funding this year and two percent less the following year, while Delaware City schools will receive a three-quarter percent increase each of the next two years.

How much the school nutrition bill introduced in the Ohio House and Senate might cost districts is not known at this time, but it requires a number of changes, such as: requiring schools offer healthier items in vending machines and on a la carte menus; requiring schools to provide 30 minutes of daily physical activity for students; increasing physical education instruction for high school students from a half-credit to a full credit; and requiring body-mass-index testing for students in third, fifth and ninth grades and reporting that information to parents.

If passed, the bill would require Olentangy to hire more physical education teachers and reduce the amount of time students spend studying core academic subjects, Feasel said, voicing concern about these consequences. “I believe we are getting into some items that could be best dealt with in the home. The state is always on us to improve reading, writing, arithmetic, but at what point do they get to the point where they say schools have to control the weight of their students,” she said.

Olentangy is still grappling with the ramifications of state-mandated all-day kindergarten. District officials estimate offering all-day kindergarten would necessitate an additional 37 new classrooms, which would require the construction of at least one new building and millions of dollars for its operation.

Delaware City Schools recently estimated offering all-day kindergarten will cost the district $1.2 million, leaving less funds for technology and permanent improvements. It will require the district to shuffle classrooms, add two modulars, replace an existing modular and add about nine teachers.