^ Moi aussi.

And I voted for Bender!  Woo, go me!

From the 11/6/06 Dispatch:

 

GRAPHIC: Upper Arlington's charter schools

 

Upper Arlington schools add charters, choices

Monday, November 06, 2006

Jennifer Smith Richards

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Be clear about this: It is about the money.  If the Upper Arlington school district hadn’t set up charter schools, there might not be an International Baccalaureate program at Upper Arlington High School or a quirky program for a small group of students who desire a different high-school experience.

 

Wickliffe, the district’s elementary school long known as an innovative, creative place to learn, wouldn’t have been able to work with Harvard University to try a different way of honing teachers’ skills.  The money, about $580,000 in all from state and federal government grants, rolled in when Upper Arlington made its three charter schools.  Wickliffe Informal Alternative Elementary School became Wickliffe Progressive Community School this year.  The district morphed portions of the high school into two charter schools, the high-level International Baccalaureate program and Upper Arlington Community High School.

 

Upper Arlington is at the helm of a change in the way suburban districts, especially wealthy ones, think about charter schools in central Ohio. Most charters have been based in urban areas and viewed as competition to struggling city schools, but suburban districts are starting to embrace the option as a way to diversify. Some already operate online schools, but fewer have opened bricks-and-mortar charter schools.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/11/06/20061106-C1-04.html

From the 11/7/06 Canton Repository:

 

Canton BOE joins statewide coalition

By MELISSA GRIFFY SEETON

REPOSITORY EDUCATION WRITER

 

CANTON -- The City Schools’ Board of Education urged the public to vote today for legislators that will do something — anything — to fix the school funding system in Ohio.  “You can only use smoke and mirrors for so long,” said John Rinaldi, board member.  “We need to get people in there that support our schools. Our options are running out.”

 

The board voted at its regular meeting Monday night to join the Ohio Coalition for Equity & Adequacy of School Funding at a cost of $5,307.  Board member Nadine McIlwain dissented, stating she did not believe the coalition should continue to draw $5,000 from schools — even when the Legislature arrives at a funding fix.

 

Executive Director of the coalition Bill Phillis addressed the board at a study session two weeks ago.  The coalition is an advocate of first establishing the components of a high-quality education, then adequately funding it.  But McIlwain pointed out the group is not the only one working on behalf of public schools.

 

MORE: http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?Category=9&ID=317823&r=6&subCategoryID=

 

From the 11/9/06 Dispatch:

 

FUNDING ISSUES STATEWIDE

Money requests pass for majority of schools

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Catherine Candisky

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Voters in the Canton-area Lake Local School District approved all 10 issues they faced Tuesday, rolling back a district operating levy by 0.01 mills.  As a result, the owner of a $100,000 home will save $3 a year and the district will lose about $38,000, the equivalent of one teacher. But the vote inoculated the district from referendums to cut its revenue even more.

 

The story from Lake Local was among the good news from Tuesday’s election.  Statewide, voters approved more than half of the 206 tax increases — or decreases — for schools.  Ninety-six requests for more funding failed.

 

Voters in Franklin County bucked the state trend by rejecting more levies than they approved.  Groveport Madison and Worthington voters supported tax issues for their schools while requests in the Canal Winchester, South-Western and Reynoldsburg districts were turned down.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/news/news.php?story=dispatch/2006/11/09/20061109-D4-01.html

---

From the 11/9/06 PD:

 

Voters reject many school taxes; cuts, state takeover now options

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Patrick O'Donnell and April McClellan-Copeland

Plain Dealer Reporters

 

School tax requests had a tough day at the polls Tuesday, with local voters rejecting twice as many increases as they passed.  That meant districts such as Akron, Fairview Park and Cloverleaf were celebrating Tuesday.  But many more, including Buckeye, North Olmsted and Springfield, had to start looking at cuts or a state takeover.

 

Statewide, only 25 percent of new tax requests passed.  The most unusual was in Barberton, where voters said no to renewing a tax to maintain buildings.  Renewals, which don't raise taxes, usually pass, as 12 of the 13 on the ballot Tuesday did.  But by shooting down the renewal, Barberton voters made sure that the tax can't be collected next year and $116 will stay in their pockets per $100,000 in home value.

 

MORE: http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1163065356195850.xml&coll=2

 

From the 11/12/06 Dispatch:

 

School funding may get its day

Strickland’s passion to fix system promising, groups say

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Catherine Candisky

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Five years ago, when the state was embroiled in a long-running school-funding lawsuit, U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland filed a court brief supporting the schools in his Appalachian district.  State lawmakers, Strickland told the justices of the Ohio Supreme Court, had failed to comply with their original order to fix the way public education is financed and had to be held accountable.

 

During his successful campaign for governor, Strickland called school funding one of the biggest issues facing the state.  He would be a failure as governor, he said, if he didn’t address it.  He’s about to get his chance.

 

Govs. Bob Taft and George V. Voinovich convened commissions to address the court rulings that the school-funding system is unconstitutional. Strickland will be the first governor to agree with those rulings.  "The governor-elect brings a refreshing element to the table," said William L. Phillis, executive director of the Ohio Coalition for Equity & Adequacy of School Funding.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/news/news.php?story=dispatch/2006/11/12/20061112-C1-01.html

 

From the 11/16/06 DDN:

 

Earned income tax as method of funding schools gains favor

Proponents say the idea is particularly 'sellable' to senior citizens because much of their income is sheltered.

By Doug Page

Staff Writer

Thursday, November 16, 2006

 

Larry Walpert sounded satisfied this week. The school tax he championed appeared to gain acceptance from school boards and voters.  The Republican state representative from Hilliard had pushed the inclusion of the earned income tax in the most recent budget bill.

 

Eight of the nine school income taxes passed last week were earned income taxes.  "This is something that's sellable," Scott Ebright of the Ohio School Board Association said.  "The whole purpose was to gain the senior citizens' vote."

 

An earned income tax shelters such incomes as pensions and investment income, normally taxed under a traditional income tax.  Both taxes shelter Social Security income.  Both earned and traditional income taxes recently have again become popular.  This year, 26 income taxes were approved, the second highest single-year number since a traditional income tax was authorized for schools in 1982.  The legislature added the earned income tax in 2005.

 

MORE: http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2006/11/15/ddn111606taxinside.html

 

Both from ThisWeek Northland, 11/23/06:

 

Bill would reimburse districts for property tax

Thursday, November 23, 2006

By MICHAEL J. MAURER

ThisWeek Staff Writer

 

State Rep. Jim Hughes (R-Columbus) has joined with several other legislators, including some from central Ohio, to introduce a bill that would extend a proposed phase-out of a business tax that currently helps fund public school districts.  H.B. 562, introduced earlier this year, had its first committee hearing Nov. 14 in the General Assembly, indicating a fair chance of passage during a crowded lame-duck session of the legislature that ends Dec. 31.

 

"There are currently 139 school districts around Ohio that will lose at least 20 percent of their funding once the revenue from tangible personal property taxes is phased out," Hughes said.  "Many of these schools are performing well and are considered suburban school districts. With the loss of the tangible personal property taxes, these school districts will be forced to pass the financial burden to those paying real property taxes, therefore, increasing the cost to our constituents."

 

MORE: http://www.thisweeknews.com/index.php?sec=northland&story=sites/thisweeknews/112306/Northland/News/112306-News-264310.html

---

Law would help fast-growing districts in facilities funding

Thursday, November 23, 2006

By MICHAEL J. MAURER

ThisWeek Staff Writer

 

A bill introduced last spring to help fast-growing school districts had its first committee hearing Nov. 14 during the lame-duck session of the General Assembly.  Attention this late in the two-year legislative session -- a new General Assembly will take office in January -- indicates that the bill has the attention of the leadership.

 

State Rep. Larry Wolpert (R-Hilliard) said current law is flawed because it does not take into account the problems caused by rapid growth in enrollment, which increases the need for new buildings and new building construction.  In many central Ohio districts, such as Olentangy and Pickerington, however, growth has been much faster.

 

"The new program is based on growth and classroom capacity," Wolpert said.  "If a school district is growing by at least 100 new students per year on average over five years and the district has no capacity to house the students, then the state would assist with at least 25 percent of the cost of constructing a new facility."

 

Other fast-growing central Ohio districts that would qualify include South-Western City Schools, Reynoldsburg, Dublin and Hilliard, Wolpert said.

 

MORE: http://www.thisweeknews.com/index.php?sec=northland&story=sites/thisweeknews/112306/Northland/News/112306-News-264308.html

 

If more school funding will give teachers more money... then I'm all for it, both of mis padres are high school teachers.

 

And... at school last week, we ran out of pencils... PLEASE do something about the school funding system! (that was a joke... but its seriously whack, my parents get an OEA magazine about every month, and I try to follow whats going on with the funding system. Innercity schools and small rural schools are hurting the most, who would ahve thunk it!? The OEA supported Strickland, so lets hope he follows through and supports our schools)

Taft says his four appointees will back evolution in schools

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Associated Press

 

Columbus -- Gov. Bob Taft said the four people he appoints to the state school board before he leaves office will support science lessons that focus on evolution and not intelligent design.

 

"I want people who are really committed to teaching good science in school, and I think that intelligent design does not play a role in the science curriculum," he told The Columbus Dispatch for a story Wednesday.

 

Intelligent design argues that DNA and other aspects of life are so complex that they're best explained as the intervention of a higher power.

 

More at:

 

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1165486082147350.xml&coll=2

 

From the 11/26/06 Portsmouth Daily Times:

 

Research center audits charter schools

By FRANK LEWIS

PDT Staff Writer

Saturday, November 25, 2006 11:37 PM EST

 

Although the Ohio Supreme Court has upheld the state's charter school system, that does not change the need for the schools to be more accountable to the public, according to a new report by an educational research center, Ohio Collaborative.

 

According to the report, the state of Ohio funds 294 public charter schools, of which 115 are sponsored by private entities. The remaining 179 charter schools are sponsored by public entities such as public school districts. “There are some school systems that are probably hard to hold accountable,” said Dennis DeCamp, director of operations at Sciotoville Community School.

 

DeCamp said the accountability issue is nonexistent in the only charter school in Scioto County. “I just finished an 80-plus page document that shows accountability for everything we do,” he said. “There are 84 items in that report, everything from our financial audit by the state auditor, our respective insurance coverage from liability to bonding, our fire and health insurance reports, to our plans.”

 

MORE: http://www.portsmouth-dailytimes.com/articles/2006/11/26/news/local_news/1news_charters.txt

 

From the 11/27/06 Ravenna Record-Courier:

 

School funding may be on ballot

Equity & Adequacy of School Funding group eyes amendment for '07

November 27, 2006

By Deborah Guziak

Record-Courier staff writer

 

An amendment to the Ohio Constitution that will force the state to correct school funding is expected to be on the November 2007 ballot.

 

"The only thing to do is to get a constitutional amendment to stipulate what has to be done to fix it," said William Phillis, executive director of the Ohio Coalition for Equity & Adequacy of School Funding.  "We"re working with 10 other school organizations putting the finishing touches on the amendment. We"re going to start circulating petitions in January."  Many members of the 2005 Mayors" Roundtable also have joined the battle to get equal and adequate school funding and education for the children of the state.

 

It was the coalition that filed the DeRolph case in December 1991.  The lawsuit requested the state create equal and adequate education for every child in every school system throughout the state.  The Ohio Supreme Court ruled in favor of the coalition four times: On March 24, 1997; May 11, 2000; Sept. 6, 2001; and Dec. 11, 2002, Phillis said.

 

MORE: http://www.recordpub.com/news/article/390862

 

From the 11/29/06 Blade:

 

Charter schools get attendance warning

11, including 2 here, told to fix records

By IGNAZIO MESSINA

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

Eleven Ohio charter schools, including Aurora Academy in East Toledo and a Maumee-based online school, have been warned by the state to accurately record student attendance or risk losing some public funding.

 

The 11 schools, nine of which are online schools where students work on computers at home, have been ordered by the Ohio Department of Education to explain why they reported 100 percent attendance for the 2005-06 school year while also reporting students removed or withdrawn for chronic truancy.  Each school must file a corrective plan to deal with the reporting problems by the close of the business day Jan. 10 or face a reduction in state funding.

 

"We are very concerned about this," said J.C. Benton, a spokesman for the state Department of Education.  "It didn't make sense to have 100 percent attendance if you have students withdrawing for truancy."  The department started the investigation after some of the schools told the state they had not counted students expelled for chronic truancy, which means a student was absent for at least 21 days.

 

MORE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061129/NEWS04/611290385/-1/NEWS

 

From the 12/3/06 Blade:

 

Strickland vows fix in school funding

Governor-elect says he’ll build consensus

By JOSHUA BOAK

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

COLUMBUS — Ohio Governor-elect Ted Strickland told the state’s largest teacher union yesterday that he would rebuild public school financing, without explaining what that new edifice would look like.

 

“All of us are committed to one great goal, and that is to have a system of education in the great state of Ohio that rivals any system in the country that is constitutionally funded,” Mr. Strickland told the more than 1,000 cheering teacher union representatives.

 

“There is so much work to be done, but the opportunity is great,” said the governor-elect, who staked the success of his administration on giving all students equal access to a “high quality” education.

 

In an interview after his speech to the Ohio Education Association, Mr. Strickland said his plan would grow out of a consensus from teachers, parents, businessmen, and the Republican-controlled General Assembly. Mr. Strickland did not rule out increasing state taxes nor place a timetable on reforms the Ohio Supreme Court requested nine years ago.

 

MORE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061203/NEWS24/61203002/-1/NEWS

 

From the 12/6/06 Dispatch:

 

NEW STATEHOUSE GAME PLAN

Group alters tactics in fight over charters

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Catherine Candisky

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

A coalition of public-school supporters believes it has a better shot in the Statehouse than the courthouse at making charter schools more accountable.  The group of parents, teachers unions and education organizations announced yesterday that it will drop its remaining litigation challenging the state’s charter-school program. 

 

Instead, the coalition will focus its efforts on pushing state lawmakers to approve legislation aimed at improving academic and fiscal performance at the privately operated, tax-funded schools.  The announcement came about six weeks after the Ohio Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of charter schools.  Some issues, however, remained pending before a lower court.  The most notable questions whether for-profit companies should be allowed to run charter schools.

 

Mark Hatch, director of public policy and public affairs for the Ohio Association of Public School Employees, said he and other coalition members think the new administration and legislature "offer more hope for positive change."  Gov.-elect Ted Strickland has pledged to "fix" Ohio’s funding system for public education and has called for more accountability for charter schools.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/12/06/20061206-B4-01.html

 

From the 12/7/06 Youngstown Vindicator:

 

Coalition to end charter lawsuit

 

YOUNGSTOWN — The Coalition for Public Education, a long-time critic of the way charter schools operate in Ohio, plans to end its lawsuit challenging Ohio's charter school program.  The coalition, a statewide alliance of education, parent and civic organizations, said it will shift its focus to pushing for legislative and regulatory solutions to what it sees as serious problems with the system.

 

The organization said it will support recently introduced legislation that would increase the academic and fiscal accountability for charter schools.  On Oct. 25, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the state's charter school program was constitutional, but another lawsuit filed by the coalition over charter school issues remains pending in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.

 

The coalition has challenged the policy of allowing private groups to grant charters to other private groups, charters with unlimited terms and the growing dominance of for-profit chains operating charter schools.  Ohio is on schedule to pay $500 million this year to the operators of 300 charter schools and half of those schools earned failing marks on the 2005-06 state report cards, the coalition said.

 

MORE: http://www.vindy.com/content/local_regional/309946790399081.php

 

From the 12/13/06 PD:

 

State Education Board wants say in school-funding reform

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Scott Stephens

Plain Dealer Reporter

 

Columbus - The State Board of Education wants a voice in the growing chorus calling for a change in the way Ohio pays for public education.

 

A board committee Tuesday tweaked a plan that aims to be a road map to getting the beleaguered funding system changed.  The draft document has been discussed and debated at a series of public hearings, and a final document will be given to the whole board next month.  "Our work is to provide a framework on which to analyze actual school funding proposals," said Jennifer Stewart of Zanesville, a member of the board committee.

 

The report calls for school-based budgeting to ensure that money gets to the buildings that need it most.  It also says the state should align financial decisions with "best practices" - educational initiatives that have proved effective.  The report also calls for the state to more aggressively "weight" funding so the children who are hardest to educate get the most money.

 

MORE: http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1166003087125610.xml&coll=2

 

From the 12/19/06 Dispatch:

 

FINAL ACTION TODAY

Bill would give more kids option of vouchers

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Jim Siegel

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Students in more than twice as many school buildings would be eligible for state-funded vouchers under a last-minute expansion that’s expected to pass the House and Senate today.  Although the number of available voucher slots are expected to remain at 14,000 next school year, Republican lawmakers are loosening the restrictions on what type of building qualifies for the program, which provides $4,250 for students up to the eighth grade and $5,900 for high-school students to attend private school.

 

Currently, students attending buildings that have been in "academic watch" or "academic emergency," the equivalent of a D or an F, for three straight years are eligible.  The bill, which passed a joint conference committee late yesterday on a partyline vote, changes that standard to two of the past three years.

 

If in effect next year, vouchers should be available to 236 school buildings, compared with 99 this year.  It opens the program to buildings in 15 additional districts, including one building in South-Western and two in Groveport Madison.  Under the new formula, students in 71 Columbus Public Schools buildings would be eligible for vouchers, compared with 29 under the current rules.  This, for the first time, would include two high schools: South and East.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/12/19/20061219-D1-04.html

 

Rep. Tom Raga, R-Mason, said the amendments cover two themes: more accountability for charter schools and more access to school choice.

 

"For students who are trapped in these under-performing schools, it’s an expansion of that opportunity to go to a school they can choose," he said. "Certainly there are more opportunities to make it to 14,000, but it still comes down to parental choice."

 

Does anybody believe this happytalk anymore? Who, exactly, is competing with the Charter schools at this point?     

 

Evolutionists unhappy with Taft education appointees

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Catherine Candisky

 

Evolutionists say Gov. Bob Taft went back on his promise to name only pro-science appointees to the State Board of Education.

 

The three appointees named last week by Taft all previously voted to support teaching intelligent design in science classes, said Patricia Princehouse, a biology professor at Case Western Reserve University.

 

Appointed to a second, four-year term were: Stephen M. Millett, of Columbus; Jennifer Sheets, of Pomeroy; and Carl Wick, of Centerville.

 

More at:

 

http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/12/12/20061212-D4-04.html

 

Creationism believer joins state board

BY ANNIE HALL | [email protected]

 

COLUMBUS - In one of the quietest, most overlooked elections on Nov. 7, an amazing thing happened in an Ohio state school board race in Southwest Ohio. A little-known West Chester mom who'd never won elected public office knocked off an incumbent.

 

Susan Haverkos, who spent $3,500 of her own money on her campaign, defeated school board member Tom Gunlock and two other opponents. Gunlock and the other candidates each spent three times as much, according to the Secretary of State's Office.

 

Haverkos emphasized support for teaching intelligent design in 10th-grade science classes - an issue over which the 19-member board has clashed.

 

More at:

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070104/NEWS0102/701040329/1058/NEWS01

 

Note that the Dogpatch does not say what the ratio now is of "evolutionists" to creationists.

--Boreal, dealing well with the enlightenment

^

Sounds like one of those "stealth candidates".  No anlayses on how she won, or how the word was ot to vote for her?

 

Hmph.

 

 

Coalition seeks education amendment

Board would get control of money

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Aaron Marshall

Plain Dealer Bureau

 

Columbus - Frustrated by a state legislature they say isn't providing enough money for schools, a coalition of education and labor groups unveiled a proposed constitutional amendment that punts critical decisions about education from lawmakers to the State Board of Education.

 

Under the proposed amendment announced at a Wednesday news conference in Columbus, the state school board would have unprecedented power to decide the components of a high-quality education and determine the cost of such an education.  It would then be left to state lawmakers and the governor to decide how to pay for the level of funding determined by the 19-member state board.

 

Uniting under the banner "Getting it Right! For Ohio's Future," education advocates touted their approach as a "purely objective format" for determining what the state's investment should be for Ohio's 1.8 million schoolchildren.  The proposal also includes roughly $200 million in property tax cuts for Ohio seniors and disabled citizens, establishing education as a fundamental right and a new system that would assure that higher education and local government funds receive annual increases.

 

MORE: http://www.cleveland.com

From the 12/20/06 Dispatch:

 

Voucher plan startles city schools

27,352 students would be eligible in Columbus

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

David Conrad

FOR THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Columbus Superintendent Gene Harris criticized legislative plans to expand a statewide voucher program without public debate or proof that the program was working.

 

Under the new formula, students from 70 struggling Columbus Public Schools will be eligible to use vouchers to pay for private-school tuition. This year, the first where vouchers were offered statewide, 29 Columbus schools were on the list.

 

Columbus has the most vouchereligible schools and accounts for about 30 percent of the total 235 buildings affected across the state.  The next closest school district is Cincinnati, with 28.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/12/20/20061220-E1-01.html

---

From the 12/20/06 Blade:

 

14 MORE TOLEDO SCHOOLS ON LIST

Ohio lawmakers expand under-used voucher program

By JIM PROVANCE

BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU

 

COLUMBUS - With three-quarters of Ohio's 14,000 school vouchers left unused in the program's inaugural year, lawmakers yesterday again expanded the pool of students eligible to apply.  Students in 19 academically struggling Toledo Public Schools buildings, up from five currently, could apply for scholarships of $4,250 through eighth grade and $5,900 for high school toward tuition at the public, private, or religious schools of their choice.

 

Lawmakers yesterday also approved measures toughening the math and lab science curriculum for high school students, setting dates to close failing charter schools, and giving the Department of Education authority to conduct regular criminal background checks on licensed teachers.

 

The voucher and charter school provisions were inserted into a bill late Monday night and rushed through both the House and Senate yesterday to ensure the measure reached Gov. Bob Taft's desk before the current two-year session ends and his Democratic successor, Ted Strickland, takes office on Jan. 8.

 

MORE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061220/NEWS04/612200467/-1/NEWS

 

From the 12/21/06 PD:

 

Stricter charter school rules OK'd

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Scott Stephens

Plain Dealer Reporter

 

What's billed as a get-tough policy for charter schools is receiving kudos from an unlikely group: charter school advocates.  A whirlwind of last-minute provisions, which Ohio's Republican lawmakers pushed through the waning hours of a lame-duck legislative session this week, include tough language on closing failing charter schools.

 

Those provisions also include cracking down on potential conflicts of interest and even capping the pay of charter school board members.  While Democrat legislative leaders say the provisions don't go far enough, operators of the publicly funded, privately operated schools - which function free of much bureaucratic red tape - are reaching out to shake hands with the long arm of the state.

 

MORE: http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/116669446742180.xml&coll=2

---

From the 12/21/06 Enquirer:

 

School vouchers expanded

More in area districts to be eligible to attend private institutions

BY JENNIFER MROZOWSKI | [email protected]

 

Cincinnati Public Schools was dealt another huge blow with the passage of revised school voucher legislation that would greatly expand the number of schools where students would be eligible to receive state-funded private school tuition.

 

The bill, passed by the House and Senate and expected to be signed by Gov. Bob Taft, also would affect several suburban school districts this time around.  The changes would allow students in several Mount Healthy, Middletown and Hamilton schools to attend private schools using a tuition voucher.

 

Voucher advocates say the expansion is a blessing for students who had little hope of leaving poor-performing schools, but public school supporters say it's just another plan from a lame-duck administration to harm public education before a new Democratic governor takes the helm.

 

MORE: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20061221/NEWS0102/612210352/

 

From the 12/26/06 Athens Messenger:

 

Is lottery a zero-sum game for schools?

MATT GALLAGHER

Messenger staff writer

 

Since its inception in 1974, the Ohio Lottery has contributed more than $13.5 billion to education.  But whether or not the lottery has been a golden ticket for schools is not a cut and dried issue.

 

Over the past year alone, the lottery has provided $646.3 million to school districts statewide.  However, local educators contend that the money is not new money, and that the lottery money is eaten up through other cuts in state funding.  They say that the money replaces other funding they used to get from the state, rather than providing additional revenue.

 

The money goes to the general fund and is part of the money each school district receives from the state.  School districts in Athens County received $3.8 million in lottery funds in 2005, the latest year data is available.  Athens City Schools received $687,260, while Alexander Local Schools received $713,912, Federal Hocking Local Schools got $564,658, Nelsonville-York City Schools received $604,327, and Trimble Local Schools received $504,564.

 

MORE: http://athensmessenger.com/Main.asp?SectionID=1&ArticleID=2140

 

From the 12/30/07 Blade:

 

Taft signs bill expanding use of school vouchers

BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU

 

COLUMBUS - Gov. Bob Taft yesterday signed into law a bill greatly expanding the number of parents eligible to apply for taxpayer-funded vouchers to send their children to the public, private, and religious schools of their choice.  The bill also:

 

• Includes provisions designed to increase oversight on quasipublic charter schools.

 

• Expands the authority of the Ohio Department of Education to demand criminal background checks every five years on teachers it licenses.

 

• Requires all schools, public and private, to report suspected misconduct by teachers to state licensing officials.

 

MORE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061230/NEWS24/612300382/-1/NEWS

 

From the 12/31/06 Wooster Daily Record:

 

Cost to educate clear as mud

No clear-cut dollars and cents to school funding

December 31, 2006

By LINDA HALL

and MARC KOVAC

Staff Writers

 

WOOSTER -- The trend was crystal clear -- or at least appeared to be.  School districts in Wayne and Holmes counties that met the "adequate yearly progress" student performance standard boosted per-student spending during the past five years more than those that did not meet the standard, according to an analysis of publicly available databases by The Daily Record.

 

In fact, four of the five districts that met the AYP measure (Rittman, West Holmes, Southeast and Dalton) increased expenditures at the highest rates among the 12 area districts.  Green, the other district that met AYP in 2005-06, ranked sixth.

 

Those districts also decreased the number of students who didn't meet basic proficiency measures and improved performance index scores, often at higher rates than others in the two counties.  All of which seemed to confirm assertions it's costing a lot more to educate students.

 

MORE: http://www.the-daily-record.com/news/article/1359301

 

From the 1/5/07 Defiance Crescent-News:

 

Area school officials agree: Reforming funding formula needed at state level

January 5, 2007

By JENNY DERRINGER

[email protected]

 

One thing area school superintendents and treasurers agree about is the need for reforming the school funding formula at the state level.  Ohio districts are struggling to keep expenses down but ultimately have to return to the voters on a regular basis seeking additional funding through the form of operating levies or income taxes.  Under the current state formula for school funding, districts are coming up short.

 

Districts are allocated less state aid than they otherwise would when local real estate values rise.  The funding formula makes this adjustment on the assumption that local tax dollars will make up the difference, according to the Ohio House Democratic Caucus website.  But House Bill 920, a constitutional amendment, keeps levies from keeping pace with inflation. 

 

School administrators call this phantom revenue, which makes it look like districts are taking in more money than they actually are.  The reason: A county auditor has real property values reappraised every three years.  Based on the new figures, the auditor calculates millage rates for tax levies on the new values that would raise the same dollar amount for each levy, readjusting the millage on that property.

 

MORE: http://www.crescent-news.com/news/article/1444541

 

From the 1/10/07 Dispatch:

 

School-funding plan in works

Education advocates will campaign for amending Ohio’s constitution

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Catherine Candisky

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Ohioans will get their first look at the latest plan to fix the state’s schoolfunding system next Wednesday when education advocates submit their proposed constitutional amendment to the attorney general.  Supporters say they will hold rallies across the state to mount a vigorous campaign to collect the roughly 400,000 signatures of registered voters required to place the issue on the November statewide ballot.

 

The attempt by education advocates, who are frustrated by what they view as years of inaction by state legislators, would represent the first statewide school-funding issue since a doomed attempt in May 1998 by Gov. George V. Voinovich.  That measure, opposed by most school groups, was swamped at the polls.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2007/01/10/20070110-C1-00.html

 

From the 1/14/07 Dispatch:

 

Schools fix would raise stakes

Change would give funding a constitutional mandate

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Catherine Candisky

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

A proposed constitutional amendment aimed at fixing the state’s schoolfunding system would give every child in Ohio a "fundamental right" to a quality education, The Dispatch has learned.  Making an education a "fundamental right" would create a court-enforceable mandate, a higher legal threshold than Ohio’s current constitutional requirement that the state maintain a "thorough and efficient" system of public schools.

 

The ballot issue also would give sweeping new powers to the State Board of Education, charging the panel with determining the necessary investment in the public-school system.  The proposal does not specify the cost or how additional money — which presumably will be needed — would be raised. That will be the job of the General Assembly, sources said.

 

Supporters say they will launch an aggressive campaign to collect the roughly 400,000 signatures of registered voters needed to place the proposal on the November ballot.  The plan will be unveiled at a news conference Wednesday morning in Columbus.  Supporters say they will host rallies in February across the state.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2007/01/14/20070114-C1-02.html

 

From the 1/16/07 PD:

 

Strickland enters the fray to fix education

Proposed amendment offered Wednesday

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Aaron Marshall

Plain Dealer Bureau

 

Columbus - When education advocates unveil a proposed constitutional amendment Wednesday designed to "fix school funding," it will mark a new chapter in the generation-old battle over how Ohio pays for public education.  It will also be the first time that those who think Ohio's political leaders have shirked their duties in not overhauling the system will find an advocate - not an adversary - in the governor's mansion.

 

The problems facing state lawmakers are ancient - older even than the 13-year-old trial court ruling against the state - but Gov. Ted Strickland's entry into the political equation is new.  During a recent interview, the Democrat stood behind several strongly worded briefs he has previously filed on behalf of the plaintiffs in the landmark school-funding case, even as he criticized the plan to be offered by many of those educators.

 

MORE: http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/116894073639640.xml&coll=2

---

From the 1/16/07 Dispatch:

 

GRAPHIC: Helping public schools

 

PUBLIC-SCHOOL FOUNDATIONS

Donations not new to suburban districts

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Simone Sebastian

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

They’ve built school theaters, equipped classrooms and paid for college educations.  Since the first public-school endowment was created in Franklin County in 1983, the increasingly popular funding sources have sent millions of dollars to local classrooms.

 

Eleven of the 15 suburban school districts based in Franklin County have foundations, which are independently run nonprofit organizations that use private donations for public education.  Collectively, they have about $4.9 million in their endowments.

 

Local business leaders recently added one for the city school district, creating the Columbus Public Schools Education Foundation with up to $2 million in matching grants from Limited Brands.  Foundations pay for the extras that school budgets can’t.  Most often, grants go to student scholarships and teachers’ classroom projects.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2007/01/16/20070116-A1-02.html

 

From the 1/17/07 Dispatch:

 

DOCUMENT: Read the full text of the proposed Ohio school funding-amendment (PDF)

 

GRAPHIC: Highlights

 

Initiative for schools slammed

Proposed ballot issue tries to fix funding system

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Catherine Candisky and Jim Siegel

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Even before its official unveiling today, a proposed statewide school-funding issue is drawing heavy fire for removing legislative control and lacking specifics on costs that likely would total hundreds of millions of dollars.  Undeterred after nearly a year of closeddoor meetings, a consortium of education advocates say they have come up with the long-awaited fix for Ohio’s unconstitutional school-funding system.

 

The proposed constitutional amendment aims to guarantee students a high-quality education based on what is needed in the classroom, not what is available in the state budget.  It would shift much of the tax burden for schools from local property owners to the state but does not specify how those dollars would be raised.

 

Critics, including business leaders and state and local officials, have a laundry list of concerns.  How much would it cost?  Would taxes have to be increased or other areas of the state budget slashed to finance education?  Would it invite more litigation?  Does it divert too much money to wealthy districts?  Is there enough accountability?

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2007/01/17/20070117-A1-01.html

---

From same:

 

ANALYSIS

Plan might shortchange other services

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Joe Hallett

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

A ballot proposal to fix school funding in Ohio shrewdly attempts to create powerful allies of university officials and mayors by mandating more state money annually for higher education and local governments.

 

But advocates for poor children and the elderly who rely on Medicaid and other state programs worry that the proposed school-funding ballot initiative could mean less money for them.  Then, too, there are concerns that fewer dollars for Ohio’s 32 prisons could cause unwanted consequences, including furloughs for some of the 46,800 inmates housed in them.

 

Those questions and many others remain to be answered by proponents of the ballot initiative to be unveiled today.  The plan would further embed primary and secondary education as state government’s highest spending priority.  But the state spends billions more on many other services that, among other things, ensure that the mentally ill and mentally retarded can receive care and that state parks are open and clean.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2007/01/17/20070117-A4-01.html

---

From the 1/17/07 St. Mary's Evening Leader:

 

Group plans school funding amendment     

By KAY LOUTH

Staff Writer

 

MINSTER — A closely guarded secret is out.  The Ohio Coalition for Equity & Adequacy of School Funding along with 10 other state educational organizations are renewing their push to change the way schools are funded in Ohio.  The Coalition is going to ask Ohio voters on the November ballot to pass a constitutional amendment to make Ohio school funding unconstitutional.  Also on the ballot, voters will be asked to remove school funding control from the legislature and give it to the State Board of Education

 

According to Minster School District Superintendent Gayl Ray, the Coalition has been working on this initiative even before the November 2006 election but held off from the big push because of the situation with Governor Taft.  And they’ve kept it pretty close to the vest as well. But the handwriting on the chalkboard is now being revealed.

 

MORE: http://www.theeveningleader.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1616&Itemid=27

 

From the 1/18/07 Dispatch:

 

GRAPHIC: What's the price tag?

 

GRAPHIC: Q&A: School funding

 

GRAPHIC: Amendment support

 

School-plan cost a guess

Amendment would force funding to follow need; critic calls it ‘a massive money grab’

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Catherine Candisky and Jim Siegel

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Two governors and a decade’s worth of legislatures have failed to enact an adequate school-funding solution, so backers of a new plan are counting on voters to "get it right."  A coalition of education advocates yesterday unveiled a proposed constitutional amendment for the November ballot that would guarantee a "high-quality education" to every student and cost the state hundreds of millions more.

 

Supporters say their plan would improve schools and create a better-educated work force to boost Ohio’s economic competitiveness.  In theory, the public education system would be based on what is needed in the classroom, not on how much it costs.  In fact, voters would not learn the price tag until after the proposal is approved — a factor that prompted some of Ohio’s big-city mayors to withhold their support.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2007/01/18/20070118-A1-00.html

---

From the 1/18/07 Mansfield News Journal:

 

Some worry statewide school funding effort could hurt local campaigns

By Lisa Miller

News Journal

 

Madison Local Schools Superintendent David Williamson acknowledged Wednesday he doesn't know the details of a proposed statewide November ballot issue to try to fix Ohio's school-funding system.  But he said he is concerned that talk of the proposal might hurt the district's efforts to pass a 6.9-mill renewal levy in May.

 

While he's all in favor of school-funding reform, Williamson said that even if voters were to approve a constitutional amendment on Nov. 6 "it's not going to be January 1 of 2008 that we're going to see new money coming to schools."  Failure to pass the renewal would pose a "real problem," he said, because, as in other districts, a renewal "keeps you right where you're at."

 

MORE: http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070118/NEWS01/701180309/1002/rss01

 

From the 1/19/07 Dispatch:

 

GRAPHIC: What you're paying

 

LEVY UNCERTAINTY

Proposal has put schools in a bind

Friday, January 19, 2007

Jennifer Smith Richards

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Forget arguing about whether the proposed school-funding fix — the one that could become a constitutional amendment — will work.

 

The immediate debate in school districts: whether to go to voters in November and ask for more money, when the amendment also would be on the ballot.

 

School treasurers say the early word is that districts will skip the November ballot to avoid voter confusion.  Some districts say they’ll opt for spring elections, although they say uncertainty might confuse voters then, too.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2007/01/19/20070119-A1-04.html

---

From the 1/19/07 Milford-Miami Advertiser:

 

School funding group presents case to council

BY DANNY CROSS | COMMUNITY PRESS STAFF WRITER

 

MILFORD - Ohio Citizens for School Funding Reform, a local group concerned with failing school levies, introduced its cause to Milford City Council Tuesday, Jan. 16.  The organization began researching Ohio's school funding policies after the levy failed in May.  Linda Malott, one of five group core members, said with state funding decreasing, too much of the burden for funding public schools is placed on residents passing levies.

 

Malott cited the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding, an organization started in 1990 to challenge the constitutionality of the Ohio school funding system.  On its Web site, www.ohiocoalition.com, the organization said the process has been ruled unconstitutional four times during the past 11 years.

 

MORE: http://news.communitypress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070119/NEWS01/701190490/1119/Local

 

From the 1/21/07 ABJ:

 

Who'll have school-fund leverage?

Dennis Willard

Beacon Journal Columbus Bureau

 

From 1997 to 2002, Bill Phillis and the coalition of school districts that successfully sued the state over school funding had -- to use the Seinfeldian term -- hand.  In those five years, Phillis' coalition had hand (or leverage) because three times, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled in its favor and against the Legislature and two governors.

 

On Dec. 11, 2002, the Supreme Court ruled for a fourth time that the way the state pays to educate 1.8 million schoolchildren was still unconstitutional, and then the justices did something unexpected.  They dropped the case.  There would be no enforcement of the ruling.  There would be no appeals.

 

Chief Justice Thomas Moyer, who loves to brag about telling visiting Ukranian judges that tanks are not needed to enforce judicial rulings in Ohio or this country, was presiding over a tankless court that could not enforce its own ruling.  Phillis' Coalition for Equity & Adequacy in School Funding has not had hand since.

 

MORE: http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/16512285.htm?source=rss&channel=ohio_news

 

From the 1/22/07 Dispatch:

 

DEBATE OVER PROPOSED AMENDMENT

Judges would enforce ‘right’ to education

Monday, January 22, 2007

Jim Siegel and Cathy Candisky

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Few would disagree that every child is entitled to a high-quality education.  But making it a "fundamental right" in the Ohio Constitution, as called for in a proposed amendment unveiled last week, could have broad legal consequences, placing education on the same level as the right to vote and freedom of speech.

 

It would shift more power to the Ohio Supreme Court, which would get final say over every education budget passed by the state legislature.  Critics say similar changes in other states haven’t worked.

 

Experts also say that defining education as a fundamental right, instead of the current constitutional language requiring "a thorough and efficient system of common schools," could empower justices to more directly order lawmakers to change the system.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2007/01/22/20070122-A1-01.html

 

From the 1/23/07 Dispatch:

 

School-funding proposal attracting few friends

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Jim Siegel

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

When it comes to school funding, Gov. Ted Strickland, Ohio’s big-city mayors and Democratic state lawmakers share at least two things in common these days.  All have insisted that the state must do more to fund schools and ensure a high-quality education for all students.  And none is throwing support behind a proposed constitutional amendment that purports to do that.

 

The proposal, if approved by voters, would make monumental changes to Ohio’s school-funding system, handing budget-writing power to the state Board of Education and shifting the cost burden to the state, away from local property taxes.  In the early going, the education coalition that includes representatives of teachers, school boards, administrators and parents is moving forward with its plan without much backing from those outside the realm of kindergarten through 12th grade. 

 

House Minority Leader Joyce Beatty, D-Columbus, said the group never contacted her or her members about the plan.  Considering how active legislative Democrats have been in calling for additional school funding, "I think that is why you find so many of us surprised and disappointed," she said.  "When you are not inclusive, and you don’t include those who must find the dollars, I think people will be more resistant."

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2007/01/23/20070123-D6-02.html

 

From Dix newspapers, 1/24/07:

 

Garrison unveils legislation to boost school funding for poorer districts

Marc Kovac/Capital Bureau

January 24, 2007

 

COLUMBUS -- State Rep. Jennifer Garrison plans to introduce legislation that would increase state funding to poorer school districts while decreasing burdens on property taxpayers.  Garrison, D-Marietta, unveiled details during a press conference at the Statehouse Tuesday for bills that would boost parity aid for poorer districts and encourage all-day kindergarten.

 

They're the latest offered in the Legislature, where lawmakers and others continue to seek solutions to the state's school funding woes.  Earlier this month, a consortium of education groups announced its intentions to place a constitutional amendment before voters that would call for the implementation of a new school funding model.

 

One of Garrison's bills would increase parity aid -- funding provided to the poorest school districts, taking into account residents' income and property taxes -- to a 9.5-mill level, versus the 7.5 mills used in the existing formula.  Garrison said the legislation would increase state funding by about $140 million annually to schools that need it most.

 

MORE: http://www.daily-jeff.com/news/article/1517471

---

From SNP newspapers, 1/24/07:

 

School leaders call funding proposal a good first step

By GARTH BISHOP

 

A proposed amendment to the Ohio Constitution purporting to fix the state's school funding problems is being eyed with caution, but local school officials say they are encouraged at least to see the issue being addressed.

 

Last Wednesday, a group of education advocates submitted to state Attorney General Marc Dann a proposed amendment that, among other things, pledges to provide a solution to the state's unconstitutional school funding system and establish a high-quality education as a fundamental right of Ohio students.

 

"Almost daily, we read that the state of Ohio has problems -- problems with its economy, problems with its workforce, problems with its education," said Jim Betts, spokesman for Campaign for Ohio's Future, the consortium that presented the amendment at a press conference last Wednesday.

 

The amendment campaign is called "Getting it Right for Ohio's Future" and supporters include the Ohio Association of Public School Employees, Ohio Education Association and Ohio School Boards Association.

 

MORE: http://www.snponline.com/NEWS1-24/1-24_allamendment.html

 

From the AP, 1/31/07:

 

 

School funding plan ballot language OK'd

Collection of 402,000 signatures can start soon

Associated Press

 

COLUMBUS - Ballot language was approved Tuesday for a fall initiative aimed at repairing Ohio's unconstitutional school-funding system.

 

Attorney General Marc Dann said 4,538 of the 5,109 signatures submitted by the Campaign for Ohio's Future were valid, well over the 1,000 required by state law to establish a campaign to get a constitutional amendment on the ballot.

 

The Ohio Ballot Board must now certify the language within 10 days.

 

Supporter Jim Betts, a spokesman for the Getting It Right for Ohio's Future education campaign, said he was not surprised at the number of signatures they were able to gather given Ohioans' concerns about the way public schools are paid for in the state.

 

He said after the ballot board acts, backers of the ballot issue will launch a grass-roots effort to gather the 402,000 required signatures to get on the Nov. 6 ballot.

 

The deadline to submit those signatures is Aug. 8.

 

http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/16586374.htm?source=rss&channel=ohio_news

 

From the 2/1/07 Athens News:

 

Local officials supporting latest school-funding proposal

By Nick Claussen

Athens NEWS Associate Editor

Thursday, February 1st, 2007

 

A proposed constitutional amendment dealing with school-funding issues in Ohio has drawn fire from critics around the state, but has several supporters locally, including one person involved with the filing of the original public-school-funding lawsuit.

 

The proposed constitutional amendment on school funding was submitted last month to Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann.  Getting It Right for Ohio's Future, a consortium made up of 12 statewide education groups, submitted the measure.  Supporters hope to have the amendment on the ballot for Ohio voters in November.

 

The proposal calls for several significant changes, such as creating an independent commission to oversee the public-school-funding system; eliminating the "phantom revenue" aspect of the current funding system; determining the levels of funding needed for all types of students; amending the state constitution to state that a high-quality education is a fundamental right for every child in Ohio; and forcing the Ohio Legislature to provide enough funding to public schools to ensure that each child receives a high-quality education.

 

MORE: http://athensnews.com/index.php?action=viewarticle&section=news&story_id=27225

 

From the 2/2/07 Dispatch:

 

GRAPHIC: Paying for schools

 

QUINNIPIAC POLL

Tax hike could sink Ohio schools amendment

Friday, February 02, 2007

Darrel Rowland

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Although a huge majority of Ohioans say they would support a constitutional amendment giving more money to poorer schools, voters are split evenly if the proposal requires a tax increase, a new survey shows. 

 

In the first survey since education advocates rolled out a proposed constitutional amendment last month, 70 percent say the state should spend more on poorer school districts, and 65 percent back an amendment to make it happen.  But when asked whether they would support a tax increase to make sure more cash goes to those low-income districts, 47 percent said yes, and the same percentage said no.

 

The responses to that question vary widely across Ohio.  In southeastern Ohio, a tax hike is favored 66 percent to 34 percent; in northwestern Ohio, an increase is opposed 56 percent to 41 percent. Central and southwestern Ohio narrowly back more taxes; the northeastern and west-central regions are narrowly against them.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2007/02/02/20070202-B1-05.html

 

From the 2/4/07 Warren Tribune Chronicle:

 

School Spending: Money doesn’t equal excellence

By ANGELIQUE McKOWAN Tribune Chronicle

 

Youngstown City Schools spent nearly $15,000 on every student in the school district last year, yet received a rating of academic watch on the most recent state report card. 

 

Bristol Local School District spends less than half that amount and was rated effective by the state.  Girard City School District had the fourth-lowest spending per student of all local schools analyzed and still received an excellent rating on the report cards.

 

A Tribune Chronicle analysis of local school districts’ spending per student compared to their individual performance rankings from the state shows districts don’t always have to spend more to score better, but some educators maintain that money does make a difference.

 

MORE: http://tribune-chronicle.com/articles.asp?articleID=14231

---

From the 2/4/07 Springfield News-Sun:

 

Two VIEWS school funding amendment

Plan to redo school funding in Ohio sets off a debate

PRO: Solution to school funding is to end the dependence on property tax.

By By Valorie Lough

Sunday, February 04, 2007

 

For Don Reed, the proposed amendment is just the only way. Citing the Supreme Court's 1997 decision, Reed said the solution to public school funding is by ending the dependence on property tax.

 

"I think that there is no other adequate solution that is likely to come forward," said Reed, member of Taking A Stand for Kids, and also a member of the Springfield City Schools Board of Education.  "You have to reduce the reliance on property tax to fix the main problem."

 

Reed agrees that if funding for schools doesn't come from property tax, it has to come from another source.  But, he said, the state has to be responsible for that balance.  The problem, Reed said, is that the legislature has failed to take responsibility for education in the past.

 

MORE: http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/content/oh/story/news/local/2007/02/03/sns020407mcgregor.html

---

From the 2/4/07 Lima News:

 

Sides debate value of state voucher program

BY BETH L. JOKINEN - Feb. 4, 2007

 

LIMA — Tesha Banks made the decision last year to apply for a state voucher program and send her two boys to St. Charles Catholic School.  Sue Reese made the same decision and sent her daughter to Lima Central Catholic High.

 

Today, Banks is pleased with her decision, and her kindergartner and sixth-grader are thriving in their new school.  She believes the eldest is being challenged more than when at Lima South Middle School.

 

Reese, on the other hand, pulled her daughter out of the Catholic school, and she’s back in the Lima school system.  It just wasn’t the right fit for the freshman, who is now feeling more at home at Lima Senior High School.

 

The two families participated in the first year of the Ohio EdChoice Scholarship program, which offers pupils attending schools deemed to be underperforming scholarships to private schools.

 

MORE: http://www.limanews.com/story.php?IDnum=34881

 

From the 2/6/07 (OU) Post:

 

Proposal aims to 'Get It Right'

Ohio public school funding to be overhauled

Jessie Balmert / Staff Writer

 

Local school officials support a proposed state constitutional amendment that would restructure the way public schools are funded and define the cost of educating each student.  The proposal is a response from the “Getting It Right For Ohio’s Future” campaign, a coalition of 12 education organizations, to the current system of school funding, said Jim Betts, executive director of the Alliance for Adequate School Funding, one of the groups involved.

 

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled in the 1997 case DeRolph v. State of Ohio that the complicated school funding system was unconstitutional.  DeRolph addressed the funding system’s reliance on property taxes, which allowed districts with higher property values to collect more money for schools.

 

MORE: http://thepost.baker.ohiou.edu/articles/2007/02/06/news/17483.html

 

From the 2/7/07 Blade:

 

Speaker expects school-funding fix in Strickland budget

By JIM PROVANCE

BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU

 

COLUMBUS - House Speaker Jon Husted (R., Kettering) said yesterday he expects Gov. Ted Strickland to propose a school-funding fix in his proposed budget due March 15 even though the new governor has shown little sign of being ready by then.

 

Meanwhile, the ship may be sailing without both of them as a coalition of teachers' unions, school boards, administrators, and parents work to take a proposed constitutional amendment directly to voters.

 

In an informal gathering with reporters, the speaker of the House said the Democratic governor and Republicans appear to be largely on the same page in terms of holding the line on taxes and fees, expanding health care for children, and investing in alternative fuels.  The only real unknown is the governor's school-funding plan, he said.

 

MORE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070207/NEWS24/702070397/-1/NEWS

 

From the 2/8/07 Dispatch:

 

School-funding fix need not be rushed, Strickland contends

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Mark Niquette

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Although committed to fixing what he sees as an unconstitutional school-funding system in Ohio, Gov. Ted Strickland said yesterday that it’s unreasonable to expect him to do it in his first budget, due next month.  In an interview, Strickland responded to suggestions made this week by House Speaker Jon A. Husted that the new governor would include his fix for school funding in the upcoming two year budget.

 

"I think it may be a little disingenuous for anyone, including the speaker, to assume that less than a month after I assumed this office that I’m going to have a solution to this problem when it has plagued Ohio for more than 10 years," Strickland said.

 

Strickland, who has scheduled his first State of the State address for March 14, a day before he delivers his state budget to the legislature, said he has started meeting with various stakeholders to craft a legislative solution to school funding.  If that fails, he’s committed to seeking a ballot issue.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2007/02/08/20070208-B3-00.html

 

From the 2/9/07 Springfield News-Sun:

 

Schools applying to move count week

By Natalie Morales

Staff Writer

Thursday, February 08, 2007

 

Area schools will try to have their state attendance count week, scheduled for this week, moved so they don't lose funding for days of weather-related closings.

 

The Ohio Department of Education recommended all districts that used calamity days because of this week's winter blast should apply to have the state-required count come from their previous full week of school, ODE Spokesman J.C. Benton said. 

 

Count week attendance is important because the results determine school funding for the rest of the school year.  The state will average the February enrollment count and the October count to determine future funding.  About $5,500 in funding is doled out per pupil.

 

MORE: http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/content/oh/story/news/local/2007/02/08/sns020907schools.html

 

From the 2/12/07 Youngstown Vindicator:

 

State senator to unveil funding proposal

One Valley lawmaker said he wants to see the governor's funding plan.

By MARC KOVAC

and MICHELLE HLADIK

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENTS

 

COLUMBUS — State Sen. J. Kirk Schuring will unveil his own fix for school funding in coming weeks.  The Canton Republican said he is working on the issue with a group that includes a number of statewide associations and will offer recommendations to legislative leadership and the governor's office.  "We will be unveiling our proposal in the next couple of weeks," he said.

 

While not disclosing the details, Schuring said his proposal "shifts the burden for school funding from property to sales and income taxes" and would set up partnerships between the business community and the education community as a means for supporting economic development.  Schuring mentioned the proposal in response to a constitutional amendment that is likely headed to the ballot later this year.

 

The Ohio Ballot Board, which is headed by Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, recently signed off on the initiative petition submitted by Getting it Right for Ohio's Future, a consortium of groups that is pushing for the Ohio Constitution to be amended to make a high-quality education a fundamental right for every child.  The group has until early August to collect more than 400,000 valid signatures on petitions for the issue to appear on the November general election ballot.

 

MORE: http://www.vindy.com/content/local_regional/288185046482080.php

 

From the 2/13/07 Dispatch:

 

Education fix carries poisonous price tag

Amendment-plan critics get new ammunition

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Jim Siegel and Catherine Candisky

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Armed with a new analysis showing it would cost the state more than $600 million the first year and $1 billion annually down the road, House Speaker Jon A. Husted is ready to unload on a proposed constitutional amendment to fund education.

 

"It really is a frightening price tag," the Kettering Republican said of a report he requested from the nonpartisan Legislative Service Commission.  And that sticker price does not include the unknown costs of the plan — the new funding levels that would be set by the state Board of Education to give every Ohio student a "high quality education."

 

Education advocates are working to collect enough signatures to get a proposed constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would make education a "fundamental right."  The goal is to force elected officials to base funding on what is needed in the classroom, not what is available in the state budget.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2007/02/13/20070213-A1-02.html