State of the State address
Gov. Ted Strickland recently delivered his second State of the State address; education was a major part of his speech. The governor said education is his central issue and renewed his promise to make changes to the system by presenting a plan to the voters next year. His speech also included two new proposals: to create a cabinet-level position for a director of education and a “Seniors to Sophomores” program.
Director of education
This plan would create a new cabinet-level director of education position that would report directly to the governor. The State Board of Education and the state superintendent would remain in advisory roles.
At its February meeting, the State Board responded by passing a resolution in opposition to the governor’s proposal. Members of the board voiced unanimous support for State Board of Education President Jennifer Sheets’ claim that the executive appointment of an education chief would violate the board’s constitutional charter. Sheets also believes it is important to have a state superintendent hired by a nonpartisan state education board. This ensures to some degree, that education policy is shielded from partisan politics. It also ensures public participation in policy debates.
OSBA is pleased that the governor views education as the central issue facing him as the state’s leader, and the association supports his commitment to create schools that are among the best in the world and meet the needs of every child. However, as we address organizational issues, some caution is necessary. We need to be careful not to erode the role of the State Board of Education. A state school board, with elected officials accountable to the public, is one of the fundamentals of our democracy. A strong public education system, with public oversight and accountability to taxpayers, only strengthens our democratic principles.
OSBA’s legislative platform supports an all-elected state board and “opposes any attempts to remove regulatory control of educational standards from the state board in fulfillment of its statutory responsibilities to set forth the needs of public education in Ohio.”
We look forward to working with Gov. Strickland on education funding and reform, which, in turn, will drive Ohio’s economic progress. We have been involved and will continue to be involved with the governor’s office and others to improve public education.
Seniors to Sophomores
The governor also proposed a new program called “Seniors to Sophomores,” giving all 12th-grade students in Ohio who meet certain academic requirements the choice of spending their senior year at their home high school or on a college campus tuition-free. It is our understanding that the program would be paid for by combining portions from both perpupil funding for K-12 and higher education.
Very few details about the program have been released and we look forward to working with the governor on this concept. We will need to ensure that the Seniors to Sophomores program does not divert funds from the public high schools or create unintended consequences that would diminish the value and importance of the 12th grade.
ODE budget reduction plan
The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) has received approval on its budget reduction plan for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2008-2009 biennium from the Office of Budget and Management (OBM). ODE was directed to cut $51.8 million in FY ’08 and $49.7 million in FY ’09 to cover a projected shortfall in the state budget.
Gov. Strickland ordered state agencies to trim budgets after
economic forecasts predicted the state could face a budget shortfall ranging from $733 million to $1.9 billion. The governor asked ODE to implement a budget reduction plan exempting services critical to direct pupil education. The governor also asked that the foundation formula for K-12 funding be held harmless and exempt from the reductions.
Even though foundation funding was to be exempt from the reductions, ESC funding, part of the foundation funding line item, will be cut by $10 million over the remaining months of the biennium. This will impact school districts. Ultimately, a cut to ESCs will result in either districts paying more for services or a decrease in services offered.
In addition to the cuts to ESCs, the following line item reductions were approved by OBM:
- Bus purchases — $5.1 million in FY ’08; $676,200 in FY ‘09
- Student assessments — $3 million in FY ’08; $3 million in FY ‘09
- Educator training — $2.1 million in FY ’08; $2.1 million in FY ‘09
- Postsecondary adult career tech — $1.9 million in FY ’08; $1.95 million in FY ‘09
- Academic standards — $1.7 million in FY ’08; $335,526 in FY ‘09
- Ohio Educational Computer Network — $1.3 million in FY ’08; $1.5 million in FY ‘09
- School improvement initiatives — $783,168 in FY ’08; $1.3 million in FY ‘09
- Alternative education programs — $478,845 in FY ’08; $645,259 in FY ‘09
Within each line item are earmarks that could be affected. ODE is in the process of developing more detailed information about the impact of these cuts and will provide information to districts as soon as possible.
It is important to note that the reductions for FY ’08 will be made between now and June 30, the end of the fiscal year. OSBA is working with the Ohio Educational Service Center Association and ODE to minimize the impact of budget cuts to school districts and ESCs. We will keep you updated as this process moves forward.
Governor signs SERS legislation
Gov. Strickland signed Senate Bill (SB) 148 into law on Feb. 13. The legislation will change pension eligibility and benefits for new School Employees Retirement System (SERS) members. Current members will be grandfathered under the law.
Under the bill, new employees are eligible to retire with:
- 10 years of service at 62,
- 25 years of service at 60,
- 30 years service at 55.
The legislation also requires the SERS board to direct its actuary to evaluate retirement eligibility requirements at least once every 10 years.
OSBA, along with the Ohio Association of School Business Officials, testified in support of SB 148. OSBA supports the legislation because the changes SERS is proposing in pension eligibility are in line with today’s demographics of people living longer. A copy of the testimony is available on the OSBA web site at www.osba-ohio.org/advocacy.htm. SB 148 will become effective 90 days after the governor’s signature.
For the latest legislative updates, please contact the OSBA legislative division at (614) 540-4000; or (800) 589-OSBA.
Editor's Note: All information in this article was current as of February 15, 2008.
