Dems Drop Education Ball

[irishbobcat]

Bob Hagan: On Education Funding: No Action, No Solutions, But Only Adds To The Problem

June 3, 2008

In the Youngstown Vindicator's Voters Guide from November 2006, Bob Hagan was asked the following question regarding education:

VOTER INFORMATION GUIDE 2006
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Ohio House
of Representatives
Question: What role does the
legislature play in protecting the
access of every child in Ohio to
a quality public education?

60th District
Robert F. Hagan (D)
562 Madera Ave.
Youngstown, OH 44504
Age: 57
Education: Ursuline High School
Occupation: Locomotive Engineer/State
Senator
Qualifications for Office: Served in the
Legislature for 20 years/Raising 5 kids
Answer: The Ohio Constitution is clear
on what responsibility the legislature has
to provide a fair and equitable education
for all the 1.3 million children. I signed a
friend of the court document on supporting
the 550 school districts that sued the state
of Ohio for its failure to provide the fair
and accessible education for this state.

What has Bob Hagan done since then? Nothing.  Bob's Democratic Governor Ted Strickland in 2007 recognized a number of problems with the current system of funding primary and secondary education, including:
• The rules of property taxation, the way state funding mechanisms work, and the assumptions made about growth in local resources do not provide much stability or assurances about inflationary cost growth;

• The complexity of property tax laws and the difficulties in passing levies suggest that greater reliance on sales or income taxes to support schools is preferable but might lead to a greater erosion of local control;

• There is no Right state/local mix of revenues that characterizes good school funding systems; however, by increasing the state share, there would be greater resource equalization, since state distribution mechanisms are designed to give more money to the poorest districts;

• State taxes must be raised by more than the amount required to offset property tax reductions in order to result in an actual increase in available funding for schools;

• It is easy, but not correct, to conclude that, by simply adding additional financial resources, better student results will be achieved; how money is used must also be addressed; bad instruction, regardless of how much is spent on it, does not lead to improved results;

• The rules of property taxation in Ohio, and its complexities, is a major contributor to the school funding problem;

• Budgeting for education has resulted in a patchwork quilt of restrictive and prescriptive grant programs that force districts to operate in certain ways simply in order to meet grant criteria; and

• How effectively dollars are spent in the interest of student achievement is difficult to measure.

Little was done with the report by the governor or the legislature.

What can we expect from Bob Hagan and the Democrats if they are reelected?

What is clear from all past efforts at education reform," is that the state will be asked to make an additional commitment of resources. This time, it is likely that school accountability will be required as the cost of increased state support, whatever form it takes.

From a purely budgetary standpoint, the big question is the source of any additional funding. The state's current budget is still out of whack." The next budget promises to be even more difficult and the state has already made commitments for the use of new money that it will not have absent a significant tax increase. And tax increases seem to be the name of the game when it comes to educational reform." As suggested in the April issue of State Budgeting Matters, a substantial state tax increase would be a very likely source of funding for all these new initiatives.

As the Independent Green Party Candidate for State Representative for the 60th District, I will work to see that funding for education is fair and equal. I would:

support Senator Scouring's Education Funding Proposal that would Establish an independent budget and dedicated revenues to fund it to ensure that there is structural integrity in school funding and give the people of Ohio the confidence of knowing that their education tax dollars are indeed being spent on nothing else but education. It also will provide a steady and reliable source of revenue to fund education. Between 1986 and 2006 Ohio's income tax collections have grown by over 200% and sales tax collections have grown by over 300%. Future collections will increase the state share of funding and reduce the share from local school districts. Therefore, it will also reduce the reliance on local property taxes and the constant need to go to the ballot.
That concept paper has the support of the following organizations: the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, the Ohio Farm Bureau, the Buckeye Association of School Administrators (BASA), the Ohio Association of School Business Officials (OASBO), the Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA), and the Ohio Education Association (OEA).

Always Remember, Bob Hagan has been all talk and no action in the state legislature for the past 20 years.

Dennis Spisak-Independent Green Party Candidate for State Representative-60th District

Campaign site: Http://votespisak.tripod.com

Check out our links page to school funding