Innovation Station

State of the State: Governor restores school outreach program at 2% of prior funding level

February 25, 2014 By Stephen Dyer Leave a Comment

Gov. John Kasich announced at his State of the State speech yesterday that he would be putting $10 million into bridging the gaps between schools, families and communities. Here’s the exact language from his “Fact Sheet” released after the speech:

“The governor will propose using $10 million from casino-licensing fees to support innovative community efforts that bring together parents, community organizations, faith-based groups, businesses and others in support of our schools and to mentor students. The 3-to-1 matching grants will help give more Ohio students access to role models who can help motivate and inspire them, as well as help them develop skills that lead to success in school and the workplace.”

If this sounds familiar, it should. That’s because during the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 school years, the state actually funded Family and Community Liaisons for every 75 children living in poverty in a district. They would have served almost exactly the same functions as Kasich’s $10 million program.

However, the the level of commitment was drastically different. During the biennium prior to Kasich taking office, the state calculated that children needed $987.8 million to better connect their education with their family and community. The state actually funded $567 million of that because the formula was being phased in over time during the Great Recession. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Education, Featured Items, Innovation Station

Nearly $31 Million in Taxpayer Funds Uncollected from Failed Charter Schools

February 21, 2014 By Stephen Dyer Leave a Comment

Last night on NBC 4 in Columbus, Investigative Reporter Duane Pohlman revealed that of the $31 million owed the state by operators of charters schools that have closed and have been referred for collection to Attorney General Mike DeWine’s office, $30.5 million remains uncollected.

That’s $30.5 million in taxpayer dollars that have remained uncollected by the state’s Attorney General. For scale, that is more than the state ends up sending to 128 of Ohio’s 612 school districts.

The report, which features an interview with Innovation Ohio’s Education Policy Fellow Stephen Dyer, details as well how difficult it is to collect from defunct charter schools because some don’t even have the minimal $100,000 bonds the state requires of them.

A relatively simple solution to this conundrum is to require that charter schools carry as much insurance as would cover at least the average amount spent annually on a charter school of its size and type, as well as hold the charter school sponsors to account for any additional revenue that cannot be collected from the school itself.

It remains to be seen whether Ohio’s leaders are willing to take this on, but with more reporting like Pohlman’s, it will remain more and more difficult to stand up for this clearly dysfunctional system that rewards scofflaws and shuns high-quality charter schools.

Filed Under: Education, Featured Items, Innovation Station

State of the State’s Education Funding on Display in Medina

January 30, 2014 By Stephen Dyer 2 Comments

Gov. John Kasich has chosen Medina as the site of his next State of the State address in February. As he prepares for this event, it is helpful to understand what his two state budgets have done to schools in Medina City and County.

Children in Medina County schools will have $13.7 million less state revenue in the next two school years than they had in the two years prior to Kasich taking office. The Medina City school district alone saw its state funding decline by $4.4 million, or 9.6%.

While state funding declines, school districts in the county are losing more to private and charter schools. Charter School payments — the amount of state funding transferred out of the accounts of traditional public school districts to charters — are up approximately one-third under Kasich to $4.37 million (up from $3.4 million). And that money is not funding success. In the 2011-2012 school year, every dollar transferred from a Medina County school to a charter went to one that performed worse on both the performance index score and state report card ranking – reflecting a disturbing statewide trend of money flowing from higher performing districts to lower performing charter schools.

At the same time, the expansion of the state’s voucher programs for private schools saw Medina County voucher payments explode — to $903,592 annually, up from zero in the time prior to Kasich taking office.

As a result of the state’s continuing focus on school choice, Medina County schools now receive 5.2% less state revenue per student than the state’s funding formula says they need. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Education, Innovation Station, Ohio State Budget

State Senate to consider rolling back Ohio’s green building rules

January 27, 2014 By Terra Goodnight Leave a Comment

Tomorrow, the Ohio Senate will hold its first hearing on new legislation that, if passed, could set back a program to make Ohio’s public buildings more energy efficient and environmentally sustainable.

SCR 25 is part of an effort by the chemical lobby to ban the use of the LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) green building rating system for the state’s public buildings in favor of an alternative certification supported by the chemical industry.

The resolution would urge public agencies in Ohio to scrap its use of the LEED building standard for construction projects funded with public dollars. Currently, billions in state funding for school construction are tied to achieving LEED certification. This requirement has helped Ohio become the No. 1 state in the nation for green schools that are healthier and more efficient. To date, nearly 100 public K-12 schools have been certified under the program, and hundreds more are under way.

Resolution SCR 25, backed by chemical lobby groups, will undo the progress that has been made to save on energy costs for Ohio taxpayers. Additionally, if passed, SCR 25 will discredit investments made by hundreds of Ohio companies in jobs, products, safer materials and services for energy efficient buildings.

Since 2007, Ohio communities have invested in schools to create a healthy environment to learn and work. Ohio has 549 LEED registered and certified K-12 and Higher Education projects. The State’s green schools program is leading the nation, a proud achievement. Ohio lawmakers should keep it that way.

SCR 25 will have its first hearing tomorrow in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which meets at 9:15 a.m. in the South Hearing room. More information on how to contact your senator is available at leedworksoh.nationbuilder.com.

Filed Under: Energy, Innovation Station

IO’s Dale Butland on poor results of Ohio charter schools.

January 8, 2014 By Terra Goodnight Leave a Comment

Innovation Ohio’s Dale Butland speaks with NBC4 about a new state report that shows over 60% of Ohio charter schools scored an overall grade of D or F.

Watch the video:

As Innovation Ohio has previously reported, charter schools cost taxpayers twice as much per pupil and deliver worse results.

Filed Under: Education, Innovation Station, IO on the Air

IO’s testimony in opposition to calls for a federal balanced budget amendment

November 26, 2013 By Ben Peyton Leave a Comment

Earlier this month, IO Communication’s Director Dale Butland submitted testimony to committees in both the Ohio House and Senate in regards to resolutions calling for a federal balanced budget amendment. Below is the text of that testimony opposing both Senate Joint Resolution 9 and its companion piece of legislation, House Joint Resolution 7. Included at the end of the testimony is a note from Mr. Butland including further thoughts on why lawmakers in Ohio are calling for a federal balanced budget amendment at this point in time.

TESTIMONY OF DALE BUTLAND - INNOVATION OHIO

My name is Dale Butland and I am communications director for Innovation Ohio, a progressive think tank headquartered in Columbus.

I thank the Committee for this opportunity to comment on SJR 5. This resolution, if passed by both houses of the General Assembly, would put Ohio on record in calling for a federal constitutional convention for the purpose of passing a balanced budget amendment (hereafter, “BBA”) to the U.S. Constitution.

In the view of Innovation Ohio, a BBA is a terrible idea.

A Constitutional Convention is problematical

First, and quite apart from the merits of a BBA itself, calling a constitutional convention is rife with danger and uncertainty. Contrary to the soothing assurances of those who back SJR 5, there is no guarantee that such a convention could be confined or directed to concern itself only with adopting a BBA. Indeed, many constitutional scholars warn of the potential for a “runaway convention” in which delegates would be free to modify the Constitution in any way they see fit, including, for example, repealing or amending all or some of the Bill of Rights. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Innovation Station Tagged With: BBA, Dale Butland, Testimony

In October, Ohio’s economy continued to lag rest of nation

November 26, 2013 By Ben Peyton Leave a Comment

New data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) paints a picture of a continued stall in Ohio’s economy. BLS and Ohio Jobs and Family Services found that not only did Ohio’s unemployment rate tick up to 7.5%, but that compared to October, 2012, in October, Ohio grew jobs by a dismal .53%. Over the last year, North Dakota led all states by growing 3.53 percent while Ohio ranked 44^th – only five other states grew more slowly over the last 12 months.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Economic Development and Jobs, Innovation Station Tagged With: Economic Growth, Economy, Jobs

Ohio legislature contemplates more changes to voting, voter registration

November 13, 2013 By Hana Strickland 1 Comment

Since August, nine bills have been introduced in the General Assembly regarding voting procedures. Rather than facilitate the voting process, however, many of them will hinder the voting and voter registration for Ohioans.

Three bills — SB 200, SB 205, and SB 216 – are currently moving quickly through the legislature and address voter registration, absentee ballots, and provisional ballots. The Senate has already passed SB 200 and SB 205, and SB 216 is currently receiving hearings.

Senate Bill 200, introduced by Senator Uecker, modifies the law governing the statewide registration database. The bill would allow the Secretary of State and other state agencies to share information in order to update the statewide voter registration database and would also allow the Secretary of State to establish agreements with other states to share information. These provisions raised concern in regards to the lack of protection for the information that would be shared without Ohioans’ knowledge. SB 200 does allow for online voter registration or online registration updates, which would more accurately ensure up-to-date voter information.

Senate Bill 205, introduced by Senator Coley, revises the law concerning the mailing of absentee ballots and absentee ballot applications; it also clarifies that electors are responsible for completing their absentee ballot documents. The bill would allow the Secretary of State to send out absentee requests during any year, but only if the General Assembly chooses to provide funds for doing so. In addition, the bill prohibits a board of elections from pre-paying the return postage for any absentee ballot applications or any absentee ballots that it delivers to a voter, and the bill also establishes that a person’s right to vote can be challenged based on identification issues. While SB 205 did accept some amendments that would alleviate some of the initial issues (for example, allowing mailings of absentee requests during any year instead of just even-numbered years), overall, SB 205 will place the burden on voters to request and submit absentee ballot applications.

Senate Bill 216, introduced by Senator Seitz, alters the law concerning provisional ballots and specifies permitted procedures for voting locations that serve more than one precinct. The bill would allow provisional ballots cast in the right polling location but the wrong precinct (due to a poll worker error) to be counted unless contested by the poll worker, but would not allow provisional ballots cast in the wrong precinct in the wrong location to be counted. While SB 216 will allow for accepted provisional ballots with relevant registration information to count as voter registration for future elections, it would reduce the number of days after the election in which electors who voted provisionally can produce their identifications to the board of elections. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Fair and Open Elections, Innovation Station

New IO Report: Medicaid Savings Could Support Ohio Schools

November 13, 2013 By Terra Goodnight Leave a Comment

Now that Ohio has committed to expanding Medicaid, State Senator Chris Widener proposed that the projected $400 million in savings Ohio will realize should be used to pay for another state income tax cut. A tax cut that Policy Matters Ohio estimates would be worth $28 for middle-income taxpayers.

When asked whether the money might be better spent on making up some of the $500 million in net funding cuts Ohio schools have received in the last two biennial budgets, “Widener said $400 million divided by the 613 school districts ‘would have a minimal impact.’”

We disagree.

Today we released an analysis showing that, despite Sen. Widener’s claim, the impact of an extra $400 million on Ohio schools would be dramatic and profound. It could pay for the new third-grade reading guarantee, gifted education, career tech or school transportation. Alternatively, it could be distributed to each of the state’s 613 school districts, making up for four years of state cuts and reducing the need for additional property tax levies to operate.

Read our report: “The Impact of $400 Million on Ohio Schools”.

Filed Under: Education, Innovation Station