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The State of Ohio

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Ohio finally has a lieutenant governor - and the choice was a surprise substitution for many. Coming up, Jim Tressel talks about the new job and the anti-DEI higher ed bill that passed this week. And a conversation with one of the principals behind the Fair School Funding Plan about the proposed state budget. Democratic former Rep. John Patterson joins Karen Kasler in the studio.

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00:00:38	Ohio finally has a new
00:00:38	lieutenant governor.
00:00:41	And the play call
00:00:41	was a surprise
00:00:42	substitution for many.
00:00:44	Coming up Jim Tressel talks
00:00:45	about the new job
00:00:45	and the antibody
00:00:47	higher ed bill
00:00:47	that passed this week.
00:00:50	And a conversation
00:00:50	with one of the principals
00:00:52	behind the Fair School
00:00:52	funding plan
00:00:54	about the proposed state
00:00:54	budget.
00:00:56	That's this
00:00:56	week in the state of Ohio.
00:01:15	Just.
00:01:16	Welcome to the state of Ohio.
00:01:18	I'm Karen Kasler.
00:01:19	After weeks of waiting,
00:01:20	the state has a new lieutenant
00:01:20	governor.
00:01:22	And the decision
00:01:22	announced by governor
00:01:24	Mike DeWine on Monday
00:01:25	morning amounted
00:01:26	to something of a trick play
00:01:26	for many political observers.
00:01:29	today
00:01:29	I will be sending his name
00:01:31	to the Senate
00:01:31	and to the House.
00:01:33	Extending the name of Jim
00:01:33	Tressel.
00:01:35	He'll be
00:01:35	nominated him to be Ohio's
00:01:35	next lieutenant governor.
00:01:40	Jim Tressel coached
00:01:40	at several universities
00:01:42	before leaving Youngstown
00:01:42	State
00:01:43	for national football
00:01:43	championships in the 90s,
00:01:46	and then in 2002,
00:01:47	he took Ohio State to its
00:01:49	first national championship
00:01:49	in more than 30 years.
00:01:52	Tressel resigned in 2011
00:01:52	after a memorabilia
00:01:55	for tattoos scandal
00:01:55	involving his players
00:01:57	resulted in the NCAA
00:01:59	vacating Ohio State's
00:01:59	wins for the 2010 season.
00:02:02	Tressel became president
00:02:03	of Youngstown State in 2014
00:02:03	and retired in 2023, and
00:02:07	has been active in Christian
00:02:07	and conservative causes.
00:02:11	All Republican lawmakers
00:02:11	voted to confirm Tressel,
00:02:14	with one Senate Democrat
00:02:14	and 27 Democrats in the House
00:02:17	voting against him, in part
00:02:17	over concerns about his ties
00:02:20	to life wise,
00:02:20	the Ohio based program
00:02:22	that takes kids
00:02:23	to Christian activities off
00:02:23	campus during the school day.
00:02:26	And because of his connection
00:02:26	to a law that took control
00:02:29	of the Youngstown City Schools
00:02:31	from the school board and
00:02:31	put it with an unelected CEO,
00:02:34	Tressel was sworn in
00:02:34	at the state House on Friday.
00:02:37	I talked with Tressel
00:02:37	just before the legislature
00:02:39	confirmed him as lieutenant
00:02:39	governor on Wednesday,
00:02:41	and I asked him
00:02:41	what he would tell
00:02:43	people who feel he's
00:02:43	not qualified for the job.
00:02:46	Well,
00:02:46	I would tell them one thing
00:02:49	I've learned in these two
00:02:49	and a half short days here
00:02:52	is he's surrounded himself
00:02:52	with an amazing staff,
00:02:55	and I'm not silly enough
00:02:55	to think that the head coach
00:02:58	is the only one
00:02:58	that's important because I,
00:03:00	you know,
00:03:00	I got a lot of acclaim
00:03:02	and adulation and all that
00:03:02	stuff, and I knew that
00:03:05	if it weren't for that staff,
00:03:07	none of that
00:03:07	would have happened.
00:03:09	So I can tell you that that
00:03:09	the staff is extraordinary,
00:03:13	that, everyone loves
00:03:17	to talk about all the things
00:03:17	that are important.
00:03:20	And so every day,
00:03:20	every meeting
00:03:22	you're
00:03:22	in, you're learning something.
00:03:23	And,
00:03:24	and so I guess
00:03:26	the person that would say that
00:03:26	I don't have the experience
00:03:30	probably in some of
00:03:30	the topics, that's true.
00:03:33	And I need to learn and,
00:03:33	and the governor promised me
00:03:37	he's in good health
00:03:38	and, you know,
00:03:38	I'm not going to have to worry
00:03:40	about knowing
00:03:40	everything anytime soon. And,
00:03:43	but I do need to
00:03:45	continue to listen and learn
00:03:49	and sit down with people
00:03:49	and count on this staff
00:03:54	and find out where
00:03:54	specifically,
00:03:58	the governor thinks
00:03:58	I can be helpful
00:04:00	because I don't want to just
00:04:00	go to school for six months on
00:04:04	all these issues and so forth
00:04:04	and not do anything else,
00:04:08	you know?
00:04:09	So a combination of, of,
00:04:09	learning and,
00:04:13	carrying out the assignments
00:04:13	of the governor,
00:04:15	and counting on this
00:04:15	great staff.
00:04:17	You know, it's
00:04:17	kind of where I am right now.
00:04:19	I've had a chance to sit
00:04:19	with all the legislators
00:04:21	or many of them,
00:04:21	and I've known a lot of them.
00:04:25	And I know
00:04:26	how complex their world is,
00:04:26	and I know it's not easy.
00:04:29	And, sound bites
00:04:29	sometimes drive
00:04:32	the conversation,
00:04:32	but it's deeper than that.
00:04:34	And,
00:04:35	and so I'm looking forward
00:04:35	to working with them
00:04:37	and hearing them
00:04:37	and listening to them and,
00:04:40	and, you know, hopefully
00:04:40	we can have great dialog
00:04:43	and make good decisions and
00:04:43	earn the trust of the Ohioans
00:04:47	Tressel says
00:04:47	his first order of business
00:04:49	is to make sure
00:04:49	education is lining up
00:04:51	with the needs
00:04:51	of the workforce,
00:04:52	which he says the Department
00:04:52	of Education
00:04:54	and Workforce
00:04:54	has been studying.
00:04:56	you know, I'm hoping to be
00:04:56	available for the governor
00:04:59	when he has a need.
00:05:00	He's only one person.
00:05:01	And so sometimes you.
00:05:02	Oh, I wish I could be in
00:05:02	two places.
00:05:04	You know, maybe I can,
00:05:04	you know, pinch hit for them,
00:05:07	and so that we can make sure
00:05:07	everyone is, is recognized
00:05:10	and so forth.
00:05:11	And, and then the other one,
00:05:11	Karen, is, we were
00:05:16	laughing about the fact
00:05:16	that when we grew up,
00:05:18	there was a President's
00:05:18	Council on Fitness,
00:05:22	and it was President Kennedy
00:05:22	that started,
00:05:25	and we had
00:05:25	all these fitness things,
00:05:26	and we were in elementary
00:05:26	school and, and we,
00:05:29	you know, all these tests
00:05:29	we had to take
00:05:30	and you had to meet
00:05:30	a certain fitness level.
00:05:32	And, you know, when you think
00:05:32	about the health, both
00:05:36	physically,
00:05:36	mentally, emotionally,
00:05:40	when you feel
00:05:40	better, when you're healthier,
00:05:43	when you're more fit,
00:05:43	everything's better.
00:05:46	And so one of the
00:05:47	things we laughed about is
00:05:47	if we run out of things to do,
00:05:51	maybe we can,
00:05:51	create an initiative
00:05:54	that could be the beginnings
00:05:54	of something
00:05:56	that could help the health
00:05:56	and fitness of our state
00:05:59	for years to come.
00:06:00	Tressel says
00:06:00	his first order of business
00:06:02	is to make sure education
00:06:03	is lining up with the needs
00:06:03	of the workforce,
00:06:06	which he says the Department
00:06:06	of Education
00:06:07	and Workforce
00:06:07	has been studying,
00:06:09	and also, I'm hoping to be
00:06:09	available for the governor
00:06:13	when he has a need.
00:06:14	He's only one person.
00:06:16	And so sometimes you.
00:06:17	Oh, I wish I could be in
00:06:17	two places.
00:06:19	You know, maybe I can,
00:06:19	you know, pinch hit for them,
00:06:21	and so that we can make sure
00:06:21	everyone is, is recognized
00:06:25	and so forth.
00:06:26	And, and then the other one,
00:06:26	Karen, is, we were
00:06:30	laughing about the fact
00:06:30	that when we grew up,
00:06:33	there was a President's
00:06:33	Council on Fitness,
00:06:36	and it was President Kennedy
00:06:36	that started,
00:06:39	and we had
00:06:39	all these fitness things,
00:06:40	and we were in elementary
00:06:40	school and, and we,
00:06:43	you know, all these tests
00:06:43	we had to take
00:06:45	and you had to meet
00:06:45	a certain fitness level.
00:06:47	And, you know, when you think
00:06:47	about the health, both
00:06:50	physically,
00:06:50	mentally, emotionally,
00:06:54	when you feel
00:06:54	better, when you're healthier,
00:06:57	when you're more fit,
00:06:57	everything's better.
00:07:01	And so one of the
00:07:02	things we laughed about is
00:07:02	if we run out of things to do,
00:07:06	maybe we can,
00:07:06	create an initiative
00:07:08	that could be the beginnings
00:07:08	of something
00:07:10	that could help the health
00:07:10	and fitness of our state
00:07:13	for years to come.
00:07:14	Speaking of years to come,
00:07:14	I also attempted to nail
00:07:17	Tressel down on his plans
00:07:19	beyond
00:07:19	being lieutenant governor
00:07:21	and whether a run for governor
00:07:21	is in the future.
00:07:24	I really had had no thought
00:07:24	of being
00:07:26	the lieutenant governor.
00:07:27	Now I'm given a task,
00:07:27	hopefully,
00:07:30	to see how I can do there.
00:07:33	I've always lived in my 48
00:07:33	plus year,
00:07:37	professional life that,
00:07:37	the only way to be as good
00:07:40	as you can be is to be clearly
00:07:40	in the moment,
00:07:43	to be focusing in where
00:07:43	you are, what you're doing,
00:07:47	not daydreaming about what
00:07:47	you wish you were doing.
00:07:50	Or I wonder what I'll be doing
00:07:50	in five years.
00:07:52	And, people love to have
00:07:52	all those things pasted up
00:07:56	and so forth.
00:07:56	I want to win today.
00:07:58	And we used to tell our teams,
00:08:00	I remember
00:08:00	going into spring practice,
00:08:02	we would always say,
00:08:02	hey, look, we can't win
00:08:04	the national championship
00:08:04	in spring practice,
00:08:06	but we can lose it if we don't
00:08:06	progress enough every day.
00:08:10	And so
00:08:11	my goal is to live my life
00:08:11	trying to progress every day.
00:08:15	And then if I'll do that
00:08:15	or I'll
00:08:18	be relatively successful
00:08:18	at that,
00:08:20	then whatever
00:08:21	happens down the road,
00:08:21	I'm sure I'll be good with
00:08:25	not ruling it out, then
00:08:27	not ruling out
00:08:27	that I'm working on the day.
00:08:29	No. Tressel
00:08:29	also has some thoughts
00:08:31	about Senate Bill one.
00:08:33	The bill Republicans
00:08:34	say will stop what they feel
00:08:35	is liberal indoctrination
00:08:35	in universities.
00:08:38	On Wednesday,
00:08:38	the Senate passed the bill,
00:08:41	which bans most diversity,
00:08:41	equity and inclusion programs
00:08:44	and faculty
00:08:44	strikes, requires post tenure
00:08:47	performance reviews.
00:08:48	A civics course
00:08:49	focused on American history
00:08:49	and free market capitalism
00:08:53	and intellectual diversity,
00:08:53	and discussion of issues
00:08:55	the bill describes
00:08:55	as controversial.
00:08:57	It also shortens
00:08:57	trustee terms and orders.
00:09:00	A study by the Chancellor
00:09:00	of the possibility
00:09:02	of three year bachelor's
00:09:02	degrees for some majors.
00:09:06	The bill passed the Senate
00:09:06	with all Republicans on board
00:09:08	except senators Bill blessing
00:09:08	and Tom
00:09:11	Payton, who joined all nine
00:09:11	Democrats in opposing it.
00:09:14	The vote came
00:09:15	the day after a committee
00:09:15	hearing on the bill
00:09:17	that went on for more than 8.5
00:09:17	hours.
00:09:20	Hundreds of people
00:09:20	from student
00:09:21	and faculty
00:09:21	organizations, Democratic
00:09:24	aligned groups,
00:09:24	unions and others
00:09:26	who describe themselves
00:09:26	as interested,
00:09:28	shared, spoken
00:09:28	and written testimony.
00:09:30	Some were in the Senate
00:09:30	chamber for the vote
00:09:33	and loudly
00:09:33	protested before walking out.
00:09:36	higher.
00:09:38	No, no, no,
00:09:39	that's Lieutenant Governor
00:09:40	Tressel said
00:09:41	he was part of discussions
00:09:42	on a previous version
00:09:42	of the higher ed overhaul.
00:09:45	So he needs to read this
00:09:45	new one over.
00:09:47	But he had some thoughts.
00:09:49	I thought at the beginning
00:09:51	there were some things
00:09:51	that would really
00:09:52	benefit us at universities.
00:09:55	Probably
00:09:55	the one that would benefit us
00:09:57	the most is
00:09:58	when they were talking a lot
00:09:58	about the the training
00:10:01	and the efficiency
00:10:01	and effectiveness of our board
00:10:05	because, we can't have
00:10:05	a great university
00:10:09	without a great board.
00:10:10	And the board has to do
00:10:10	a great job of oversight,
00:10:15	of evaluation of, in our case,
00:10:15	the president
00:10:18	and the provost,
00:10:18	of making sure that we've got
00:10:23	sustainable strategic vision,
00:10:27	but they've got to be engaged
00:10:27	to do that.
00:10:28	And they have to be trained,
00:10:29	and they have to understand
00:10:29	that it's not maybe exactly
00:10:32	like the business
00:10:32	they came from
00:10:34	or the hospital
00:10:34	that they used to run.
00:10:36	It's a little unique.
00:10:37	So to me,
00:10:37	that was a good part of it.
00:10:41	I don't know how
00:10:41	that came out.
00:10:42	The whole conversation about,
00:10:42	that we want everyone,
00:10:47	at the institution
00:10:47	to feel comfortable,
00:10:51	sharing their thoughts
00:10:51	and their feelings
00:10:54	and also wanting
00:10:54	to learn the thoughts
00:10:57	and the feelings
00:10:57	and opinions of others.
00:10:59	You know, that good, dialog.
00:11:03	When I was growing up,
00:11:04	if someone asked me what
00:11:04	the definition of a university
00:11:07	was, I would always say,
00:11:07	well, it's unity in diversity.
00:11:12	It's people
00:11:12	coming from different towns,
00:11:14	different backgrounds,
00:11:14	different belief systems,
00:11:17	different ethnicities.
00:11:19	And now they're coming
00:11:19	to a common place,
00:11:22	and they're going to create
00:11:22	a unity in that diversity.
00:11:24	And that's how
00:11:24	they're really going to grow
00:11:26	and become good,
00:11:26	well-rounded citizens.
00:11:30	And go on
00:11:30	and be great leaders.
00:11:33	So the whole conversation
00:11:33	about assuring that
00:11:37	we can have thoughtful dialog,
00:11:37	I think, was a good one.
00:11:41	I know there were
00:11:41	some conversations,
00:11:45	on the collective
00:11:45	bargaining front,
00:11:46	I'm not sure how those went.
00:11:48	The only thing that,
00:11:48	I recall from a few years ago
00:11:52	that I think is always good
00:11:54	is to get a little bit
00:11:54	of clarity sometimes
00:11:58	the longer we go
00:11:58	in the collective
00:12:00	bargaining world,
00:12:00	and the more things we get
00:12:02	put in to the collective
00:12:02	bargaining agreements,
00:12:06	sometimes we lose sight of
00:12:06	what's most important,
00:12:09	which is
00:12:09	I wanted my faculty and staff,
00:12:12	we had four different,
00:12:14	bargaining units
00:12:14	at Youngstown State.
00:12:16	I wanted my people
00:12:17	to get compensated
00:12:17	as well as they could.
00:12:19	I wanted them to have as good
00:12:19	a health care as they could.
00:12:22	I also had a,
00:12:22	legal responsibility
00:12:25	to have a balanced budget.
00:12:26	You know, I couldn't
00:12:26	create a a university debt.
00:12:30	But I wanted them to
00:12:30	have the best that they could,
00:12:33	and I wanted them to have
00:12:33	the freedom to talk about,
00:12:36	in that collective bargaining,
00:12:36	that collaborative sense.
00:12:40	Senate Bill
00:12:40	one is considered a priority
00:12:42	for Republican
00:12:42	legislative leaders
00:12:43	after failing
00:12:43	to get through the House
00:12:45	last session,
00:12:46	and is now under consideration
00:12:46	by that chamber.
00:12:49	The upcoming May ballot
00:12:49	will officially have the $2.5
00:12:52	billion bond
00:12:52	issue for local infrastructure
00:12:55	projects,
00:12:55	as requested
00:12:55	by state lawmakers
00:12:57	at the end of the last
00:12:57	session.
00:12:59	It will be issue two, though
00:13:00	it's the only statewide
00:13:00	issue on the May ballot.
00:13:03	That's because of a law passed
00:13:03	last session
00:13:05	that sets sequential ballot
00:13:05	issue numbers,
00:13:08	with the first
00:13:08	being last fall's
00:13:10	redistricting proposal
00:13:10	as issue one.
00:13:12	The numbers reset at 500,
00:13:15	which won't happen
00:13:15	for decades.
00:13:17	And looking ahead
00:13:17	to next year.
00:13:18	Former lawmaker John
00:13:18	Tani dropped out of the race
00:13:21	for the Republican nomination
00:13:21	for secretary of state.
00:13:24	As treasurer
00:13:24	Robert Sprague jumped in.
00:13:26	And then this week,
00:13:26	Anthony announced he's running
00:13:28	for Sprague's office,
00:13:30	saying in a statement
00:13:30	that term, limited
00:13:31	officeholders who are playing
00:13:31	musical chairs
00:13:34	will do whatever it takes
00:13:34	to stay in power,
00:13:36	and that Ohioans are, quote,
00:13:38	tired of riding this merry
00:13:38	go round within the insane
00:13:41	asylum carnival
00:13:42	of squishy establishment
00:13:42	politicians and quote.
00:13:45	But the next day,
00:13:45	Senator Kristina Rohner
00:13:47	launched her campaign
00:13:47	for treasurer.
00:13:49	Only two Democrats
00:13:49	have announced
00:13:51	statewide ambitions
00:13:52	Doctor Amy Acton
00:13:52	for governor and Doctor
00:13:54	Brian Hambly
00:13:54	for secretary of state.
00:13:57	The proposed two year
00:13:58	state budget from governor
00:13:58	Mike DeWine
00:13:59	has officially dropped
00:13:59	as House Bill 96.
00:14:02	The House has been holding
00:14:03	hearings on it
00:14:03	for the last two weeks,
00:14:05	and last week heard testimony
00:14:07	on funding for the fair school
00:14:07	funding plan,
00:14:10	which is set to be fully
00:14:10	phased in
00:14:12	with $23.4 billion
00:14:12	in this spending plan.
00:14:15	But the funding is a bit short
00:14:15	and there's a lot of work
00:14:18	for its backers
00:14:18	to do to convince lawmakers.
00:14:21	I talked with Democratic
00:14:21	former
00:14:23	Representative John Patterson,
00:14:23	who spent years
00:14:25	working with Republican former
00:14:25	speaker Bob Cupp,
00:14:28	to come up with the formula
00:14:28	that formed the foundation
00:14:31	of the Fair School
00:14:31	funding plan,
00:14:32	which he's still working on
00:14:33	as a part of the task force
00:14:33	promoting it.
00:14:36	Now, I have oversimplified
00:14:38	this tremendously,
00:14:38	but when I explain what it is,
00:14:40	it's basically
00:14:41	the idea
00:14:41	of the unconstitutional school
00:14:44	funding plan
00:14:44	that was based on property
00:14:47	tax values,
00:14:47	which the Ohio Supreme Court
00:14:49	ruled four times
00:14:49	was unconstitutional.
00:14:51	This plan takes into account
00:14:51	not only property taxes,
00:14:55	but also income in a district,
00:14:55	right?
00:14:57	A family's income, right
00:14:59	to come up with
00:15:00	whatever the state
00:15:00	is going to pay as their share
00:15:03	to fund education
00:15:03	in that district.
00:15:05	I'm oversimplifying it,
00:15:05	but that's the essence.
00:15:07	Well, keep in mind
00:15:07	the four draft decisions.
00:15:10	There were a number of, of,
00:15:10	issues that that came out.
00:15:14	One that we weren't
00:15:14	doing enough to build schools
00:15:17	and repair schools
00:15:17	and we've addressed that
00:15:19	with the School
00:15:19	Finance Facilities Commission.
00:15:21	Exactly, exactly.
00:15:22	Secondly,
00:15:22	the question of adequacy,
00:15:25	equity and the overreliance
00:15:25	on property taxes.
00:15:28	So let's look at adequacy
00:15:28	first.
00:15:31	What does it cost.
00:15:32	And this was never
00:15:32	really addressed
00:15:35	fully in previous iterations
00:15:35	of any kind of a funding plan.
00:15:39	What does it actually cost
00:15:40	to fund a typical student
00:15:40	in a typical town?
00:15:43	All right.
00:15:44	So we broke down based on
00:15:44	research, full transparency,
00:15:49	those actual costs
00:15:49	and its, pupil teacher
00:15:53	ratio different from
00:15:53	for different grade levels.
00:15:56	It's librarians,
00:15:56	it's school resource officers.
00:15:59	It's the maintenance
00:15:59	of the building.
00:16:00	It's a building principal.
00:16:02	It's an EMAs coordinator.
00:16:04	It's, superintendent,
00:16:04	the treasurer.
00:16:06	All of those costs are to be
00:16:06	found in the base cost.
00:16:10	And your district may have
00:16:10	the same number of students
00:16:14	as mine.
00:16:15	But you may need
00:16:15	more state aid
00:16:18	because you may have
00:16:18	a younger student population
00:16:21	that would
00:16:21	require more teachers.
00:16:24	That's why
00:16:25	this plan fits each district
00:16:25	so uniquely.
00:16:30	And the other thing
00:16:30	that's so special
00:16:31	about the school funding plan,
00:16:31	it is not prescriptive.
00:16:35	We as a state
00:16:35	would figure out together
00:16:38	with with the formula
00:16:38	because it is transparent
00:16:41	what your financial needs are.
00:16:43	But we leave it
00:16:43	up to the local school boards
00:16:46	to determine
00:16:46	how that money should be spent
00:16:49	because they know best,
00:16:49	not a mandate from the state.
00:16:52	So that's the adequacy part.
00:16:54	Now the equity equity
00:16:54	is not equality.
00:16:57	So if let's say you and I
00:17:00	were were tennis players
00:17:04	and you're ranked
00:17:04	and I'm just, weekend hacker.
00:17:09	All right.
00:17:10	For us,
00:17:10	we would never be equal.
00:17:12	But for us to be equitable,
00:17:12	maybe,
00:17:15	you would play with your less
00:17:15	dominant hand.
00:17:19	You're right handed, right?
00:17:20	So you could play
00:17:20	with your left hand
00:17:22	and maybe one shoe off.
00:17:24	I could play both shoes on
00:17:24	and right handed,
00:17:28	and we would
00:17:28	have some sort of equity
00:17:28	to make for a fair game.
00:17:32	So this is why we blended
00:17:32	property valuations
00:17:38	with income to determine
00:17:38	a real close,
00:17:42	approximation of what
00:17:42	an individual district's.
00:17:46	We call this
00:17:47	capacity is the local capacity
00:17:47	to raise their own money.
00:17:51	Now there's another part
00:17:51	of this.
00:17:52	It's important.
00:17:53	It's called the categorical
00:17:53	or add ons.
00:17:56	And this would be
00:17:56	transportation
00:17:57	because we have to transport
00:17:57	these kids.
00:17:59	It's English language
00:17:59	learners.
00:18:00	It's special needs students.
00:18:02	It's students who are
00:18:02	economically disadvantaged.
00:18:05	It's, education
00:18:05	service centers.
00:18:08	Those are calculated again
00:18:08	based on that
00:18:12	individual district's needs
00:18:12	and added on to the base cost.
00:18:16	So what should happen
00:18:16	once we determine all of that
00:18:20	from the categorical
00:18:20	and the base costs?
00:18:22	And we know what
00:18:22	each district's financial,
00:18:26	burden is, then you calculate
00:18:29	in with the local capacity
00:18:29	and the state share blends in.
00:18:33	And theoretically,
00:18:33	there you have it.
00:18:35	It's it's magic.
00:18:36	But but it's that there's
00:18:36	a lot of variables in here.
00:18:40	I mean, oh my gosh.
00:18:41	The the categorical
00:18:42	I mean, you've got
00:18:42	some districts
00:18:43	where kids
00:18:43	are being transported by taxes
00:18:46	for a very long
00:18:46	period of time, right?
00:18:48	Some districts
00:18:48	that have lots of English
00:18:49	as a second language.
00:18:49	That's right.
00:18:51	Students, there are a lot of
00:18:51	variables here.
00:18:54	So when you can't really say
00:18:56	it cost X amount of money
00:18:56	to educate a student in Ohio
00:18:59	because there are
00:18:59	so many different things now.
00:19:01	Based costs. Yes.
00:19:02	But when you add
00:19:02	on the categorical,
00:19:04	it's widely different.
00:19:05	And it used to be,
00:19:05	during the bridge formula
00:19:09	that we had 6000
00:19:09	and then 6024 per student.
00:19:14	That's not really
00:19:14	that doesn't really address
00:19:17	the individual
00:19:17	needs of a district.
00:19:19	So here's the beauty of it.
00:19:20	When each district
00:19:21	is going to be different
00:19:21	in terms of their needs,
00:19:23	each district under the fair
00:19:23	school funding plan
00:19:26	is also unique in its ability
00:19:26	to raise its own local share.
00:19:32	And keep in mind,
00:19:32	in the Constitution,
00:19:34	it's a partnership. It's
00:19:34	not the state
00:19:36	funding education, it's
00:19:36	not the locals.
00:19:39	It's a partnership together
00:19:39	that makes this happen.
00:19:43	And it should be stated
00:19:43	that this is something
00:19:45	that is in the Ohio
00:19:45	Constitution.
00:19:47	Yes. This,
00:19:47	this system of common schools
00:19:50	is guaranteed
00:19:50	in the Constitution.
00:19:52	Have your viewers look up
00:19:52	article six, section two.
00:19:55	It's quite popular.
00:19:55	Read these days.
00:19:58	You mentioned that
00:19:58	this is not prescriptive.
00:20:01	You don't tell the school
00:20:01	district how to use the money.
00:20:04	I think there's been
00:20:04	some criticism raised about,
00:20:07	well,
00:20:07	the state is giving money to
00:20:09	districts for these purposes
00:20:09	and they're not using it. How?
00:20:13	Maybe some lawmakers
00:20:13	want districts to use it.
00:20:16	Right, right.
00:20:18	And I understand that.
00:20:19	But I also understand
00:20:21	now, keep in mind,
00:20:21	I'm a retired teacher,
00:20:23	and I knew that our district.
00:20:26	And let me give you
00:20:26	just one example.
00:20:28	So say you had a number
00:20:28	of students who were coming up
00:20:32	on the third grade reading
00:20:32	guarantee or some state test.
00:20:35	If I'm in a local district,
00:20:35	I may want to add
00:20:39	more teachers than what
00:20:40	the reason calls for,
00:20:40	because those kids
00:20:44	may be behind for
00:20:44	for whatever reason.
00:20:46	So I may inflate
00:20:46	class sizes it
00:20:50	say junior high or high school
00:20:50	to increase or decrease.
00:20:53	I should say, the,
00:20:53	the pupil student ratio
00:20:58	in the lower levels
00:20:59	so that those kids get more
00:20:59	one on one instruction.
00:21:02	It has to be fluid
00:21:02	in order to work. Well.
00:21:04	No two districts in Ohio
00:21:04	are the same.
00:21:07	And for the state
00:21:08	to have a mandate
00:21:10	to determine where
00:21:10	they should spend their money,
00:21:13	that's that's a little heavy
00:21:13	handed
00:21:16	when the local nuances
00:21:16	are so important.
00:21:18	And who knows better
00:21:20	what a district needs
00:21:21	than the locally
00:21:22	and fairly elected school
00:21:22	board of each district.
00:21:25	One thing that all school
00:21:25	districts deal with,
00:21:27	and I think some districts
00:21:28	probably forget or voters
00:21:28	probably forget,
00:21:31	this is economically
00:21:31	disadvantaged students.
00:21:33	They are across
00:21:33	the state. Yes.
00:21:34	And they are potentially
00:21:34	the most expensive to educate
00:21:37	because they have
00:21:38	so many challenges
00:21:38	that they come into
00:21:40	the education system with.
00:21:42	That's been a big issue,
00:21:42	is to try to deal with
00:21:45	who you're trying to bring up
00:21:45	those kids
00:21:48	to their better off
00:21:48	counterparts.
00:21:50	They're financially better off
00:21:50	counterparts.
00:21:52	So now you've we've morphed
00:21:52	into a different conversation
00:21:56	here.
00:21:56	And this is good
00:21:57	because we're coming into win
00:21:57	win Speaker Cup.
00:22:01	And I put this together.
00:22:02	We knew
00:22:02	it was going to be expensive
00:22:04	because we were so far behind.
00:22:05	So it was a six year phase.
00:22:06	In years one through
00:22:06	four are phased in.
00:22:09	And we're looking
00:22:09	and the governor has supported
00:22:11	this in his initial budget,
00:22:13	the phase in of year
00:22:13	five and six.
00:22:16	Now in addition to that
00:22:16	they also have the base
00:22:19	cost of the inputs.
00:22:21	And those need to be
00:22:21	periodically updated.
00:22:25	Teacher salaries,
00:22:25	building costs
00:22:27	and such to reflect inflation.
00:22:29	If those are left behind,
00:22:29	it skews the formula.
00:22:33	Formula is is is fluid
00:22:33	when it comes to
00:22:36	to the inputs.
00:22:36	You have to keep updating.
00:22:38	But in addition to that,
00:22:38	the categorical
00:22:41	that you mentioned like the
00:22:41	the the disadvantaged students
00:22:45	economically disadvantaged,
00:22:47	we asked for studies
00:22:47	to be done. Again.
00:22:49	This is based on research.
00:22:50	This is not a wish list
00:22:50	as it's my dear friend.
00:22:53	Speaker Cupp would say
00:22:53	it's really what is needed.
00:22:56	And those studies,
00:22:56	the transportation English
00:22:59	language learners,
00:22:59	those have indeed come back.
00:23:02	We're waiting on the final
00:23:02	stages.
00:23:04	Last I knew of the
00:23:04	economically disadvantaged.
00:23:07	That package is going to be,
00:23:09	that needs to be debated
00:23:09	as well to see where this is.
00:23:13	I mean, education is something
00:23:13	that's critically important.
00:23:16	There is not a person
00:23:16	who is watching,
00:23:18	who is not either home
00:23:18	schooled or charter school
00:23:22	or parochial or public school.
00:23:24	We need education, and
00:23:24	we need it for three reasons
00:23:28	one, a workforce.
00:23:30	We've got Intel
00:23:30	coming to Ohio.
00:23:33	Other
00:23:33	industries are coming to Ohio.
00:23:35	That's exciting.
00:23:36	But if you don't
00:23:36	have the workforce.
00:23:37	And here's the other thing.
00:23:39	Ohio is an aging state
00:23:39	and a lot of people or a lot
00:23:43	older than you, Karen, are
00:23:43	phasing out of the workforce.
00:23:46	We have to replace them.
00:23:48	The second important
00:23:48	component of education,
00:23:52	why it's critical is that
00:23:52	we need an educated citizenry
00:23:56	so that we can debate
00:23:56	and we can have
00:23:58	civil conversations
00:23:58	about where we want to go.
00:24:02	Collective together.
00:24:04	And you can't do that
00:24:04	in a vacuum.
00:24:06	You have to be able to,
00:24:09	not only
00:24:10	critique arguments,
00:24:10	but develop one's own argument
00:24:13	and listen to others
00:24:13	and come up with the best
00:24:16	sort of pathway forward.
00:24:18	And then finally, I feel that
00:24:18	it's critically essential,
00:24:21	especially a public schools,
00:24:23	to allow a student
00:24:23	to explore their gifts.
00:24:27	Because if we have certain
00:24:27	gifts and we match the gifts
00:24:31	with their calling,
00:24:32	work doesn't exist,
00:24:32	it becomes a labor of love.
00:24:37	Now I'm going to ask
00:24:37	the question of my interviewer
00:24:39	here. What were your gifts
00:24:39	in high school?
00:24:42	What did you like to
00:24:42	do? Right?
00:24:45	You don't say
00:24:45	and you don't say,
00:24:48	and you were given
00:24:48	that opportunity.
00:24:49	Where are you? On
00:24:49	your school's newspaper? Yes.
00:24:52	You don't say.
00:24:53	And then now
00:24:53	what would have happened
00:24:55	if we had budget cuts
00:24:55	and that was eliminated?
00:24:59	You would
00:24:59	never really have known.
00:25:02	And knowing how you work,
00:25:05	this is a labor of love
00:25:05	for you.
00:25:08	And when we have people
00:25:08	who are
00:25:11	in those positions,
00:25:11	magic happens.
00:25:14	They enjoy
00:25:14	going to their jobs.
00:25:16	And there's there's
00:25:16	a contagious atmosphere
00:25:19	of of success.
00:25:21	I'll have more
00:25:21	of my conversation
00:25:22	with former Representative
00:25:22	John Patterson about school
00:25:25	funding in the budget next
00:25:25	week.
00:25:27	DeWine
00:25:27	will talk about his budget
00:25:28	in his state of the state
00:25:28	speech on March 12th.
00:25:31	And that is it for this week
00:25:31	for my colleagues
00:25:33	at the Statehouse News
00:25:33	Bureau of Ohio Public Media.
00:25:35	Thanks for watching.
00:25:36	Please check out our website
00:25:36	at State news.org
00:25:38	or find us online
00:25:38	by searching.
00:25:40	State of Ohio show.
00:25:41	You can also hear more
00:25:41	from the Bureau
00:25:43	on our podcast,
00:25:43	The Ohio State House scoop.
00:25:45	Look for it
00:25:45	every Monday morning
00:25:47	wherever
00:25:47	you get your podcasts.
00:25:48	Thanks for watching and please
00:25:48	join us again
00:25:50	next time
00:25:50	for the State of Ohio.
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Note : Transcripts are compiled from uncorrected captions