The Columbus Dispatch

1/14/2007

Catherine Candisky

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.

Gov. Ted Strickland, who pledged to fix Ohio’s school-funding system, commended the effort but said it will not change his plan to first work with state lawmakers and other stakeholders toward a legislative solution. If that doesn’t work, he said, he would consider a constitutional amendment.

Educators, angered by what they believe has been an insufficient response by state lawmakers, began meeting privately in February to craft their own fix. The Ohio Mayors Roundtable, including Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman, joined the panel in the summer.

Those involved in the discussions say the proposal will resolve a number of problems cited in a series of rulings by the Ohio Supreme Court. In four decisions in the past decade, the court found that state officials have failed to provide for a “thorough and efficient” system of public schools as required by the Ohio Constitution.

Although the ballot initiative does not specifically address court concerns about an overreliance on local property-tax revenue, supporters say the burden on property owners would be eased over time as financial requirements are shifted to the state.

The proposal is certain to draw fire.

Critics say giving children not just the right to an education, but a “fundamental right” guaranteeing a certain quality of education, will invite litigation and ultimately allow the courts to mandate school-funding levels.

Supporters say the higher legal standard is necessary to compel state lawmakers to comply.

Critics also question the wisdom of stripping authority from the legislature and giving the 19-member State Board of Education the ability to determine education funding levels. The partappointed, part-elected panel has drawn international attention for opening the schoolhouse door to the teaching of intelligent design in science classrooms, a policy it reversed a few months ago.

Supporters say the General Assembly tends to determine education funding levels based on how much money is available after meeting other obligations, not how much is necessary to ensure a quality education.

They also note that the state board would have funding parameters or checks and balances.

ccandisky@dispatch.com