Lawmakers weigh in on budget
Education likely to take another funding cutBy Sam Shawver, sshawver@mariettatimes.com
State Sen. Jimmy Stewart, R-Athens, says Gov. Ted Strickland's proposal to delay the final phase of a five-year 21 percent income tax cut for Ohioans to cover education funding may not have been necessary if the governor had followed some Republicans' advice earlier this year.
"Ted Strickland put our schools in this situation by trying to fund education with lottery slot machines at racetracks without first putting the issue before the voters," Stewart said. "When he first made that proposal in June, we said he should put it on the November ballot, but he chose not to do that.
"It could have passed and the funding would have taken effect in mid-2010, but now it won't be on the ballot until next November," he said, noting that statewide referendums cannot be placed on primary election ballots.
On Wednesday, Strickland told leaders in the General Assembly that the tax cut delay would provide about $850 million to fill an education funding gap created in the state budget after his plan to raise that money by allowing lottery slot machines at Ohio racetracks as early as this month was postponed by an Ohio Supreme Court decision in September.
On Sept. 21, the high court ruled that a citizens group called LetOhioVote.org could move forward with efforts to let voters decide whether slot machines should be allowed at the state's seven racetracks. At best, the order puts the governor's education funding plan on hold, and, depending on what the voters decide next November, it could end the plan altogether.
The slots revenue was expected to raise more than $900 million for education.
Strickland told legislators on Wednesday that the state had three options: Freeze the income tax cut, raise the state sales tax or cut education funding.
State Rep. Jennifer Garrison, D-Marietta, said House Democrats are considering the governor's proposal to prevent the loss of so much funding for schools. Cutting the education budget that much "would greatly impact our children's future," she said.
"The national recession has strained our state budget, and the Legislature has made $4 billion in cuts between the previous budget and this one," Garrison said.
"We've reduced the number of state employees by 3,600, and current state employees are taking time off without pay each month," she said, adding that the state has few options left without cutting into vital services.
Garrison said she has not heard any fellow legislators favoring a sales tax increase, and noted that delaying the income tax cut would not cost taxpayers any more than they paid in taxes last year.
"But the House and Senate are working together to identify all of our options and find common ground to protect education," she said.
Rep. Debbie Phillips, D-Athens, agreed.
"We really are in a bind. Funds from the lottery machines by law would have to go into education," she said. "But if we cannot raise this $850 million, it will have to come out of the education budget."
Phillips noted that such a decrease would also affect federal funding for kindergarten-through-12th-grade education because the state is required to show some funding support in order to qualify for federal dollars.
"We need to come to some kind of an agreement," she said. "I've been talking with colleagues and we believe a (0.5 percent) sales tax increase would be harmful in the current economy, and families are already suffering."
Phillips added that there has been some discussion on whether the proposed tax cut freeze would be limited to a year or if it would be tied to indicators of improvement in the economy.
Stewart suggested other options, besides those mentioned by the governor for covering the education funding, may be available, and said he's willing to work to find other alternatives.
"One way that would make a lot of money available quickly could be a change in the Medicaid prescription drug program to allow the purchase of more generic drugs," he said. "It wouldn't cover the entire funding gap, but it would be a good start."
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Asknoseknows
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10-02-09 11:21 AM
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32 days until the election! Bring it on big boys! Seriously if gambling passes there's nothing I can do I'll just have to sit back and watch an entire state going the wrong direction. The roots of my opposition to gambling lie in religous roots, similiar to when the Roman soldiers gambled for Christs' Robe because it was purple and fine woven and considered valuable. For reasons of conscious I can't vote yes for gambling. Having a minor in economics and knowing a little more than the layman I can tell you the plan was greatly flawed to believe gambling would generate 933 million dollars in a year after everyone got their hands in the till to pay for education. With the collasping social compact in this state if it doesn't pass this time it will eventually. The political climate is at or near that. Can't stop progress they say. Thats true I just question their definition of progress.
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Thomas722
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10-02-09 9:54 AM
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People really need to start seeing the reason this whole thing is happening. It wasn't Strickland's plan for us to pay higher taxes. He was forced into this position. He had a plan that was derailed las week by the court. If you pay attention to this whole mess, we have a state senator - Bill Seitz - who told us it's the Issue 3 casino owners that are behind the lawsuit that caused this problem. If they win the election, it just got rid of competition at the race tracks and gave them a true casino monopoly in Ohio. Wouldn't that make it Issue 3's plan, not Strickland's? They don't seem to care if Ohio residents pay higher taxes, face school budget cuts and layoffs, as long as they can make more money. Is that really who we should be voting for in November? There's no way Ohio should approve this. Not at this expense.
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