Sunday, February 17, 2013
In his proposed budget Gov. John Kasich points to an increase in general revenue fund spending through fiscal year 2015. But school officials are skeptical.
Gov. John Kasich says that his proposed state budget, if passed, would increase the education funding above 2011 levels. In a bold statement, Kasich also noted that state funding for schools has gone up each year he’s been in office, according to a press release issued on Friday. However, that’s a claim that doesn't satisfy some local school officials. State budget and school officials told Patch that there would be no additional cuts moving forward, despite the loss of federal stimulus money. (See the attached press release at the right) “The governor was insistent that no district receive less dollars than they do today,” said Jim Lynch, the special advisor to the director of the office of budget and management. In a press release, …
Monday, February 11, 2013
Under Gov. John Kasich's budget proposal, Mentor Schools would get the same amount in each of the next two years that it received in Fiscal Year 2013
Mentor Schools is expected to receive the exact same amount in state funding in 2014 and 2015 as it did this year. The district will get nearly $12.6 million in each of the next two years, according to preliminary numbers from the Ohio Department of Education. The district with an estimated student count of 8,138 is one of several across the state that could see a 0.0 percent change in funding. These numbers are from Gov. John Kasich's budget proposal, and could change some as the state legislature haggles out a final budget deal. Mentor Schools posted a statement on its website deeming Kasich's plan "exciting," but cautioned that previous cuts still affect the district to this day. "Regardless of the new budget, Mentor Schools still faces…
Thursday, January 31, 2013
The governor’s plan also includes funds for a special grant, designed to encourage schools to try new approaches to increasing achievement and decreasing cost.
Gov. John Kasich today unveiled his school funding reform plan, “Achievement Everywhere,” which aims to distribute funds fairly to districts and give principals more autonomy. The plan will be part of the governor’s overall 2014-2015 budget proposal, which is expected to be released next week. Thursday’s proposal includes $1.2 billion in new money for schools during the next two years. Kasich told reporters on a conference call Thursday afternoon that the additional money is possible because the state has cut costs in other areas and brought in new jobs, which increases the state’s overall revenue. He said his plan would be fully funded from the start, rather than phased in over time. Ohio’s school funding formula, which is based on …
Friday, December 28, 2012
The debate has heated up in the days after the school shooting in Connecticut.
What do you think about the gun laws in Ohio—are they not strict enough or do restrictions need to be scaled back? It’s a question that has recently taken on more weight in the days following the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, as well as the NRA's reaction in which they called for armed security in schools. During his speech, NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre said that "the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun." Ohio’s gun laws have been becoming more lenient in recent years, the Columbus Dispatch reports, pointing to a variety of new laws. That includes one passed in 2011 to allow concealed-carry weapons in bars. And it’s likely that the restrictions will loosen even further soon. Gov. …
Monday, October 22, 2012
Better Late Than Never, Law Finally Goes Into Effect November 5
The image sticks with me, of majestic lions, tigers and bears laid out along a muddy Zanesville driveway. All of them lifeless, wet from rain, their underfurs muddy from the chase — It was already a year ago October 18 that this happened in Ohio, and somehow a year has made this picture even more unbearable as I sit here on a Sunday morning nibbling biscotti and drinking coffee. Tragic death always feels more rotten after time, not better. At least it does for me. I think about how the deceased have not passed the time with us. Details that emerge after a year also tend to be more chilling; in Charles Siebert's essay-length book “Rough Beasts,” he reveals more about owner Terry Thompson's intent when he released these animals into his …
Friday, July 20, 2012
Our Republican Insiders say last year's fight over collective bargaining rights could hurt the party's chances at winning Ohio's electoral votes in this November's presidential election.
Will the Republican-led effort to limit collective bargaining rights for government workers in Ohio hurt the GOP's chances in this year's presidential election? More than half of the Republican insiders surveyed by Patch say it's too soon to tell or that they didn't know. But 14 out of 50 of those surveyed think the Senate Bill 5 / Issue 2 effort, led by Republican Gov. John Kasich, will hurt the GOP's chances in Ohio. Only four of 50 responders believe the fight will help the Republicans. Issue 2's effect is also seen in what Ohioans our Republican insiders would like to see as a running mate to Republican nominee Mitt Romney. Only one said they wanted Kasich, perhaps the politician most damaged by the Issue 2 ballot defeat, to be vice …
Monday, May 7, 2012
Ohio Department of Agriculture Frustrated With Inability to Monitor Post-Quarantine Care
Two leopards, two Celebes Macaques and a bear are back in Zanesville. And yes, they are back on the same property from which they were released with more than 50 other wild animals back in October. Marian Thompson, the widow of the man responsible for that release, who took his own life, brought her animals home Friday after a quarantine keeping them at the Columbus Zoo was lifted. Now that they're there, though — affirmed by the “Welcome Back!” balloon tied to the mailbox outside her rural homestead Friday — local authorities can only become involved in their safekeeping if they receive a complaint, and state authorities cannot get involved at all. Clearly frustrated, last week the Ohio Department of Agriculture released this statement, …
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
The $8 million investment will create at least 75 jobs in the city
STERIS Corp. had news so big that Ohio Gov. John Kasich visited and helped to announce it Tuesday. The manufacturer of hospital sterilization equipment and other infection-killing products will be investing $8 million into its Mentor facility at 6100 Heisley Road. The facility, which is now used solely as a distribution center, will also manufacture components for its products that will be shipped to other assembly locations, STERIS President Walt Rosebrough said. The new fabrication site will create at least 75 jobs in the next year. Rosebrough said the company had three locations where they could have put the manufacturing site -- Ohio, Alabama or Mexico. However, STERIS ultimately decided to expand in Mentor. "Gov. Kasich took the time …
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Opponents of Senate Bill 5 outmatched supporters in money, motivation and message.
In retrospect, Issue 2 never stood a chance. Opponents outmatched supporters in money, motivation and message. It's no surprise they had more votes, too. On Tuesday, about 60 percent of Ohio voters rejected Issue 2, Gov. John Kasich's plan to severely restrict bargaining rights for Ohio's unionized government workers. And the resounding defeat wasn't delieved with scant turnout during a boring off-year election. Turnout was 46 percent, the highest for an off-year race since 1991. The union-backed opponents were too strong, and cared too much. They viewed the fight to end Senate Bill 5 as a back-against-the-wall fight, and they campaigned that way. Opponents trotted out teachers and firemen and said the law would ruin important government …
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Public workers celebrate Issue 2 victory at Cleveland rally.
Ohio voters overwhelmingly rejected Issue 2 on Tuesday, delivering a haymaker to Republican-led efforts to restrict bargaining rights for government workers and damaging the fortunes of Gov. John Kasich. The lead was so great that We Are Ohio claimed victory just after 9 p.m. Tuesday with only a fraction of the state's precincts reporting. Kasich conceded the race shortly afterward. About 61 percent of voters, or nearly 2.2 million, rejected the law known as Senate Bill 5, according to unofficial results. About 39 percent, or about 1.4 million, voted for the law. Results show Issue 2 lost in 82 of Ohio's 88 counties. At a victory party in Cleveland, public workers cheered loudly and chanted "We won!" as union leaders, including American …
Stig
12:39 pm on Monday, February 11, 2013
Kasich's proposal is "exciting". But he has to know his minions in the House will never vote for this. Rick Scott is trying the same move towards the middle in Florida with a packed house full of Tea Party members. All this signals to me is that these radical governors are positioning themselves as middle of the road conservatives for the next election cycle. When in fact they ran on nothing but … more ›