April 27, 2001

Legislators run scared from real reform of school $$$

That clucking sound you hear from the south is coming from the chickens who inhabit the Statehouse.

Year after year, rather than being brave enough to risk making a number of voters angry, they sidestep reform of public school funding.

And these are not smart chickens.

They cannot understand it when the Ohio Supreme Court tells them that writing a new plan for school financing means lessening the dependence on property taxes.

Rather than revising the way both state and local taxation and allocations for schools are determined, each year they instead scrounge up some additional dollars for schools. Then they declare their actions to be reform.

Ohio House hearings have started on a proposed two-year state budget. In it is what is supposed to pass muster as funding reform for public education.

The only change is a proposed increase in spending.

Let's hope the Ohio Supreme Court justices stand firm -- no chickens in robes, please -- and reject yet another cowardly effort.

If the court is willing to stand by its original finding that the current funding system is unconstitutional, someday there may be a proper resolution.

All it would take would be legislators who were willing to risk the criticism that always comes with change, even when it's a change for the better.

For now, all we'll get is cluck, cluck, cluck.