Thank you for supporting my efforts to improve education in Ohio by support SB 180.

I want to extend my sincere thanks to all of the individuals who took time to testify in support of my Race to The Top bill on Tuesday. 

Thank you to Bill Sims, President and CEO of the Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools; Terry Ryan, Vice-President for Ohio Programs and Policy at the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation and State School Board Member Susan Haverkos. 

And a special thanks to John Dues and Abbey Kinson from the Columbus Collegiate Academy.  John and Abbey are both graduates of the Teach For America Program and like many Teach For America alums wanting to return to Ohio, cannot get a regular full-time teaching license to teach in Ohio.  John is currently the Co-Director for Curriculum and Instruction at the Columbus Collegiate Academy and Abbey is teaching math under a long-term substitute teaching license and has been trying for more than a year and a half to get licensed in Ohio.  Columbus Collegiate Academy is a very high performing charter school and in fact, Abbey’s students achieved more than two and a half times the “expected yearly growth” in mathematics.  These are  highly qualified individuals that are desperately needed in Ohio’s classrooms.  

Thank you again for testifying and for all that you do to advance education in Ohio.

Columbus Dispatch Editorial: Good ideas

The Columbus Dispatch editorialized today in support of a bill I am sponsoring, Senate Bill 180. This bill would help make Ohio more competitive for federal “Race to the Top” dollars.

The Dispatch said, “Ending Ohio’s moratorium on new charter schools is a good idea by itself, but state Sen. Jon Husted’s bill to accomplish that includes several additional good ideas that would make Ohio schools more effective.”

You can read the entire editorial here: http://tinyurl.com/yzv3nry

Ohio Senate passes Husted Redistricting Proposal

COLUMBUS—The Ohio Senate achieved another step today in reforming Ohio’s partisan system for drawing legislative districts with the passage of Amended Senate Joint Resolution 5, sponsored by State Senator Jon Husted (R-Kettering). 

SJR 5 restructures the current commission that draws legislative districts by creating a seven member board and requires a bipartisan, five vote supermajority to pass a new legislative district plan. 

“Ohio has used a hyper-partisan process of drawing districts for far too long. The time is now for Ohio to adopt this proposal to end the partisan gerrymandering that serves political parties over the public,” Husted said.

The resolution also includes provisions that ensure one political party does not control the process by requiring two votes from the minority party represented on the commission in order to pass a plan.

“If we are going to solve the economic and budgetary problems Ohio faces now and into the future, we must design a new political system that stops rewarding partisan games and demands bipartisan cooperation,” Husted added.

Sen. Husted has been working with numerous stakeholder groups over the past several months to draft SJR 5, including the League of Women Voters and Ohio Citizen Action. He remains committed to building a bipartisan consensus on a plan to reform Ohio ’s redistricting process as the bill is considered by the Ohio House of Representatives.  

“I look forward to working with members from both sides of the aisle in the House of Representatives in order to bring real reform to Ohio ’s redistricting process.”

JOINT STATEMENT FROM STATE SENATOR MARK WAGONER AND STATE SENATOR JON HUSTED

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 16, 2009

JOINT STATEMENT FROM STATE SENATOR MARK WAGONER AND STATE SENATOR JON HUSTED

The following statement in whole or in part can be attributed to Senators Mark Wagoner (R-Toledo) and Jon Husted (R-Kettering) who served on the Senate Select Committee on Gambling. It is being issued in reaction to the fact that only two of seven racetracks paid the initial $13 million in fees due to the state yesterday, September 15.

“It is clear that the slot plan is not working as promised. As the Senate recommended, the governor should have put the issue before the voters in November.

“As we said in July, there was no need to rush this. As we predicted, a competing ballot initiative and multiple law suits has created greater uncertainty and placed the already fragile state budget in greater peril.

“The combination of voters deciding the issue at the ballot and competitively bidding the licenses would have eliminated the threats of litigation, given the taxpayers of this state a better deal and created more confidence in the outcome.

“As it stands now, the future of gambling in Ohio is more uncertain than ever and our state’s budget is adrift at sea and depending on the gambling industry to bail us out.”

The road to fiscal collapse

The road to fiscal collapse:

As our country considers another entitlement program, potentially nationalizing healthcare, I thought the following information on the costs of our exisiting obligations is very relevant and an important factor being left out of the debate.

- Outlays for the mandatory government programs of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid during fiscal year 2009 (i.e., the 12 months that end 9/30/09) are expected to total $1.36 trillion or 37% of the total US budget.  Outlays for the mandatory government programs of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid during fiscal year 2019 (i.e., the 12 months that end 9/30/19) are expected to total $2.48 trillion or 47% of the total US budget (source: Office of Management and Budget)   

It is not going to solve itself. We are going to have to decide as a society if we want significantly higher taxes to pay for it, if we are going to reduce the size and scope of these government programs, or some of both.

Failure to come to grips with these choices will be disasterous for the economy, our nation and its people.

The challenges ahead for states

A very good article or the challeges our states/nation faces and a Republican way ahead as decribed by Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, worthwhile taking a few minutes to read.

Click here to read the entire article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204731804574390603114939642.html

Strickland Administration raids funds for blind, organ donations

A few weeks ago we learned of the Strickland Administration’s raiding of $1.4 million from the Save our Sight Fund to prevent blindness, and $1.3 million from the Second Chance Trust Fund which encourages organ donations. Both funds are supported by Ohio motorists who make $1 donations when they apply for or renew a driver’s license.

It is amazing that Governor Strickland would allow this to happen, especially considering those who give to these funds are explicitly donating money to support groups who fight blindness in children and help solve the shortage of organ donations. This is not a responsible way to balance state finances.

Here is what others are saying about this outrageous and desperate cash grab:

“The kindest explanation is that Strickland, who didn’t personally decide to raid the funds, isn’t a detail person. But if he wants to be re-elected in 2010, he’d better become one…Voters have a right to wonder who is minding the Statehouse store.” –Cleveland Plain Dealer Editorial 8-25-09

“Trust was put at risk when the state of Ohio commandeered $2.7 million in voluntary donations to two charitable funds…Diverting these funds was a grave error that could discourage people from donating to them.” -Columbus Dispatch Editorial 8-22-09

Strickland now says he will restore the funds. This may calm the storm on these particular funds. Yet there are many other funds that the administration used, such as the Children’s Trust Fund (which is used to fund programs to prevent child abuse), that were also raided of millions of dollars. Those funds have yet to be reconciled.

I want you to know that I plan to work to shed some light on what funds were raided, and why we even have excess funds that can be raided and used for other purposes.

Ohio Chamber of Commerce issues mid-year report cards

Recently the Ohio Chamber of Commerce issued mid-year report cards for members of the Ohio General Assembly.  This is a great tool for you to find out how your legislator voted on the important issues that directly impact local businesses, jobs and the economy. 

I am pleased I have continued to maintain my strong support for Ohio ’s businesses by earning a 100% pro-business voting record from the Ohio Chamber of Commerce. 

Through my years of public service, I have worked hard to reform many areas of state government and enact the fiscally conservative measures needed to stimulate job creation and revitalize Ohio ’s economy.  I believe the way to truly turn Ohio around is to create and maintain a strong business environment that retains jobs and creates incentives to invest in Ohio .

School Choice in Ohio

While school choice is a familiar concept in Ohio, I am often asked how Ohio stacks up versus other states and how widespread is school choice in Ohio. Well, to follow are a few statistics compiled by School Choice Ohio (www.scohio.org) which I found interesting and I hope you will to.

Did you know? 

1. Ohio has the fifth largest number (16,411) of publicly funded K-12 school choice scholarship recipients in the United States.
2. Ohio is the state with the second largest number (3) of school choice programs in the nation. They are Ed Choice, Autism and Cleveland scholarships.
3. Ohio, by enacting the Cleveland Scholarship in 1995, became the second state to enact a school choice scholarship program.
4. Ohio has more students with autism receiving a scholarship (over 1,100) than any other state.
5. Ohio has the fifth highest enrollment of students in public charter schools (over 80,000) in the country.
6. Ohio is home to one of three chapters of the national Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO). The Ohio Chapter is based in Dayton.
7. Ohio has the sixth highest number of privately-funded K-12 scholarships for families with financial need in the United States.
8. An expansion of school choice in Ohio is represented by proposed legislation that seeks to provide K-12 scholarships to special needs children.

No Pledge for You

The Oberlin Ohio school board, on a 3-2 vote, upheld the policy to ban the Pledge of Allegiance during the school day. The Superintendent’s attempts for a compromise were rejected by the board.

They can’t figure this out?

If you know anyone from Oberlin, you may want to encourage them to run for the school board.

God Bless America.