Blackwell gets cold shoulder from educators

	Friday, Aug. 18, 2006 Blackwell gets cold reception, Strickland applauded Republican candidate for governor draws groans from educators By Patrick Cain Beacon Journal staff writer COLUMBUS - Before either gubernatorial candidate took the podium, Marie Parker had her doubts about Republican Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell. What she heard Thursday didn't settle her nerves. Parker is not a Democrat. She can name a handful of Republicans for whom she has voted. But Parker, a former Revere school board member from Summit County, wasn't impressed with Blackwell's stance on education. In a crowd of hundreds of school officials who listened to both candidates Thursday, she wasn't alone. Blackwell drew a chorus of groans with his plans to outsource administrative jobs, reform collective bargaining and limit nonclassroom expenses to 35 percent of school budgets. His opponent, meanwhile, Democrat Ted Strickland, elicited laughter and applause. Blackwell is pushing for strict economic restraints on government spending, privatized schools and a dip into Medicaid's potential savings to improve Ohio's educational system. Blackwell said that the improvements in public-school academic performance, evident in this week's release of district report cards, shows that competition from publicly funded, privately run charter schools is helping the entire system. Blackwell angered educators earlier this year with a proposed constitutional amendment to limit the growth of government spending. The education community argues that the state has yet to comply with an Ohio Supreme Court order to wean school funding from property taxes and to adequately fund the system. Blackwell was asked in several different ways to elaborate on his plans, and after referring to earlier remarks, said, ``I can't tell you again.'' Strickland was even less specific, although he said that his proposal would try to satisfy the Ohio Supreme Court's nine-year-old order to fix school funding. When asked afterward by reporters to elaborate on that plan, Strickland said: ``I will do that if I win this election.'' Strickland drew applause nearly a dozen times during his 40 minutes with the crowd. Three times, listeners applauded his stance against what he calls ``for-profit'' charter schools -- an element of Blackwell's solution. ``About $500 million, I believe, was taken out of our public system to fund underperforming charter schools last year,'' Strickland said. ``I think that's a waste of resources -- for-profit charter schools trouble me greatly.'' Though they both said charter and public schools should be held to the same standards, only Strickland received applause. ``People in this room have to take what you heard today and talk to people,'' Bill Kerr, a school official of Jefferson County, said after the speeches. ``I don't think we get involved enough in politics. This is going to be one of the most important elections.''