Educators, Mr. Husted thinks your contracts are too generous!

"If you ask Husted about propping up low-wealth districts, he agrees that they have special needs. But he also believes that many school districts are not low-wealth, and that public education's labor contracts are too generous. The state won't fix that by spending more money."

COMMENTARY
Dayton Daily News
Sunday, February 18, 2007

Ellen Belcher: Governor, Husted can't both win

The governor and the House speaker can't each have their way on Ohio's top priority.

By Ellen Belcher

Jon Husted is hardly co-governor. But if he wants to keep something from happening in Columbus, the House speaker from Kettering can stop a lot of things dead.

Because Ohio doesn't need gridlock, it's good that Husted, a Republican, and Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat, think the other is swell.

Still, the two men (who could oppose each other for governor in three years) are poles apart on at least one big issue — what's Ohio's first priority.

In his campaign, Strickland, more than any other specific thing, talked about changing how Ohio funds its schools. Husted, on the other hand, adamantly believes that the state has showered money on K-12 education — for new buildings, to reduce the gap in spending between rich and poor districts and for operations generally.

He pretty much thinks teachers have had their turn. He's focused instead on building up Ohio's colleges.

Noting that he'll be a point person for just one more state budget, Husted recently said, "If we're going to do something with higher education, this is the last opportunity (for me) in the House. Ohio cannot afford incremental change."

Husted, who's about to become a father for the second time, also said that he recently wrote University of Dayton President Dan Curran "not to complain," but with a chilling observation. He calculates that if he wants to send his soon-to-be-born daughter to UD (his alma mater), the cost at the private school could run almost $400,000 if tuition keeps going up as it has.

"That's completely unsustainable," he said. "This (tuition at both private and public schools) is a problem, (and) it's everybody's problem."

All of this is not to say that the governor isn't interested in higher education. But there's a clash coming, because Ohio doesn't have enough money for everybody's priority. At least not enough to make the difference that Strickland and Husted would like.

When last month Husted suggested — and Strickland agreed — that the chancellor of higher education should be part of the governor's cabinet, headlines suggested that the two men agree on something important. Only to a point: making the person who has limited oversight over colleges a gubernatorial appointee doesn't cost money.

Husted's conviction that higher education needs a turn at the well isn't without strings. As a condition, he wants boards of trustees at colleges to have less latitude on tuition rates.

He's also beating the drum that Ohio has to turn out more scientists, engineers and mathematicians. To achieve that, the state schools that are heavy into research — Ohio State and the University of Cincinnati — would get more state money than others.

Meanwhile, he would create financial incentives for universities to cooperate in these targeted majors.

To make sure Ohio has plenty of kids coming to college ready for challenging math and science courses, Husted would reach down to high schools. He's pushing regional academies that focus on budding chemists and civil engineers.

And he likes the ideas of supporting college internships in the sciences, figuring that if colleges students are working in the state, they'll be more likely to stay here after graduation.

Husted is not talking about dumping money into all of higher education or on all students. So his goals are more affordable than what Strickland's backers want him to do.

Teacher unions and school administrators' trade groups had hoped Strickland would get behind their proposed constitutional amendment that would guarantee a "high quality education" and set up a process whereby K-12 schools get their money first. The state's other obligations would be funded with the money that is left over.

Strickland has said no deal to that, but he doesn't believe your neighborhood school is being properly supported. Remember Strickland comes from an area where property taxes have to be supplemented with substantial money from Columbus; there are just too few people and businesses there to tax.

If you ask Husted about propping up low-wealth districts, he agrees that they have special needs. But he also believes that many school districts are not low-wealth, and that public education's labor contracts are too generous. The state won't fix that by spending more money.

While Strickland has suggested schools need to cut back on administrators, he's not going to attack teachers' contracts.

We are talking about a major divide.

Ellen Belcher is editor of the Dayton Daily News editorial pages. Her telephone number is 225-2286; her e-mail address is ebelcher@DaytonDaily News.com.