Hey, Governor (and 21st Century Education Director Robert Somers), how 'bout a little sunshine?

From John Curry, April 6, 2011

http://www.progressohio.org/blog/2011/04/state-reps-phillips-and-lundy-make-public-records-request-for-budget-info.html

State Reps. Phillips and Lundy Make Public Records Request for Budget Info

COLUMBUS -Today State Reps. Debbie Phillips (D-Athens) and Matt Lundy (D-Elyria) requested Governor Kasich's office to provide vital budget information that that has yet to be released to Finance Committee members.

As members of the Primary and Secondary Education Subcommittee, Reps. Phillips and Lundy requested this information in committee, but have yet to receive any answers from the Governor's office.

Today's public records request follows weeks of testimony on the budget by staff in the Governor's office. Some staff members appeared before the committee without written testimony and were unable to answer committee member's questions.

Frustrated by this lack of information and unwillingness to provide the requested data, Reps. Phillips and Lundy sent the following letter.

.....Robert Sommers, Director of the Office of 21st Century Education
.....The Office of Ohio Gov. John Kasich
.....77 S. High Street
.....Columbus, Ohio 43215

Dear Director Sommers:

We write to you today on behalf of school officials, parents, children, and taxpayers who reside in the 92^nd and 57^th House Districts, who are growing increasingly concerned about the impacts of the proposed state funding cuts, as well as the lack of data necessary to attain a clear understanding of potential impacts.

As you know, in addition to coping with an extraordinary loss of revenue, school administrators must also communicate clearly and effectively with the students, parents, teachers and taxpayers who will be affected by these cuts. However, the lack of access to information regarding the budget proposal makes this difficult.

As members of the Primary and Secondary Education Subcommittee of the House Finance Committee, we are requesting a clear outline of the total financial losses school districts will face under Gov. Kasich's proposed budget. ORC Sections 149.43 to 149.44 provide that any citizen may request access to public information, and that it is to be provided timely in the format requested. We hereby request the provision of the following information at your earliest convenience, preferably prior to the conclusion of public testimony in subcommittee:

· One spreadsheet with school district breakdowns that includes the following information, so that one can see the actual anticipated financial change for each school district:

o All line items that are zeroed out and redistributed--reduction based on the distribution in this biennium to individual districts.

o All TPPT and KWH tax reimbursement reductions

o Estimated number of mils needed to replace these lost revenues

· Information regarding the bridge formula: definitions of the terms, a copy of the proposed form that will be used to calculate distributions (with calculation formulas and any supporting worksheets), and school district breakdowns of the per pupil property value index, the charge-off valuation index, and the threshold amount.

· Projected cost savings from the administrations' understanding of "flexibility" on a district-by-district basis.

· Projected cost savings under the removal of "last in--first out" provisions, and a clear definition of metrics and standards by which reductions in force are to be carried out under the new rules.

· Estimated cost of litigation from EEOC lawsuits if districts engage in a widespread practice of terminating older teachers, as Ms. Mattei-Smith indicated would provide the bulk of savings for school districts.

· Line 200909 (fixed rate levy reimbursements) by school district

· Projected losses for future charter and voucher payments under new rules, by school district

· A list of all existing mandates on local school districts, and any newly created mandates, along with an indication of which mandates will be removed.

· Also, specifically denote which mandates remain that are associated with zeroed out lines (EMIS data, gifted ID, etc.)

· Actuarial projections of the anticipated impact of reducing the employer share of pension payments on the funds' compliance with statutory funding requirements

· Projected cost of developing new measures and assessments in order to implement performance-based or merit pay, given the fact that value-added data only exist for grades 4-8 in English and Math.

· A list of charter schools in academic emergency and academic watch.

· A list of charters in the pipeline for potential closure due to poor academic performance under the current rules, and additionally those that would be subject to potential closure under the proposed rules.

· A list of charter schools that have closed, and which have reconstituted themselves to re-open (i.e. Paul Laurence Dunbar). Also, specific comparison of what remains the same from PLD and what has changed (management company, sponsor, board members, administrators, teachers).

· A bibliography of research which indicates that executive reform proposals will improve student achievement

· Copies of all e-mail and correspondence involving Dr. Sommers and/or the Governor and his staff sent to or received from the Fordham foundation and/or its staff and board.

· Copies of any correspondence or materials related to education policy which were produced or provided by anyone associated with Americans for Prosperity, or the American Legislative Exchange Council.

As you know, Freedom of Information Requests require a reasonable response time. Given that the Executive Budget is currently under deliberation in the House, we would request that you provide this information as soon as possible.

Respectfully submitted,

Debbie Phillips
State Representative 92^nd District

Matt Lundy
State Representative 57^th District