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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2009 > January > 29 > Entry
Talk is easy; where’s the money for school plan?
Ohio now has the outline of a bold plan to reshape its schools. But a gigantic question mark jumps off the page: How can the state possibly pay for it?
Gov. Ted Strickland used his State of the State address Wednesday, Jan. 28, to unveil his long-promised school reform plan. It was every bit as bold as he has said it would be. Some of his ideas are genuinely cutting-edge; others are overdue.
The governor’s aides said more details about funding would come next week when he presents his two-year budget. But, while he had so many people’s attention, he owed Ohioans at least a hint as to how the state could ever afford all that he wants to do.
Consider just a few of his proposals:
—All-day kindergarten. Today, there’s not much debate about whether a full day of kindergarten is beneficial, especially for children from needy families. The cost has always been the problem with requiring it.
In 2004, Arizona — a state with fewer school children — considered a plan to take all-day kindergarten statewide. Then leaders there estimated that the bill would be $100 million to build new classrooms, and $170 million a year in spending, once it was expanded to all schools. The tab for Ohio easily would be more.
—Lengthening the school year by 20 days, phased in over 10 years. This could make Ohio the first state to require 200 days of school each year.
Why not do it now? Why haven’t other states done this? The cost, of course.
While a 10-year phase-in would ease the pain, the problem is that teachers don’t work for free. If Ohio’s 115,000 teachers were compensated at about the rate they’re getting today, the bill to add just one day — never mind bumping the school year by a month — could top $20 million.
—Building a new, extensive teacher training program and career ladder. Gov. Strickland likened teachers to doctors in terms of their importance to society. He wants a four-year “residency,” during which they are trained and evaluated by a master teacher. He also described a career ladder, with teachers progressing through several career steps as they gained expertise.
Again, these are good ideas, but they have costs. Teachers will have less time in the classroom if the mentoring is as intense as he suggests. And as they move up the new career ladder, they will want additional pay for their added responsibilities.
—Junking the current testing program and replacing it with an entirely new evaluation. The plan would eliminate the Ohio Graduation Test. Instead, all students would take the ACT national college entrance exam, and new graduation requirements would be added, such as end-of-course exams, a service learning project and a senior project. In addition, the governor wants to scrap the achievement tests for grades 3 to 8.
Remember, though, that Ohio’s achievement tests and its graduation test are not that old, and they cost millions to construct. Starting over wouldn’t be cheap.
Gov. Strickland is counting on the federal bailout money to help kick off his plan during the next two years. Even if that works, he still has to explain where the funding will come from for the long term. The stimulus money can only be used once.
Ohio cannot afford to lurch toward an impossible dream. Describing the kinds of schools Ohio should have is the easy part. Paying for them is what has stumped well-meaning governors all across the country. Gov. Strickland said precious little about how he’s going to do that.
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