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here to go back to the LWVO Education Update Main Page To: LWVO From: Joan Platz Education Update for November 13, 2006 1) 126th General Assembly: The Ohio House and Senate will hold sessions and committee hearings this week. Several committees are hearing sponsor testimony -- or first hearings -- on a number of bills before the 126th session of the General Assembly ends on December 31, 2006, but only a few bills are expected to be approved during the lame duck session. According to House Speaker Husted and Senate President Harris, lawmakers are determined to approve the capital budget and Governor Taft's Ohio Core legislative proposal, SB 311 (Gardner) and HB 565 (Setzer) before this session ends. The original Ohio Core bills, which were introduced last spring, are expected to be changed with the introduction of substitute bills this week in the House and Senate Education Committees. Meetings this Week: *The Ohio School Boards Association will hold its Capital Conference on November 12-15, 2006 at the Columbus Convention Center. One of events will be a panel discussion on a constitutional amendment to support a new school funding system for Ohio. *The House Education Committee, chaired by Representative Setzer, will meet on Tuesday, November 14, 2006 at 3:30 PM in room 116 and hear testimony on two bills, HB 605 (Setzer) -- missing children, and HB565 (Setzer) -- the Ohio Core Curriculum -- and a substitute bill will be introduced. *The Senate Education Committee, chaired by Senator Padgett, will meet on Tuesday, November 14, 2006 at 4:00 PM and hear testimony on three bills: SB 239 (Dann) -- School anti-harassment policies; SB 311 (Gardner) -- Ohio Core Curriculum; and HB 276 (Stewart) -- School bullying policies. A substitute bill will be introduced for SB 311. *The Partnership for Continued Learning, Julie Schaid Executive Director, is also scheduled to meet on Wednesday, November 15, 2006 from 1:00 - 4:00 PM at the Riffe Center, 31st Floor. 2) 109th Congress: The U.S. House and Senate will convene this week. During the lame duck session lawmakers are expected to complete work on twelve appropriations measures, which should have been approved by October 1, 2006. Only appropriations for Homeland Security and Defense have been approved so far. A continuing resolution, which expires November 17, 2006, was approved in September 2006 to keep money flowing to government departments and agencies until all appropriations bills are approved. Lawmakers are also expected to consider legislation on eavesdropping, expired tax cuts, confirm a new Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, and confirm John Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. The 110th Congress will convene in January 2007 with Democrats controlling a majority of 229 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, and 51 seats in the U.S. Senate, according to unofficial results. This means that there will be a shift in leadership and committee chairs. Representative Nancy Pelosi is expected to become Speaker of the House and Senator Harry Reid President of the Senate. Representative David Obey of Wisconsin is in line to become chair of the House Appropriations Committee, and Representative George Miller of California may become chair of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. In the Senate, West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd may assume chairmanship of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy could become chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. 3) Election Recap: The unofficial results of the November 7, 2006 election are available on the web site of the Ohio Secretary of State at http://www.sos.state.oh.us/. Not all absentee and provisional ballots have been counted, and so some contests have still not been decided. Approximately 53.21 percent of registered voters voted in this election (4,177,498), and 211,656 absentee ballots were cast. School Funding Issues: There were 206 school district issues on the November 2006 ballot and 110 (53.40 percent) were approved. 176 school districts had one issue on the ballot; ten districts had two issues on the ballot; and in one school district (Lake Local in Stark County) voters approved ten reduction issues of .01 mills each. Ohio Senate: 17 out of 33 seats in the Ohio Senate were contested on November 7, 2006. The Democrats gained one seat, but the Republicans retained their majority, which is now 21 -12. The following incumbents were re-elected: Goodman (R-3), Roberts (D-5), Schuler (R-7), Kearney (D-9), Fedor (D-11), R. Miller (D-15), Carey R-17), Harris (R-19), D. Miller (D-23), Coughlin (R-27), and Schuring (R-29). Newly elected members of the Ohio Senate include Steve Buehrer (R-1) who replaces Lynn Wachtmann (R); Susan Morano (D-13), who replaces Jeff Armbruster (R); Shirley Smith (D-21) who replaces CJ Prentiss (D); Lance Mason (D-25) who replaces Eric Fingerhut (D); John Boccieri (D - 33) who replaces Robert Hagen (D); and Tim Schaffer (R-31) who replaces Jay Hottinger. Senators Marc Dann (D-32), Jim Jordan (R-12), and Charles Wilson (D-30) were elected to other public offices and will be leaving the Ohio Senate in 2007. Senator Dann was elected Ohio Attorney General, Senator Jordan was elected to the U.S. Congress (District 4), and Senator Wilson was elected to the U.S. Congress (District 6). Who is leaving the Ohio Senate? Senators Fingerhut, Jordan, Dann, Armbruster, Prentiss, Hottinger, Robert Hagen, Wilson, and Wachtmann. Ohio House: 99 members were elected to the Ohio House of Representatives for two year terms on November 7, 2006. The Democrats gained eight seats and the Republicans gained one, but the Republicans retained their majority, which is now 53-46. The following incumbents were re-elected: Jon M. Peterson (R-2); Jim Carmichael (R-3); Robert E. Latta (R-6); Kenny Yuko (D-7); Michael DeBose (D-12); Michael J. Skindell (D-13); Michael Foley (D-14); Timothy DeGeeter (D-15); Thomas F. Patton (R-18); Larry Flowers (R-19); Jim McGregor (R-20); Jim Hughes (R-22); Larry Wolpert (R-23); Dan Stewart (D-25); Joyce Beatty (D-27); Jim Raussen (R-28); Lou Blessing (R-29); Bill Seitz (R-30); Steve Driehaus (D-31); Tyrone K. Yates (D-33); Tom Brinkman Jr. (D-34); Michelle G. Schneider (R-35); Arlene J. Setzer (R-36); Jon A. Husted (R-37); John J. White (R-38); Fredrick W. Strahorn (D-40); Brian G. Williams (D-41); John Widowfield (R-42); Robert J. Otterman (D-45); Mark Wagoner (R-46); Peter Ujvagi (D-47); Edna Brown (D-48); John P. Hagan (R-50); Scott Oelslager (R-51); William Healy II (D-52); Shawn N. Webster (R-53); Courtney E. Combs (R-54); William P. Coley, II (R-55); Joseph F. Koziura (D-56); Kenneth A. Carano (D-59); Lorraine Fende (D-62); Sandra Stabile Harwood (D-65); Joseph W Uecker (R-66); Kathleen Chandler (D-68); Kevin DeWine (R-70); Ross McGregor (R-72); Keith L. Faber (R-77); Diana M. Fessler (R-79); Chris Redfern (D-80); Jeff Wagner (R-81); Steve Reinhard (R-82); Anthony E. Core (R-83); Christopher R. Widener (R-84); John M. Schlichter (R-85); David T. Daniels (R-86); Clyde Evans (R-87); Danny Bubp (R-88); Todd Book (D-89); Thom Collier (R-90); Jimmy Stewart (R-92); Jennifer Garrison (D-93); Jim Aslanides (R-94); John Domenick (D-95); Allan Sayre (D-96); Bob Gibbs (R-97); Matthew Dolan (R-98); and George Distel (D-99). The following are newly elected representatives to the Ohio House: Linda Bolon (D-1); Matt Huffman (R-4); Gerald Stebelton (R-5); Armond Budish (D-8); Barbara Boyd (D-9); Eugene Miller (D-10); Sandra Williams (D-11); Jennifer Brady (D-16); Josh Mandel (R-17); Kevin Bacon (R-21); Ted Celeste (D-24); Tracy Heard (D-26); Dale Mallory (D-32); Clayton Luckie (D-39); Steven Dyer (D-43); Vernon Sykes (D-44); Matt Szollosi (D-49); Matt Lundy (D-57); Matthew Barrett (D-58); Robert Hagan (D-60); Mark Okey (D-61); Carol-Ann Schindel (R-63); Tom Letson (D-64); Shannon Jones (R-67); William Batchelder (R-69); Jay Hottinger (R-71); Jay Goyal (D-73); Bruce Goodwin (R-74); Lynn Wachtmann (R-75); Cliff Hite (R-76); John Adams (R-78); and Dan Dodd (D-91). Who is leaving the Ohio House this year? Representatives Charles Blasdel, Charles Calvert, David Evans, S. Patton, Mike Gilb, Bill Hartnett, Ron Hood, Jim Hoops, Annie Key, Jeanine Perry, Tom Raga, Linda Reidelbach, Claudette Woodward, Barbara Sykes, Mary Taylor, Jim Trakas, and John Williamowski. Representative Taylor was elected to Auditor of the State defeating Representative Barbara Sykes. Who is moving from the Ohio House to the Ohio Senate? John Boccieri (replacing Robert Hagen); Tim Schaffer (replacing Hottinger); Steve Buehrer (replacing Wachtmann); and Shirley Smith (replacing CJ Prentiss). Who is moving from the Ohio Senate to the Ohio House? Jay Hottinger (replacing David Evans); Lynn Wachtmann (replacing Jim Hoops); and Robert Hagen (replacing Boccieri). One Senate district switched parties. Susan Morano (D-13) replaces Jeff Ambruster (R) who was term limited. In the Ohio House Democrats won eight seats currently occupied by Republican Representatives Hood, Kilbane, Law, Martin, Geoffrey Smith, Taylor, and White, and the Republicans won a seat currently held by Tim Cassell (D-63). The following incumbents in the Ohio House lost their seats: Earl Martin (R), Dan White (R), Tim Cassell (D), Geoffrey Smith (R), and Randy Law (R). State Board of Education: The following candidates were elected to terms of four years: District 2: John Bender replaces Martha Wise, who ran for the Ohio Senate. District 3: Susan Haverkos replaces Tim Gunlock, who was appointed by Governor Taft to fill the seat vacant since the death of John Griffin. District 4: Sam Schloemer was reelected. District 7: Thomas Sawyer replaces Deborah Owens Fink. District 8: Deborah Cain replaces Jim Craig. The terms of the following appointed members of the State Board of Education expire on December 31, 2006: Richard Baker, Steve Millett, Jennifer Sheets, and Carl Wick. 4) Recap on Ballot Issues Nationally: The Education Commission of the States has published a summary of the outcome of education related ballot issues in other states, "Education-Related Ballot Questions: 2006" by Kyle Zinth. According to the article, 14 states had education related issues on the November 7, 2006 ballot. This article and a chart of the issues on the ballot for each state is available at http://www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/70/71/7071.pdf 5) State Board of Education to Meet: The State Board of Education, Sue Westendorf president, will meet on November 13 & 14, 2006 at the Ohio School for the Deaf, 500 Morse Road, Columbus, OH. Two Board subcommittees, the Territory Transfer and the School Funding subcommittees, met on November 12, 2006 at the Embassy Suites in Columbus. On Monday, November 13, 2006 the Executive Committee, chaired by Sue Westendorf, will meet at 8:30 AM to review a NASBE grant opportunity regarding student membership on the State Board; review the revisions to the Board Policies and Procedures manual; hear subcommittee updates; and discuss legislation and the legislative recommendations and federal legislative platform. The Achievement Committee, chaired by Jim Craig and Mike Cochran, and the Capacity Committee, chaired by Carl Wick and Jennifer Sheets, will meet at 9:00 AM. The Achievement Committee will discuss resolutions regarding territory transfers, high school equivalency diploma, 2007-2008 report card indicators, and a legislative recommendation on the length of the school day and year, and review the OGT score reports. The Capacity Committee will discuss recommendations regarding speech-language pathology assistants, the deadline for Educational Service Centers contracts, and Educational Service Center funding proposal. The full Board will convene in the Conference Center at 10:00 AM to discuss the Ford Foundation Partnership, the 2007-2008 Report Card Indicators, and Policies on School violence prevention. The Board will also recognize the state finalists for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Following lunch at 1:00 PM the Board will discuss the following: Rules 3301-83-01, 06, 13, and 19 - Pupil Transportation; recommendations regarding the accuracy of data; value added policies; and state and federal legislation. Board members will also present reports on subcommittee activities. The Board will then discuss the consent agenda for the business meeting on November 14, 2006. The Board will then adjourn for the evening. The State Board will also meet on Tuesday, November 14, 2006 at 9:00 AM to hear Board member reports and discuss the 2008-2009 budget priorities. The Board's business meeting will be called to order at 10:30 AM and the Board will immediately convene into executive session. After reconvening its public meeting, the Board will hear a report from the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Dr. Susan Tave Zelman; hear public participation on agenda Items; and consider action on 25 resolutions, including 17 personnel items, 1 territory transfer, and the following resolutions: #7. Approve a resolution of intent to amend Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) Rule 3301-24-05 - Licensure. #8. Approve a resolution of intent to amend Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) Rule 3301-41-01 - Certificate of High School Equivalency. #9. Approve a resolution of intent to amend Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) Rules 3301-83-01, 06, 13, and 19 regarding pupil transportation operation and safety. #10. Approve a resolution of intent to amend Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) Rules 3301-89-01 and 3301-89-02 regarding transfer of school district territory. #11. Approve a resolution of intent to adopt the Local Report Card Indicators for the 2007-20008 school year and beyond. #13. Approve a motion to adopt the 2007 Federal Funding and legislative Platform. #25. Approve a resolution to approve the agreement of the Boards of Education of the Warrensville Heights City School district, Cuyahoga County, and the Orange City School District, Cuyahoga County to transfer school district territory pursuant to the provisions of section 3311.24 of the Ohio Revised Code. The Board will then consider old business, new business, miscellaneous business, and hear public participation on non-agenda items. The Board will then adjourn. For more information about the meetings of the State Board of Education, please visit www.ode.state.oh.us and follow the links to the State Board of Education. 6) Budget Outlook: The Office of Budget and Management, Tim Keen Director, released on November 10, 2006 the Monthly Financial Report, which includes information about revenues and disbursements from the General Revenue Fund. According to the report, Ohio's economy decelerated in the third quarter, showing the weakest quarterly growth in Gross Domestic Product since the first quarter of 2003. Ohio employment also fell by 2500 jobs in September, but overall, employment is up by 8800 jobs for the year. The OBM is predicting an ending fund balance in June 2007 of $263.9 million. To read the report please visit http://www.obm.ohio.gov/ 7) Proposal for Hi-Perform School Design: Professor Stanley Pogrow of San Francisco State University writes in an article called "Restructuring High-Poverty Elementary Schools for Success: A Description of the Hi-Perform School Design" (November 2006 issue of Phi Delta Kappan), that he has identified three interventions in elementary school that work "powerfully" with children of poverty, particularly after the third grade. These interventions include Modularized Continuous Progress, participation in dramatic and musical productions, and thinking -skill-development sequence anchored by Higher Order Thinking Skills. According to this article, "Research by James Catterall and associates on a national database showed that participation in dramatic productions increased the reading scores of low-income high school students to a greater extent than those of advantaged students. Shirely Brice Heath showed that the growth resulted from the group task's eliciting more sophisticated uses of language from students than are called for in the typical classroom. Thus for test score gains to occur, students must be involved in major decision -making components of such productions." "The Hi-Perform School design provides a practical way to reallocate time and funds and thereby harness and combine the best traditional and progressive approaches. It promises to produce far greater test-score gains while developing the overall intellectual and social potentials of at-risk students to their fullest. This design also unifies the intellectual traditions of developing basic, artistic, and thinking skills in a highly synergistic fashion." 8) Bills Introduced the Week of November 6, 2006. SB 392 (Gardner) - Educator Contracts. Permits a school district board of education to renew the contract of a director, supervisor, or coach of a pupil activity program who is not a licensed educator without first offering that position to a licensed educator. |
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Ohio Fair Schools Campaign, 94 Columbus Road Athens, Ohio 45701 Tel. (740)592-2866 Fax (740)593-5451 |
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