State budget negotiations don't inspire confidence

Ohio Gov. Bob Taft, the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House, all Republicans, are trading higher education for lower education in the state -- at a time when Ohio already ranks 40th nationally in per capita state spending on universities and colleges.
Such a strategy by Taft, Sen. Richard Finan and Rep. Larry Householder is not only short-sighted, it's risky. Robbing Peter to pay Paul is not how a major state should be dealing with its fiscal crisis.
We are well aware that the Ohio Supreme Court has a hammer over state government's head on the issue of public school funding. The legislature faces a June deadline to present a funding plan that the court would decide meets the constitutional requirement of a thorough and efficient education for every public school pupil in Ohio.
In good economic times, such an order would be a challenge. In bad times, it's a test of leadership.
Because of the worsening economy, Taft and the legislative leaders have been meeting to find common ground. They have used the governor's $44.9 billion, two-year budget as a starting point and this week agreed that it had to be slashed by more than $600 million. That's because revenue projections will not materialize.
Medicaid money: In addition, they have to come up with $700 million in additional revenue to pay for the public schools funding plan and are looking at the $100 million Medicaid rainy-day fund, plus ending or delaying certain tax exemptions.
Taft, to his credit, also wants to tap into the $1 billion-plus rainy-day fund, but Finan and Householder won't go along. The governor is talking about a mere $60 million, whereas he should be going after enough of the $1 billion fund to preserve funding for higher education.
The bottom line is that if the agreement now on the table remains unchanged, higher education in Ohio will take a major hit in the next biennium. That means colleges and universities will have to increase tuition in order to meet rising costs.
If the Taft-Finan-Householder spending plan remains intact, it would be a major blow to Youngstown State University, which is in the midst of a campaign to increase enrollment. As part of that effort, President Dr. David Sweet and the board of trustees announced a freeze in tuition for freshmen and associate degree students.
Ohio's future: The governor is right in telling legislative leaders that the $600 million in cuts that he has agreed to is as far as he is willing to go, but we would hope he continues to make the case that Ohio cannot operate on a shoestring budget. There are essential services that must be delivered and such things as job-creation initiatives that are important to the future of the state.