OHIO SCHOOLS High court turns down request to block cuts

Some Valley parents were involved in the attempt to stop the cuts.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- The Ohio Supreme Court has sided with Gov. Bob Taft over parents and teachers who were trying to prevent $100 million in school-funding cuts.
In a 4-2 ruling Wednesday, the court turned down a request by the Ohio Education Association to block the cuts Taft ordered to balance a March budget deficit.
The 130,000-member teachers union went to court on behalf of five parents from Girard, Warren and Columbus, who are also educators in Ohio's public schools.
The teachers asked the court to restore state funding to levels before the cuts. They said the reductions caused more of a hardship on an already inadequately funded system.
The court ruled without explanation. Justice Deborah Cook, whose nomination to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was approved by the U.S. Senate on Monday, did not participate.
The decision "underscores the governor's ability to take very tough action to balance the budget," Taft spokesman Orest Holubec said.
OEA President Gary Allen called the decision "another setback for public school funding."
Union had filed suit
The union sued in March after Taft ordered cuts to primary and secondary schools to balance the state budget.
Taft said the reductions were necessary after the Legislature rejected his proposal to close a $720 million deficit by raising taxes on cigarettes and alcohol.
Lawmakers said Taft could cut state agency budgets even further to fill the deficit before raising taxes.
They tried to prevent Taft from cutting school funding, but the governor vetoed that provision in the budget bailout bill. That left his March 5 executive order in effect, directing the Ohio Department of Education to cut $91 million from the basic aid the state provides each pupil and about $9.3 million in education department administrative spending.
Many districts said it was too late in the school year to make substantial cuts locally and that the real reductions would come next year in the form of eliminating jobs.
The Senate is holding hearings on the $48.5 billion two-year budget the House passed last month. Taft and some senators have said they're concerned the budget still is not balanced.