Dems read politics in Taft's school visit

Democratic legislators from the Valley aren't impressed with the reading program.
& lt;a href=mailto:skolnick@vindy.com & gt;By DAVID SKOLNICK & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Gov. Bob Taft's scheduled visit Wednesday to a Youngstown elementary school to tout his OhioReads program has raised eyebrows among local Democratic state legislators.
The legislators say the governor should be coming to the Mahoning Valley to discuss solutions for the region's and the state's troubled economy and education funding system, and not to sing the praises of his "pet project."
"Having volunteers go to schools and read to kids is very important, but the manufacturing base is leaving this area and the state in droves because of the failed economic policies of Gov. Taft," said state Sen. Marc Dann of Liberty, D-32nd.
"We have an inequitable tax structure and an unconstitutional education system. Yet we continue to put all this money into the OhioReads program."
State Sen. Robert F. Hagan of Youngstown, D-33rd, not a fan of the OhioReads program, was less diplomatic.
"To come to the city of Youngstown while he's cut funding for higher education, increased the amount of money local taxpayers have to pay for education, and failed to rebuild our manufacturing base so he can promote his program is a shell game and another empty promise from a governor who's done nothing," Hagan said.
Orest Holubec, the governor's spokesman, was surprised to hear local Democrats critical of Taft's upcoming visit, saying it sounded like partisan politics.
Taft proposed increases in school funding this year, but that was rejected by the state Legislature, he said.
"Also, the governor works very hard for all parts of the state with job creation," Holubec said, specifically citing the Lordstown General Motors plant for the Mahoning Valley.
"OhioReads is not a pet project, but a very effective program that helps students," he added.
Criticism
The money pumped into OhioReads would be better used on other programs, said state Rep. Kenneth A. Carano of Austintown, D-59th.
"When you cut back and take money from school districts and spend it on pet programs, it's really a slap in the face," said Carano, a retired teacher.
"The money could be better spent elsewhere. I wish he'd be coming here to tell us he's putting more money into Youngstown State so we can have programs to create new jobs, or to talk about getting that Boeing plant here instead of seeking publicity."
The state budget includes about $17.4 million for the OhioReads program this year.
Since the program began in 1999, Mahoning, Columbiana and Trumbull counties have received about $6.3 million, said Ellen Nasner, OhioReads spokeswoman. The program is designed to improve the reading skills of pupils in kindergarten through fourth grade by attracting volunteers to serve as reading tutors.
Taft will visit Youngstown's Paul C. Bunn Elementary School on Wednesday to kickoff the statewide OhioReads Volunteer Recruitment Week, an effort to renew interest in the program.
The Youngstown school has 102 volunteer tutors and has received $123,539 since 1999.
"They've done an outstanding job in improving their fourth-grade reading proficiency scores by nearly 22 percent," Nasner said.
& lt;a href=mailto:skolnick@vindy.com & gt;skolnick@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;