Trustees question plans for revenue

The move would mean scholarships for all Ohio grads who attend in-state colleges.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Trading college scholarships for slot machine gambling may seem like a fair swap to some, but some members of Youngstown State University's Board of Trustees have reservations about the plan.
Voters may be asked in November to approve a constitutional amendment that would set up a program offering tuition scholarships for all Ohio high school graduates who choose to attend in-state colleges, with funding coming from slot machine gambling.
Some YSU trustees aren't convinced that bringing in slot machines to raise money for higher education is the best approach.
The Ohio Learn and Earn Committee wants voters to allow slot machine gambling at Ohio's seven racetracks, two locations in downtown Cleveland and one location in downtown Cincinnati.
The committee, made up of developers and racetrack owners and operators, has tied the slot machine issue to Learn and Earn, a concept devised by the Ohio Board of Regents three years ago as a way to help fund higher education.
Original plan
Under the regents' original plan, the state would be asked to come up with money to fund scholarships that students would earn as they complete certain core course requirements as they move from first grade through graduation from high school.
The scholarships would be open to any Ohio high school graduate planning to attend any accredited in-state college or university approved by the state board of regents and would be equal to the average weighted undergraduate tuition at the state's public institutions of higher learning.
Right now, that's about $7,400 a year.
However, there was no state money to fund the concept.
The Learn and Earn Committee says allowing the operation of some 30,000 slot machines in the state can provide that financing, estimating that it can produce $700 million a year for scholarship funds.
That's equal to one-third of the total Ohio budget for higher education right now, said Bruce Beeghly, a member of the board of regents.
It's a tempting offer, but YSU trustees have reservations.
One view
Why not just put slot machines in the high schools and cut out the middleman, asked Trustee William J. Bresnahan when he learned of the proposal at a recent trustees meeting.
A lot of trustees have reservations about this, said Dr. H.S. Wang, chairman of YSU's Board of Trustees, noting that he isn't a proponent of gambling.
It's no secret that higher education funding from the state is declining and an alternative fund source is needed, he said, and using slot machines to produce revenue for education gives gambling a whole different perspective.
"I really haven't taken a position," Wang said, adding that voters will have to search their souls if the issue makes it on the November ballot.
People will have to examine the language of the proposed amendment to fully understand just what they might be approving, he said.
Dr. David C. Sweet, YSU president, said he would like to see the scholarship money made available, but he's not a proponent of gambling, either. Students, as well as colleges and universities, need the financial help, he said.
Ohio voters have turned down gambling proposals twice since 1990 and Sweet said he wouldn't be surprised to see it fail again.
Looking over language
David Hopcraft of Columbus, a spokesman for the Learn and Earn Committee, said the Ohio attorney general is now reviewing proposed ballot language for the amendment.
Once that's approved, the committee will launch a campaign to get the nearly 323,000 voter signatures necessary to get the issue on the November ballot.
Hopcraft said there are some distinct differences between this proposal and previous gambling issues rejected by voters. This one gives the children of Ohio working families a very good chance to go to college, and people will respond to that, he said.
The slot machines are projected to bring in about $2 billion in revenue annually with 55 percent of that going to developers and machine owners. About 30 percent (estimated at $700 million) will go to the Learn and Earn scholarship program.
An additional $200 million would be channeled into local municipal and county economic development efforts.
There would also be money set aside to help gambling addicts.
It would take 12 years for the scholarship program to fully develop to the point where every student would be offered a scholarship. In the meantime, the proposal calls for the top 5 percent of each high school graduating class to be offered scholarships each year.
Hopcraft said the proposed amendment has some safeguards to assure that the scholarship fund remains intact. It specifically bars the Legislature from taking the money for any other purpose and the Ohio Board of Regents will control the funds.
A spokesman for the regents said that body hasn't taken any position on the proposed amendment.
However, the Ohio Roundtable, a nonprofit public policy organization which fought gambling campaigns in the past, has made its position clear.
Against amendment
David Zanotti, Roundtable president, said that allowing the amendment to pass will ruin at least 109,000 lives through gambling addiction and national studies say the number could be two or three times that high.
The rich guys get richer and Ohioans are left to pick up the pieces of thousands of ruined lives, he said in a news release.
"The notion of using gambling proceeds to help with college tuition reminds us of the promises made by the Ohio Lottery. Gambling didn't save public schools. It wont create great opportunities for colleges, either, unless we are hoping to increase the number of students majoring as pit bosses and parking attendants," he said.
State Rep. Kenneth Carano of Austintown, D-59th, a proponent of casino gambling, said he doesn't believe Zanotti's estimate on additional gambling addictions. Ohioans are already spending $30 billion a year on gambling, both in the form of illegal gambling and money spent at gambling venues in other states, he said. Allowing slot machines in the state won't result in a big jump in gambling addicts, he concluded.
Still, Carano said he isn't supporting the amendment issue because it doesn't provide a fair share of economic benefit to the Mahoning Valley. Most proceeds will go to the racetracks and the Cleveland and Cincinnati areas, he said.
gwin@vindy.com