STATE OF THE STATE Reviews are mixed over Taft speech

One Valley legislator said the governor's speech 'had absolutely no substance.'
By JEFF ORTEGA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBUS -- Many Democratic lawmakers panned Gov. Bob Taft's State of the State address Wednesday, with some saying more should be done to improve school funding.
But at least two GOP lawmakers said they believed the governor was on the right track.
The Republican Taft, 64, rolled out an education initiative in his final state of the state.
Under the Taft proposal, high school students would face a new set of graduation requirements, and four-year colleges would no longer offer remedial classes.
High-school students would have to take four years of math and English, three years of science and social studies and two years of a foreign language beginning in the 2007-'08 school year.
Completion of those requirements would be necessary for admittance to a four-year state college and remedial work would have to be done at a two-year institution, under Taft's plan.
"For too many, a high school diploma is not a passport to success, but rather a broken promise," Taft said in the 32-minute address to lawmakers and other dignitaries.
The GOP-led Legislature will have to approve the education proposal.
Reaction
"We've already changed the curriculum standards," said state Rep. John A. Boccieri, a New Middletown Democrat. "The fact is that teachers are struggling, school districts are struggling, [and] we're laying off teachers."
Boccieri noted that the Ohio Supreme Court has four times ruled unconstitutional the way the state pays for public schools.
State Rep. Sandra Stabile Harwood, a Niles Democrat, said she agrees with the need to raise education standards. But she said more needs to be done to make college affordable for students.
"We can raise the standards to prepare, but if we can't afford to go to college we're going to be back in the same situation exporting our greatest asset -- our children -- to go to college out of state," Stabile Harwood said.
Where's the funding?
State Rep. Kenneth A. Carano, an Austintown Democrat, said it's one thing to talk about curriculum changes. "But no one talks about how the school system is going to fund that," Carano said. "Where are they going to get the extra teachers?"
State Sen. Robert F. Hagan, a Youngstown Democrat, labeled Taft's speech as having "absolutely no substance" with "no clear vision for his last year."
"There were empty promises from an empty suit," Hagan said, adding that he doesn't believe the governor has done anything for education or access of Ohioans to health-care insurance.
Some agreement
State Sen. Charlie Wilson, a St. Clairsville Democrat, said he agreed with some things in Taft's address such as the need for more students to take challenging courses.
"But how do you believe an administration that has turned down four Supreme Court orders to make education equitable for the state of Ohio?" Wilson asked.
State Rep. Randy Law, a Warren Republican, said he was glad that Taft focused on college preparation for students.
"I think we definitely need to do that to prepare our students better," Law said.
"It was nice to hear him talk about some accomplishments that we've seen," said state Rep. Charles Blasdel of East Liverpool, the second-ranking House Republican leader.
"As I go out and about, the general public isn't aware of some of that," Blasdel said of items such as the 21-percent state income tax cut over five years in the two-year, $51.2 billion state budget that runs through June 2007.
Other tax provisions in the budget passed earlier this year include a phase-out of the corporate franchise tax that was replaced with a phase-in of a "commercial activity tax" on business receipts.
"Given the magnitude of the level of things we accomplished, I think it's important that we build on that," Blasdel said.