College-requirement proposal stirs debate

The plan would increase requirements for college-bound high school students.
AKRON (AP) -- As the state Legislature moves to bolster the requirements students need to get into college, major differences are emerging over the plan's cost and whether the state is creating a two-tiered system that labels students as college material or blue-collar bound.
Republicans, who control the House and Senate, also want to pass the plan before Republican Gov. Bob Taft leaves office in January despite Gov.-elect Ted Strickland's request that they not move on any major legislation until he takes office.
"I'm fearful that if we wait, that if it gets bogged down, that people that might not want this public policy -- for various reasons that are in their self-interest and not in the best interests of students -- will attempt to weaken it or derail it," House speaker Jon Husted said.
The plan calls for high school students to complete a tough new core of liberal arts prerequisites -- including more science and math -- to guarantee entry into Ohio's four-year public colleges and universities. A student still could earn a high school diploma but would need to deliberately opt out of the college-preparation courses.
The Legislative Service Commission, which reviews proposed legislation for lawmakers, stopped short of saying how many new teachers and courses would be required or calculating the full cost.
Need for more teachers
Springfield Local Superintendent Jerry Pecko said the Akron-area district would need to hire more teachers because it has enough to teach up to three units of credit of math.
"That is all we offer and we will need to beef up the math department with additional staffing if we're going to have four units of math," he said.
But the commission's analysis notes that schools have alternatives to save money, such as sharing teachers, distance learning, online courses or sending students to local colleges. Districts also can increase class sizes.
Pecko said Springfield High School also would need at least one more lab to meet the science requirements.
Jerry Jurgensen, chief executive of Nationwide Insurance and co-chairman of a group of business, education and community leaders urging lawmakers to pass the plan by year's end, said he does not see evidence that the state is asking districts to spend large amounts of money for a plan that would create a more qualified work force.
Other concerns
Tom Mooney, president of the Ohio Federation of Teachers, said he is bothered that the business community continues to push the plan while also asking for tax breaks that shift more of the cost of paying for schools to local property owners.
"They are challenging us to raise the bar and we want to do it. I'd like to challenge them to step up to the plate and pay their fair share of the investment," Mooney said.
Strickland is worried that the plan would force schools to determine by the 11th grade whether a student has the math and science skills to go to college.
"I don't want us to set a system that will forever consign a student who may have unique gifts and abilities to a secondary place within our society simply because they do not have the ability to function in other areas," Strickland said.
But Husted said the state needs to give parents and students a realistic goal of what students need to be successful.
"If you don't let them know, how can you expect someone to achieve if they don't know where the bar is?" Husted asked.