Strickland touts new state budget at YSU

Photo

Ohio Governor Ted Strickland (D-Lisbon)

All children will have access to health insurance, the governor said.

By ED RUNYAN

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — Gov. Ted Strickland brought his budget road show to Youngstown State University on Friday, where he highlighted positive news for children without insurance and senior citizens needing lower property taxes.

But a large chunk of time was spent on the effect his $52.3 billion two-year budget, approved Wednesday, will have on public elementary, secondary and college education.

Strickland, who visited Toledo and Cleveland on Thursday and planned to talk in Ironton, Cincinnati and Dayton later Friday, said “we believe” tuition will not increase at state universities in Ohio over the two years as a result of the state support they will receive.

Dr. David Sweet, YSU president, spoke later, confirming that the university would take the “unprecedented” action of going without a tuition increase in 2008 and 2009 at the YSU Board of Trustees meeting later in the day.

In spite of the budget’s “significant cut” in property taxes for all senior citizens and disabled people in the state, Strickland promised the lost revenue will not hurt the local governments and schools.

One in four Ohio property homeowners will see the cut in the property taxes through an expansion in the Homestead Tax Exemption, he said. State resources will make up the lost revenue, he said.

Sweet said he hopes students in Ohio’s state universities will someday return to the time when they paid about 30 percent of the cost of their education themselves, instead of the 65 percent they pay today.

YSU’s budget increase of 11.8 percent in the first year of the budget is a “quantum leap” toward that goal, Sweet said, noting that during the seven years he has been YSU president, state support for the university has been a “downward ski slope.” The university saw a 1.8 percent increase two years ago.

Health care for children

Strickland, who formerly represented part of Mahoning County and all of Columbiana County in Congress, began his presentation at Tod Hall by discussing changes that will be made in the Ohio Children’s Health Insurance Program. These will allow children whose families have incomes up to 300 percent of the poverty level to qualify for health insurance.

A family of four at 300 percent of the poverty level would have a family income of $61,650, according to 2007 figures. “For the first time in Ohio history, I think we can now say as a result of this budget all children in Ohio will have access to affordable health care coverage,” Strickland said.

Children whose family income exceeds 300 percent of the poverty level but have catastrophic health conditions that make it difficult or impossible for them to get health insurance on the private market will be able to buy into the Medicaid program, he said.

“Thousands of children will be covered now,” he said.

As of May, 32 states and the District of Columbia had enacted or announced coverage initiatives for children, according to the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured.

No tax increases

Strickland said the budget includes no tax or fee increases, but it does raise revenue by selling Ohio’s tobacco settlement proceeds. Strickland said his Cabinet members came up with $700 million in cuts by tightening belts and identifying priorities.

Sweet took the opportunity to praise Strickland for the $100 million STEM scholarship program, which is meant to increase the number of people earning degrees in science, technology, engineering and math. Sweet noted that YSU already has the largest proportion of graduates in the state getting degrees in the STEM disciplines and has the highest number of undergraduate chemistry graduates in Ohio.

runyan@vindy.com