Lawmaker proposes sale of Ohio Lottery

By Marc Kovac

The scholarships could be renewed annually.

COLUMBUS — A state lawmaker has proposed selling or leasing the Ohio Lottery and leasing the Ohio Turnpike to generate funding for college scholarships for more than 87,000 students each year.

Sen. Kevin Coughlin, a Republican from Cuyahoga Falls who also is running for his party’s nomination to face Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland next year, said he plans to introduce the legislation as a means of allowing more Ohioans to get a college degree and bolstering the state’s work force.

“This will be a one-of-a-kind program,” he said, adding, “This will make Ohio a destination, and it’s one of those courageous moves that I think the state ought to be taking to get us back on our feet.”

The scholarships would be open to students graduating in the top third of their high school class who have been Ohio residents for two years before graduation and who are enrolled at an Ohio college or university.

Students attending four-year public or private institutions could receive $7,000 or full tuition, whichever is less.

Those at four-year branch campuses or two-year community colleges could receive $4,250 and $2,750, respectively.

The scholarships could be renewed annually, as long as students maintain grade point averages of 3.0 and complete a minimum number of credits each term.

The average cost of four-year tuition in Ohio is about $8,400, Coughlin said. Shawnee State University in Portsmouth is on the low end of the scale, at about $4,000; Miami University is at the other end, at more than $12,000.

Under Coughlin’s plan, students at the former would have their tuition costs fully covered. On the latter, the scholarships would pay a big chunk of their out-of-pocket costs, he said.

Coughlin is proposing two constitutional amendments to enable the scholarships.

The first would allow the sale or lease of the Ohio Lottery to a private entity, with the proceeds used for the scholarships. The second would allow the turnpike to be operated as a private entity.

Coughlin estimated the state could secure about $14 billion total from the move — a calculation he based on Pennsylvania’s recent attempts to lease its turnpike and on the assets and sales of the Ohio Lottery in comparison to other states that have floated the idea of privatization.

The proceeds would be invested by the state treasurer, and the scholarship program could be funded through the resulting annual returns. The operators of the lottery also would still be required to pay the $700 million or so in funding that currently goes to education from ticket sales each year.

The program would enable more students to earn college degrees — something the state is lacking now, Coughlin said. Ohio, he said, ranks 41st in the percentage of people older than 25 who have bachelor’s degrees.

A better-educated work force would be a draw for businesses considering expansion, he added.

“I think it will do wonders for our economic development efforts and our ability to bring and create and retain jobs in the state,” he said.

Coughlin hopes to place the amendments before voters in November 2010.

mkovac@dixcom.com