Chamber’s plan to help schools cut costs is timely, appropriate

Ohio Gov. John Kasich has been clear about what he expects from Ohio’s school districts and public universities and colleges: a reduction in spending. Kasich, who won re-election in November by a landslide, campaigned on making education accessible and affordable. He has wasted little time in laying out his plans for kindergarten through 12th grade and higher education.

In his proposed two-year budget, which he has sent to the General Assembly, funding for Ohio schools would result in 300 of the state’s 614 district receiving less money in 2017 than they are getting today.

And, the governor has a suggestion for the districts that would come out on the losing end: Use your cash reserves.

Not surprisingly, Kasich’s idea has gone over like a lead balloon.

As for the state’s colleges and universities, the governor wants tuition to be made more affordable — by implementing spending cuts.

“I reserve the right ... to say that within the course of the next year, if they do not enact these changes ... I think you just start cutting funding and tell them to deal with it,” the governor was quoted as saying in a Columbus Dispatch story. The comment came after a meeting with the presidents of two- and four-year institutions.

The Dispatch reported that Kasich implored the higher-education leaders to make access and affordability central to their missions. He wants them to make it cheaper for a student to earn a degree.

There should be no misunderstanding what message the governor is sending to school districts and colleges and universities; all that remains is for local officials to figure out how to meet the challenges he has laid out.

In the Mahoning Valley, there’s a plan that has been gathering dust for eight years that, if implemented, would make available at least $20 million in tuition assistance for high school students who choose to attend area higher education centers.

Talk about killing two of Kasich’s birds with one stone.

The plan, titled “It CAN happen, in Ohio! (Reading, Writing and Fiscal Responsibility: Rethinking Education in Ohio),” aims to reduce school districts’ administrative costs by 25 percent through consolidation.

It was developed by the Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber, and when it was unveiled sent shock waves through the public education system in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties. That’s because it calls for the creation of a central administrative office in each county to replace each district’s administrative offices.

The move would put all districts in each county under a single superintendent. The three educational service centers and career centers would be included.

School officials were generally opposed to the chamber’s proposal and criticized the organization for trying to put pressure on them by going public with it before meeting with individuals on the front lines of public education.

But the chamber’s contention that the tri-county region was spending between $85 million and $100 million a year on administration created a buzz among Mahoning Valley residents, who are increasingly vocal in their demand for consolidation of government services at all levels.

Reduce spending

Why dust off the plan now, eight years after it was unceremoniously rejected? Because state government has told school districts and higher-education institutions to cut spending.

Gov. Kasich has made it clear that change is inevitable because state government is not going to keep pouring money into schools and colleges and universities.

In commenting about the increasing cost of higher education, the governor said, “Mom and Dad and students need to know we’re very, very aware of these costs ... we’re all worried about these costs.” He noted that tuition rates leave an average graduate with $29,000 in loans to pay.

As for public schools, the governor has said he wants more spent in the classroom on educating students and less on administrative services.

The Regional Chamber’s plan is designed to meet Gov. Kasich’s goal of increasing the number of high school graduates — and making it possible for them to attend college.