Thursday, March 05, 2009

Ohio Political News

* Gov. Ted Strickland of Ohio is proposing some changes for education for the state. However, the biggest obstacle his plan may face is the Ohio Republican Party.

Cleveland.com:
....During testimony before the House Finance Committee, state budget Director Pari Sabety said that tweaks are being considered in four areas: aid to low-wealth districts, calculations of average teacher salaries, accountability measures and the funding formula for gifted students....
... Given that Gov. Ted Strickland's new funding system was designed to respond to four Supreme Court rulings that have said the current system is unconstitutional -- partly because of disparities between high- and low-wealth districts -- the effects of the plan on poor districts have been surprising....

Nothing will get done if the Republicans continue to ignore school funding.

* The Dispatch is reporting that President Obama will be in Columbus for the new police officers' swearing in ceremony.

* There is still no resolution concerning the residency of Republican State Sen. Jon Husted. Husted spends 99% of his time with his family in Upper Arlington, while the tumbleweeds blow through his abandoned "home" in his Kettering district. The transcript for hearing by the Montgomery Board of Elections is available online (http://www.scribd.com/doc/12882405/022509-Transcript) and it appears that Husted cannot support much of his claim of residency in Kettering. If I were on that Board of Elections, I would have voted to say he was not a resident of the district.