March 17, 2008

OSBA testifies on strike legislation

OSBA provided interested-party testimony on Senate Bill (SB) 264, legislation that would prohibit classroom teachers from striking and instead require the parties to enter into binding arbitration to resolve contractual differences. OSBA supports the prohibition of strikes by school employees; however, OSBA does not support mandatory binding arbitration because it takes away local control from school districts and may bind districts financially into an agreement they cannot afford. This decision needs to be made on the local level for all school districts and the community.

View OSBA’s testimony: http://www.osba-ohio.org/Files/SB264Testimony.pdf

Also testifying on the bill was Toledo City Board of Education President Dr. Steven Steel. He spoke in opposition to SB 264, stating that requiring binding arbitration could put school boards in a worse position than the current mediation process.

OSBA and education groups testify on teacher misconduct legislation

OSBA, along with various education groups, including the Buckeye Association of School Administrators (BASA), Ohio Association of School Business Officials (OASBO), Ohio Education Association, Ohio Federation of Teachers and others provided interested-party testimony on SB 270, legislation addressing teacher misconduct.

The education groups discussed needed changes to the bill. OSBA supports protecting the safety and well-being of students at all times, while balancing the need for due process rights for school employees who may be falsely accused of misconduct. The testimony also included a request for accountability measures for school leaders and others responsible for reporting that are appropriate, fair and reasonable.

For the complete testimony on SB 270, visit:
http://www.osba-ohio.org/Files/SB270Testimony.pdf

OSBA and management groups testify on energy issues

OSBA, BASA and OASBO, testified on SB 221, Gov. Ted Strickland’s energy plan. The testimony pointed out specific concerns with the bill. SB 221 does not go far enough to allow school districts to realize the full potential of purchasing electricity on the open market. It also does not do enough to protect districts from significant increases in electricity costs because in some areas, the cost of electricity has been kept down and a natural adjustment, or “true-up,” may occur, bringing power costs more in line with current market conditions.

Our groups urged the legislature to include these two proposed options for schools in the bill. For those districts that can benefit from purchasing power on the open market, allow them to by-pass all charges not related to transmission and distribution. For districts that won’t be able to enjoy savings on the open market, recognize their favorable load characteristics by discounting their “demand” for purposes of their rate calculation.

To view the complete testimony, click here:
http://www.osba-ohio.org/Files/SB221Testimony.pdf

OSBA, BASA and BASA also testified during a Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) hearing in Cleveland objecting to the electricity rate increase proposed by FirstEnergy Corp. The proposed increase could cost school districts in the FirstEnergy service area as much as 30-40% more for electricity.

OSBA and many other northeast Ohio school districts, joint vocational school districts and educational service centers told PUCO staff lawyers taking comments about the proposal that school districts simply cannot afford this dramatic rate increase. Furthermore, over the past several years, districts have been able to take advantage of FirstEnergy’s Energy for Education program to realize substantial savings on electricity.

FirstEnergy has notified the school districts in their service area that the Energy for Education program will not be renewed. The program is set to expire on Dec. 31, 2008, and will have a drastic impact upon school districts. This change alone will result in cost increases of approximately 13%.

Seniors to Sophomores update

The governor and Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Eric Fingerhut have announced further details on the Seniors to Sophomores program. The program allows high school seniors, who meet academic standards, to take college-level courses that will be transferable to public colleges and universities in the University System of Ohio. Students who elect to take a full load of college courses in their senior year will be able to enter college on a second-year level, or as college sophomores. Tuition for the year will be free.

A total of $4 million is available under this special grant program. The maximum grant for each team is $100,000. Due to the source of the funds, eligibility is limited to public high schools, though the Seniors to Sophomores program will eventually serve all schools in Ohio, public and private. Funds may be used to plan for encouraging high school students to participate in all college-level programs, as well as implementation of Seniors to Sophomores.

“Early Adopter” school districts are responsible for ensuring that participating students are able to earn their high school diploma through this program. Applications for Early Adopter funding may be submitted from the school district–college partnerships beginning March 10.

For more information, visit: http://universitysystem.ohio.gov/seniorstosophomores/

Other legislation of interest

HB 181: SCHOOL RECORDS-MISSING CHILDREN (Setzer, A.) To require public and nonpublic schools to mark the records of students identified as missing children and to notify law enforcement of requests for those records.

Status: The House rejected the Senate amendments and now the bill will be entered into conference committee to resolve differences between House and Senate versions.

HB 496: CAPITAL REAPPROPRIATIONS (Hottinger, J.) Make capital reappropriations for the biennium ending June 30, 2010, and certain capital appropriations.

The primary purpose of this legislation is to reauthorize unexpended balances of previously approved capital projects. It reappropriates $4.1 billion for the Ohio School Facilities Commission to meet commitments to local school districts within the next year.

Status: Passed by Senate, Vote 32-0

SB 273: CLASSROOM FACILITIES ASSISTANCE (Niehaus, T.) Calculate alternate equity list for fiscal year 2008 for purposes of determining school districts' eligibility for assistance under the Classroom Facilities Assistance Program and their local shares in fiscal year 2009.

Status: Passed by Senate, Vote 32-0

Have questions about Facts in a Flash?
Please contact Jennifer Economus at j_economus@osba-ohio or
(800) 589-OSBA.

LINKS

For the House Committee schedule, click on:
http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/house_committee_schedule.cfm

For the Senate Committee schedule, click on:
http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/senate_committee_schedule.cfm

For the status of all education bills, click on:
http://www.osba-ohio.org/127status.htm