Gov.

Thursday, January 25, 2001

Gov. Bob Taft pledges the state will meet the Ohio Supreme Court’s deadline to fix the way Ohio’s public schools are funded.

In Wednesday’s State of the State Address, he proposed investing $808 million to do it. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled in DeRolph vs. Ohio that the current method of funding public education through property taxes was unconstitutional. The state has been ordered to revamp the system by June 15.

It is common knowledge that if you have more money you can do more. The same holds true for school districts.

All one has to do is compare school districts around the state to confirm this. Those districts in the more populated urban areas have nicer buildings and better curriculum to offer their students while students in the poorer districts – such as southeastern Ohio – have to make do with old, often decrepit facilities and do not have access to some of the courses offered at the richer districts.

If school districts have to rely on property taxes for funding, it is obvious the rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer. The Supreme Court shouldn’t have had to point this out.

Getting a good education is not a privilege, it is a necessity. Gov. Taft and his administration need to follow through on this promise so all of Ohio’s children have an even playing field.