Settling the decade-old DeRolph school- funding lawsuit has hit another pothole in an already bumpy road.

Thursday, February 21, 2002

Settling the decade-old DeRolph school- funding lawsuit has hit another pothole in an already bumpy road.

On Tuesday, the Ohio Supreme Court gave Madison Wisc.-based mediator Howard Bellman one more month to get the state and the Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding – a group of about 500 schools that sued the state in 1991 over the constitutionality of the way Ohio funds its schools – to reach an agreement. The two sides have been at a stalemate for more than 10 years, so what’s another month going to accomplish?

Since the Ohio Supreme Court ordered these talks late last year there has been no progress. The state argues it is strapped for cash while the coalition says rural and small-town schools need money to compete with big-city schools. Nothing has changed and nothing will.

Lawmakers have had to make numerous cuts to fix a projected $1.5 billion budget shortfall. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court ordered the state to spend $1.2 billion a year more on primary and secondary education – money the state argues it doesn’t have. On the other side, the coalition says the state is obliged to fix the problem ordered by the court, regardless of the impact it may have on other state departments.

Does the state’s school-funding system need fixed? Yes. The disparity between rural schools – such as those in southeastern Ohio – and those near metropolitan areas is obvious.

Is this the time to press the issue? No. Most state-funded agencies have been cut, lessening their ability to meet the needs of Ohioans. We need adequate schools, but at the same time we need adequate roads, public health, law enforcement and other services.

The economy is a sporadic thing and will eventually bounce back. Once there is a little more money in the state’s coffers, the matter should be addressed.

In no way, however, should the state look at its current budget problem as a cop out. In time, Ohio will be able to funnel more money to its schools. When that time comes, it is imperative that the state follows through.