Oh Eric! FYI, private colleges are often cheaper than publics

Mike Lafferty / January 7, 2009

 Todd Jones is president of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Ohio (see here), which represents 49 private Ohio institutions of higher learning. Before coming to Ohio, Jones was associate deputy secretary for budget and strategic accountability in the U.S. Department of Education under President Bush, where he managed the department's budget. He has also served as the executive director of the President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education. Jones is unique in that he not only knows higher education but also has deep knowledge of the nitty-gritty of national K-12 education policy and is an expert on education law and finance. His insights are particularly important now that Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Eric Fingerhut is revamping the state's higher-education system, in no small measure to make it more accountable. Jones spoke recently with Gadfly Editor Mike Lafferty for this Q&A concerning the state's higher-education plans and what it might mean for -12 education.

Q. You had a distinguished career in Washington, D.C. How did you come to land in Ohio?

A. My wife has Ohio connections. My wife and I decided it was time to leave Washington, D.C. It is more difficult there to raise a family. Also, it was time to leave before I became tied to a skill set that was only good there.

Q. What do you think of Chancellor Eric Fingerhut's higher-education plan?

A. The approach he took misses the role of independent colleges in

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Oh Eric! FYI, private colleges are often cheaper than publics

ODE ends year down $157.5 million

Emmy L. Partin / January 7, 2009

The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) ended the year down $157.5 million after a third round of spending cuts announced in December lopped another $30.4 million from its budget (see here). Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland has cut $1.9 billion in state spending through June 30 as he tries to align spending with revenues. A skirmish over the first round of cuts, in January 2008, was the rumored impetus for Strickland's State-of-the-State power play against former state school Superintendent Susan Zelman (see here). The governor didn't get control over ODE as he'd hoped, but says he is pleased with the appointment of the new state Superintendent, Deborah S. Delisle (see here). This round of cuts marks one of Delisle's first big challenges in her new job, but her recommendations offer little insight into where she'd like to take K-12 education.

As with the previous budget reductions, certain line items were held harmless, including foundation funding, pupil transportation, gifted education, special education, and career-tech education. A handful of initiatives, like early childhood education, received small or no cuts, and three line items saw cuts of greater than 12 percent (literacy professional development, educator preparation, and STEM). For the most part, the cuts are shared across the board, with Delisle recommending reductions of four to eight percent to all state-funded line items (see here), similar to what Zelman put forth last January and in September.

Across-the-board cuts are generally not based

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ODE ends year down $157.5 million

Ohio has chance to innovate with education technology

Emmy L. Partin / January 7, 2009

We've been vocal these past months with our concerns about where Ohio's leaders might take K-12 education (see here). But we're the first to admit our optimism about Ohio's opportunity to make real strides in integrating education and technology:

• At Monday's opening session of the state's 128^th General Assembly, amidst his remarks about promoting innovation in Ohio, restoring the state's "spirit of entrepreneurship," and touting the cost-savings of regional cooperation, new House Speaker Armond Budish told Gongwer News Service that "the thoughtful application of technology" could provide every Ohio student the opportunity to obtain a "high quality education." 
• In her previous job as head of the Cleveland Heights-University Heights school district, State Superintendent Deborah Delisle was named "2008 Tech-Savvy Superintendent" by e-school news. She put in place a one-to-one laptop program at a middle school, which is rolling up to all middle and high schools in the district over the next five years, and she established electronic assessments for teachers to help them better tailor instruction to meet students' needs.
• Ohio, like many other states, faces a huge budget deficit, and Governor Strickland has vowed not to raise taxes to fill the hole. Education funding will be flat or slightly reduced at best, so the time is ripe to explore effective, cost-efficient means of delivering instruction. Plus, Speaker Budish hails from Beachwood, one of Ohio's highest spending school districts, which spent roughly $20,000 per student last year, twice that of the average

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  Ohio has chance to innovate with education technology

2008: What a year it was

January 7, 2009

Ohio educated 1.7 million public school students in 2008, a year marked by the continued decline in urban enrollment (falling 19 percent from 2003 to 2008). The state's ailing economy also continued to show its fangs with 37 percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunches, up from 31 percent five years ago. Students with limited English ability have doubled since 2003. One in 50 Ohio students is now limited English proficient. Last year, charter school enrollment climbed to 82,600 students, up from 33,700 in 2003.

January

• Ohio started the year with a B-minus rating from Education Week's Quality Counts 2008 Report. The national report found the state's children start school less prepared for success than their peers nationally. The state does a decent job of investing in its children and has high marks for spending equity. The greatest challenge continues to be the education gap between rich and poor, and whites and minorities.
• Gov. Ted Strickland announced $733 million in state government spending cuts, including for the Ohio Department of Education. Two more round of cuts would eventually be announced. 

February

• In his State of the State address, Gov. Strickland called for diminishing the role of the State Board of Education, the ouster of then-Superintendent Susan Zelman, and the appointment of a state education czar who would report directly to the governor.

March

• The federal Internal Revenue Service began an investigation of Ohio's largest for-profit charter operator, White Hat Management. The Ohio Federation

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  2008: What a year it was

Quality Counts report finds, yawn, Ohio with a B-minus

Mike Lafferty / January 7, 2009

Ohio education is beginning to look like Ohio State in post-season football--OK, but not nearly good enough, according to the 2009 Education Week Quality Counts survey, released online today (see here). The state school system got its usual B-minus, the same as last year.

The state's overall score was 81, compared with the U.S. average of 76.2. Ohio ranked 6th in a comparison of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia.

By categories, Ohio rated B-minus in overall chance of student success (compared with C-plus nationally). In other categories Ohio scored C-minus in K-12 achievement, A in assessment and accountability, C-plus in teaching profession, B-minus in school finance, and B-minus in transitions and alignment.

Maryland was the top-scoring state at 84.7 for a B, followed by Massachusetts (84.6) and New York (84.1). The lowest-scoring states were Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, and, at dead last, New Mexico with a score of 67.2, good enough for a D-plus.

At least nobody failed, but maybe Ed Week just doesn't want to cause any psychological damage.

This article was updated on 1/8/09 to correct a factual error.

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Quality Counts report finds, yawn, Ohio with a B-minus