Taft disrespected Ohio Constitution

Former Ohio Gov. Bob Taft’s op-ed “Plan streamlines, improves state education system” in Friday’s Dispatch lacked respect for the Ohio constitutional provision that established a state board of education and superintendent of public instruction selected by the board. The rationale for his support of House Bill 512 focuses on the notion that the transfer of the Ohio Department of Education to the governor’s office is the silver bullet to improvement of educational opportunities and student outcomes.

The assumption that merging the governance of K-12 public education, higher education and the Governor’s Office of Workforce Development into a super agency in the governor’s office would improve education in Ohio is an unsubstantiated hunch — a mere feeling. There is no evidence to support that assertion.

Beyond the issue of control, there is a constitutional problem with the merger plan. Ohioans passed a constitutional amendment in 1953 to remove the superintendent of public instruction and department of education from the governor’s office by establishing a state board of education. The enabling legislation provided for an allelected state board, one member from each congressional district.

HB 512 transfers the department and most of the duties of the state board to the governor’s office, which leaves a hollow shell of the board and superintendent of public instruction in place.

This proposal is an egregious ruse that mocks Ohio’s highest governing document — the Ohio Constitution.

If streamlining the system is the goal as suggested by Taft, it would be reasonable for higher education and the Office of Workforce Development to be transferred to the constitutional body — the Ohio Board of Education.