Ohio exceeds expectations with support for rural kids
Your Turn
Only a few months ago, we anticipated children, families, teachers, and health care providers across southeast Ohio would be entering the toughest state budget cycle in generations. We knew the need for investment in our region would be among the greatest ever.
The pandemic put a bright light on the need for broadband, but also on the need for investment in so many other, less discussed areas: child mental and behavioral health; low-income schools; aging water and sewer; environmentally damaging septic systems; contaminated industrial sites; and an aging housing stock, to name a few.
With Gov. Mike Dewine’s signature on the biennial budget, we are happy to report that our state leaders not only answered our call for aid in southeast Ohio. They exceeded our expectations.
The changes to the school funding formula will likely see tens, if not hundreds, of millions of additional dollars flow to school districts that are members of the Coalition of Rural and Appalachian Schools over the next two years.
For more than two decades, state leaders have punted on solving the problem of underinvesting in schools with high rates of child poverty.
Dewine, House Speaker Bob Cupp, and Senate President Matt Huffman have done what many others failed to do: they invested in rural, Appalachian schools and kids.
The state also funded a $2.5 million investment in a training and retention program for child mental and behavioral health workers across southeast Ohio, where the shortage is the greatest statewide. And last week, legislators appropriated $84 million of investment in child behavioral health projects, a huge need for southeast Ohio, where no county currently offers in-patient treatment for a child in crisis.
The continuance or expansion of programs that improve the lives of children in rural Ohio are also heartening. Lt. Gov. Jon Husted has made broadband expansion and telehealth a focus for our region since the start of the pandemic, delivering millions of dollars to expand telehealth and broadband.
Now, the budget’s $250 million investment in broadband infrastructure will be the largest effort to connect southeast Ohio since electrifying our region nearly 100 years ago. Additional investments in redeveloping blighted properties or abandoned industrial sites will make the ground, air and water cleaner.
The state also struck compromises that demonstrate that in a tough political climate, our leaders know how to work together to benefit kids. The governor’s wraparound dollars for school-based health services remained in the budget, even as the legislature expanded investment in K-12 education, a priority for our region’s educational and health leaders.
The state acknowledged “Step Up To Quality” needs to be improved to see more childcare centers in rural areas, yet isn’t moving hastily: they’re going to study how to improve the program. We look forward to helping the state navigate our region.
These sorts of positive investments rarely attract the headlines that they should. So we want to highlight the good work of state leaders, namely the governor, lieutenant governor and legislators from our region, led in the House by Reps. Don Jones and Jay Edwards, and in the Senate by Sens. Jay Hottinger and Bob Peterson, to finally address so many needs of kids that have long been ignored.
Randy Leite is executive director of the Appalachian Children Coalition. He retired in 2020 from Ohio University, where he spent 12 years as dean of the College of Health Sciences and Professions.
United we stand, but divided we fall if we don’t cooperate with each other
We are now in the midst of political campaign ads on TV. Most of them insinuate that the Democrats cheated to win the last presidential election. They also imply that immigrants are permitted to enter this country because they will vote Democratic.
These candidates are part of the political party that enacted voter restriction laws in many states aimed at Democrats, thus cheating many people out of their right to vote.
This country is in great turmoil. We are divided in many arenas. There is little to no cooperation on many issues. Our politicians are not for the people, but only for the party.
Abraham Lincoln stated, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” We need to take this to heart before it’s too late!
Wayne Branfield, Columbus
Voucher program violates constitutional call for ‘one system of common schools’
Kudos to the coalition of over 100 public school districts that are suing Ohio because of its unconstitutional Edchoice school voucher program.
According to the Ohio Constitution, the state must secure a single system of common (public) schools, and giving $2 billion to private institutions over the last decade definitely goes against that requirement.
As expected, there have been negative attacks against the lawsuit by some of the people who benefit from privatizing our public schools.
A lobbyist for school privatization pushed back with a victimized response, saying, “The bottom line is, after maybe the most difficult educational circumstances in our lifetime, for the public schools to try and kick kids out of their schools right now is absolutely disgusting,” and calling the public-school coalition “heartless school leaders.”
A spokesman for the Ohio Senate Republicans said, “This shows the deep disdain these greedy big government elitists have for parents to make decisions that are best for the education of their children.”
Playing the victim, name-calling, and trying to pit parents against public school leaders may be the designated political strategy employed around the country, but it has no place here in the Buckeye State.
The bottom line is, our state leaders must stop discounting the law.
Ohio legislators took an oath of office to support the Constitution of the State of Ohio.
The time has come to follow the original intent of the Ohio Constitution, which specifically requires “one system of common schools.”
The 1.8 million children served by our public school districts deserve no less.
Jeanne Melvin, Public Education Partners, Columbus
Story of Columbus City Council’s longest-serving woman ‘inspiring’
Thank you very much for the excellent Jan. 5 front page article, “Tyson exits after 14 years on council,” on retiring Columbus City Councilwoman Priscilla Tyson.
The detailed story of this accomplished woman was very inspiring for me, and I am sharing it with others.
Annie Marie Garraway, Worthington