CORAS Legislative Committee Meeting Review

April 20, 2004

The CORAS Legislative Committee met at 10:00 a. m. on Tuesday, April 20, 2004 at EagleSticks Golf Club and Inn, Zanesville. Members in attendance were Ted Bayat, Bob Caldwell, Clark Davis, Dale Edwards, Max Evans, Dick Murray, Bob Scott and Executive Director Dick Fisher.

The discussion included:

Policy Issues:

The committee identified policy two issues for further consideration by the committee. They are: (1) The development of a school funding proposal and (2) the Ohio Public School Dialogue being developed by the E&A Coalition. A school funding proposal was submitted to the Executive Director for cost analysis and distribution to committee members. Further discussion on these “policy issues” will take place at the next Legislative Committee meeting.

November Election: House, Senate, and the Ohio Supreme Court

A legislative sub-committee will meet at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, May 18, 2004 at the Muskingum Valley Educational Service Center to organize and develop strategy for a dialogue session with Appalachian Ohio House and Senate candidates. Prior to the meeting of the sub-committee, the Executive Director will survey CORAS members seeking “questions” and “suggestions” for legislative candidates. The chair appointed Dick Murray, Dale Edwards, and Max Evans to the sub-committee. Two additional appointees will be named later.

It was suggested that the “2003 Vital Statistics Report” be mailed to Appalachian Ohio House and Senate candidates.

Commissions, Committees and Organizations

There was a brief discussion concerning the following: Governor’s Blue Ribbon Task Force on Financing Student Achievement; No Child Left Behind Mandates; and Organizations including E&A Coalition, OSBA, BASA, ODE and the State Board of Education.

House and Senate Bills Discussed by the Legislative Committee

The following bills were distributed to committee members for discussion and/or position recommendations.

• H. B. 102 – Changing school calendar from days to hours...Senate Ed Com
• H. B. 330 – Changing testing dates from March to May…House Ed Com
• H. B. 447 and S. B. 212 – Moratorium on new charter schools…Just recently introduced
• Am. Sub. H.B. 227 - State Retirement Systems -The Ohio House and Senate passed competing pension reform bills last year, and have had periodic negotiations on a compromise. The biggest sticking point is a House proposal to require the pension funds to use Ohio-based brokers and money managers for a majority of their trades and investments. Senate leaders oppose the provision.
• Sub. S. B. 2 – Governor’s Commission on Teaching Success….distributed for information only…Already passed….Bill effective date 6-9-04

Focus Issue(s) for CORAS in Future Years.

Two research projects were suggested for future consideration: (1) A study to evaluate the impact of the No Child Left Behind Act on Ohio school children/school districts and (2) A study to determine the effectiveness of the E&A Coalition’s Ohio Public School Dialogue effort.

The CORAS Legislative Committee adjourned at 12:50 p.m. to the call of the chair.

CORAS Legislative Committee Meeting Review

October 10, 2002

The CORAS Legislative Committee met at 10:00 a. m. on Tuesday, October 10, 2002 at McCracken Hall, Ohio University. Members in attendance were Ted Bayat, Roger Bartunek, Steve Wells, Patricia Ciraso, Kyle Kanuckel, Bob Scott, Committee Chair Bob Caldwell and Executive Director Dick Fisher.

The agenda included:

• Identify a policy issue; develop a position; and recommend to CORAS Board of Directors. (Directed to Legislative Committee by Board of Directors at August 2002 planning meeting)
•  November Election: House, Senate, Ohio Supreme Court and Other Races. (Discussion/information on issues and campaign. CORAS is limited as a Council of Governments. What can individuals do?)
•  2004-2005 Biennium Budget. (a) Ohio Department of Education/Zelman Proposal to State Board of Education. (A committee member has suggested CORAS support the Zelman budget proposal. OSBA, BASA and OASBO submitted letter of support to State Board on September 23rd. The State Board will vote on position on October 15th. E&A Coalition will consider the question at the October 18th meeting. What should CORAS do?)
•  School Choice: Charter/Community Schools, ECOT, Bill Bennett, TRECA, Jefferson County Virtual Learning Academy, Vouchers & Home School- ing. (A committee member has suggested CORAS support the Zelman budget proposal. OSBA, BASA and OASBO submitted letter of support to State Board on September 23rd. The State Board will vote on position on October 15th. E&A Coalition will consider the question at the October 18th meeting. What should CORAS do?)
•  Issues for Legislative Committee to Discuss/Provide Direction.
  •  The Regional Service Delivery System in Ohio
  •  No Child Left Behind Act
   
  •  Teacher Recruitment and Licensure
  •  Others?
•  Focus Issue(s) for CORAS in Coming Year(s). (Example: CORAS has tackled two major issues during its 14 years of existence: school funding in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s and more recently the shortage of school administration candidates. What new issue should CORAS address?)
•  Topics and/or Concerns From Committee Members.

DISCUSSION

(A) The committee agreed to the policy positions that (1) all schools in Ohio should be held to the same standards and (2) local property and income tax revenue should not leave the local school district for which the funds were voted. Reference: Community/Charter schools

(A) The committee identified school safety and security as an issue of ongoing concern. The committee directed the executive director to develop a survey to determine how CORAS member schools are implementing their current safety and security policies.

(B) The committee acknowledged that the 2002 Ohio Supreme Court election is critical to achieving a successful conclusion to the DeRolph school funding lawsuit. Continued efforts are necessary on the part of individual members to mobilize school communities in the region so that citizens understand the issues and vote in the November election.

(C) The State Board of Education is scheduled to vote on the Zelman proposal on October 15, 2002. Committee Chairman Bob Caldwell, Executive Director Dick Fisher and CORAS Director Dennis Meade are members of an E &A Coalition committee reviewing the State Board of Education budget proposal on Friday, October 18, 2002. The CORAS Legislative Committee agreed to endorse the position developed at the October 18th E&A meeting, if the position meets the approval of Caldwell, Fisher and Meade. (Note: The E&A Committee met on October 18th. No position was taken on the State Board of Education budget proposal.)

(D) School choice, charter schools, etc., were discussed under the first agenda item.

(E) (b) The committee discussed the lack of consistency by the Ohio Department of Education in providing information about the No Child Left Behind Act requirements. Committee members have experienced different answers to the same question from consultants at ODE. Generally, the committee felt it might be prudent not to rush to make the changes enacted in the NCLB legislation. Some time is necessary to work out the defects.

(E) (d) It was suggested that CORAS should conduct a study that would determine the validity of procedures for selecting and assigning of special education students. Questions, including clarification, raised by the committee were: Is I.Q. an effective measure for qualifying for special education? If so, why was the qualifying standard lowered from an I.Q. of 80 to 70? The Executive Director is to research the questions and respond to the Legislative committee at its next meeting.

Chairman Caldwell adjourned the meeting at 1:00 p.m.

COALITION OF RURAL AND APPALACHIAN SCHOOLS

Legislative Committee Meeting Review

February 12, 2002

The CORAS Legislative Committee met at the Olde Dutch restaurant in Logan on Tuesday, February 12, 2002. Committee Chairperson John Simmons called the meeting to order at 10:05 p.m. Present were John Simmons, Ted Bayat, Patricia Ciraso, Kyle Kanuckel, Paul Folmer, Bill Parrett, Larry Miller, Dick Murray, Clark Davis and CORAS Executive Director Dick Fisher.

Agenda items were presented and discussion followed.

 
• DeRolph Settlement Conference Update/Discussion. Larry Miller provided an update on the DeRolph school-funding litigation and discussed the timeline for the mediation talks. He said the mediator must file a final report on February 14, 2002. The mediator also has the option of requesting the Ohio Supreme Court grant a time extension beyond February 14.
 
•  House and Senate Bills Recently Introduced. Thirteen House and Senate bills relating to education that were introduced in November, December and January were discussed. The committee expressed support for an all-elected State Board of Education and increasing school board member compensation.
•  November 2002 Election. Paul Folmer led the discussion on the November 2002 Ohio Supreme Court race. Judge Tim Black is running against Lt. Governor Maureen O’Connor and Judge Janet R. Burnside is running against Justice Evelyn Stratton. It was stated that Black and Burnside would be most favorable toward public education.
•  Issues for Legislative Committee to Discus/Provide Direction. Public Education’s Alternative to H.B. 364 was presented. This alternative is supported by ten educational organizations, including the Coalition of Rural and Appalachian Schools. The question was raised concerning the status of H.B. 364. The executive director is to get information and report back to the committee. A virtual learning program for students who are home schooled was discussed. The discussion focused on local districts and/or ESC’s providing these programs. It was suggested that CORAS present a program on this subject for member school districts. The major findings and recommendations from the Study of Regional Service Delivery by the Ohio Department of Education was presented and discussed. It is unknown at this time what the Ohio Department of Education intends to do with the study. It was noted that Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction Roger Nehls discussed the study at the January 29, 2002 CORAS membership meeting in Nelsonville. The committee requested actuarial projections for the State Teachers Retirement System relative to the current economic conditions.
•  Focus Issue(s) for CORAS in coming year(s). The committee recommended that CORAS develop dialogue among educators on how the various teacher training programs teach their students to effectively meet the demands of proficiency tests, Local Report Cards and other new state mandated programs.
•  Adjournment. Chairperson Simmons adjourned the meeting at 1:00 p.m.

Coalition of Rural and Appalachian Schools

Legislative Committee Meeting Review

February 12, 2001

The Coalition of Rural and Appalachian Schools Legislative Committee met from 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Monday, February 12, 2001 at EagleSticks Golf Club and Inn, Zanesville. The following committee members and guest were present: Beth Hargreaves, William Parrett, Paul Folmer, Roger Bartunek, William Inman, Dale Dickson, Paul White, Kyle Kanuckel, Jerry Narcissi, Ted Bayat and guest Tom McGuire, Dick Fisher and Committee Chair Dale Edwards.

The charge to the CORAS Legislative Committee was to determine what position, if any, the Coalition of Rural and Appalachian Schools should take on the issues presented, and then submit recommendations to the CORAS Board of Directors.

• School Funding The Coalition of Rural and Appalachian Schools supports the position of the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding with regard to the DeRolph school-funding remedy. Discussion E&A Coalition position is to reduce disparities over time. Guaranteeing adequate Standards of Opportunity (inputs), paid for by the State, will eliminate many inequities. Movement toward equity must be included as part of any “agreed to” interim proposal put in place while adequacy and a final remedy is being resolved. Establishing Standards of Opportunities (inputs), that are paid for by the state, is the first priority of the Coalition of Rural and Appalachian Schools. Over reliance on the local property tax is a legislative matter. However, the solution should include a reduction in the need for additional local property tax levies and also reduction in disparities between property tax-rich and property tax-poor school districts
• 2. Proficiency Testing Senate Bill 1 and House Bill 1 provide improvements over the current program.

  Discussion

  • The State must fund intervention and literacy specialists.
  • Quality standards, properly aligned, will promulgate learning and reduce failure and the need for intervention programs.
  • Educational resources can be provided by the State in a form other than revenue.
  • There is a need for trained people to analyze data. Data analysts in each school district are necessary to breakdown test data for teachers to use in the classroom. Data research can also drive local district professional development programs.
• Proposed Revisions to Teacher Education and Licensure Standards

  Discussion

  • Responding to an issue raised by the Executive Director, committee members voiced support for the two-years of successful teaching experience requirement for school counselors.
  • The successful completion of an internship consisting of 600 contact hours in a school setting for a school counselor license may not be practical for practicing teachers training to become counselors. Consideration should be given to replacing this requirement with some type of on-the-job training.
  • Instructors in teacher training institutions and graduate level programs for school administrators should have previous practical experience in the specific area for which they are preparing candidates, such as classroom teacher, special education teacher, building principal and superintendent.
• HB 383 (kindergarten and first-grade eligibility date change) survey. The survey had a 43.5 percent return rate.
  • 7 Definitely will change the age requirement for kindergarten and first-grade for school year 2001-02.
  • 0 Definitely will not change the age requirement for kindergarten and first-grade.
  • 21 Not planning to change the age requirement for kindergarten and first-grade for the 2001-02 school year, but may do so at some future date.
  • 19 Will do more study, such a s survey the community and/or staff, before deciding whether to change the age requirement for kindergarten and first-grade.
  • 0 Did not know the law had changed; therefore, I have not given it any thought.
• Information Items These items were presented as information items, but very little time was available for in depth discussion.
  • Cost of doing business factor
  • Special Education Finance in Ohio Analysis and  Recommendations
  • Supreme Court of Ohio Entry/Resnick Concurring Opinion
  • Reforming Education Funding in Ohio: Analysis of Proposed Responses
  • Report on DPIA and TANF meetings with OSBA Urban  Commission

CORAS Legislative Committee

Meeting Review

October 23, 2000

The CORAS Legislative Committee held its first meeting of the 2000-01 school year. The meeting was held at the EagleSticks Golf Club and Inn in Zanesville on Monday, October 23, 2000. Those present included: Legislative Committee Chairman Dale Edwards, Harrison Hills City School District, Ted Bayat, Federal Hocking Local School District, Bill Parrett, Franklin Local School District, Roger Bartunek, Washington County JVS and ESC, Beth Hargreaves, East Guernsey Local School District, Kyle Kanuckel, River View Local School District, Larry Miller, E&A Coalition Chairperson, Paul Folmer, Retired Superintendent, Bill Inman, Retired CORAS Executive Director and Dick Fisher, CORAS Executive Director. Committee members not present were Jerry Narcisi, Shadyside Local School District and Paul White, Bloom-Vernon Local School District.

Chairman Edwards called the meeting to order at 10:00 AM.

The following agenda items were discussed:

• Election 2000: Ohio Supreme Court Race. Folmer discussed the importance of re-electing Justice Resnick and electing Judge Black. He also informed the committee of activities being planned for the final two weeks by Ohioans for Educational Justice and urged others to join the effort.
• Ohio School Facilities Commission Design Manual. Committee members discussed their experiences working with OSFC Director Randy Fischer. Some expressed opinions concerning the lack of flexibility by Fischer in his interpretation of the design manual. The committee felt that changes were needed…..and perhaps would occur as more school districts entered the pipeline.
• HB 736 To limit school district’s portion of cost under School Facilities Assistance Program if located in a distressed county. The committee directed Executive Director Fisher to find out which Ohio Appalachian counties were identified as “distressed counties” and inform the CORAS membership.
• Fourth-grade Proficiency Tests. The committee reviewed the position of the Statewide Education Organizations (CORAS is a member of this group and had previously endorsed the position).
• DPIA Recommendations (CORAS, Urban Commission and OSBA). Edwards and Bayat had attended the meeting to help develop these recommendations. Fisher, Lori McClung, Urban Commission, Joe Thesing, OSBA and Warren Russell, OSBA met with ODE officials on October 3, 2000 seeking support of the recommendations.
• State of Ohio Remedy Response to DeRolph II. Miller felt it was too soon to evaluate or respond to legislative activities concerning DeRolph II. The committee felt that progress, or lack thereof, would be more definitive after the November 7, 2000 elections.
• School Choice: Charter schools, Community Schools, ECOT, Vouchers and Home Schooling. The committee reviewed the position of the Statewide Education Organizations, also previously endorsed by CORAS. There was serious concern about ECOT (Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow) enrollment figures and the increasing numbers of home schoolers. The committee felt very little could be done about the latter because of the strong home schooling lobby. Districts should scrutinize all ECOT enrollment figures.
• Elected State Board of Education. This agenda item was not addressed.
• Standards/Aligning Curriculum/Baldrige/Accountability. The committee reviewed a letter sent to the Ohio Department of Education by Dr. Ann Grooms, Superintendent, Gallia-Vinton ESC addressing concerns about standards and Baldrige. Some committee members expressed their views on Baldrige. Several questioned whether it would have any lasting or permanent effect on what actually happens in the classroom. Others felt that perhaps it was just a passing “fad.”
• HB 754 Income tax replacing voter approved property tax. An unanswered question was: Will the income tax replace the property tax dollar for dollar if this bill becomes law? Fisher is to see if the answer is available.
• Rural Action (Rural School and Community Organizing Project). Rural Action, Trimble, Ohio is seeking a school district to participate in $350,000 grant project funded by the Rural School and Community Trust. The district selected must be at the very beginning of a school construction program.
• Appalachian Legislative Delegation. The committee reviewed the terms of office of current legislators serving one or more of the 29 Appalachian counties. There are 20 members on the Appalachian Legislative Delegation. Four are currently in their final term. Seven, if re-elected, will begin their final term in January 2001. Seven, if re-elected in 2002, will begin their final term in January 2003. Two are in their first term.
• State Superintendent of Public Instruction. The committee felt it important that CORAS make every effort possible to continue the annual meeting in Columbus between the State Superintendent of Public Instruction and CORAS Board of Directors.
• Role of CORAS in the Political Process. Some committee members suggested that CORAS should become more active in local and state elections, including endorsing candidates and issues. The committee directed that this issue be presented to the CORAS Board of Directors.
• 2002-2003 Biennium Budget: State Board of Education Proposal and the Governor’s Budget. The State Board of Education proposed budget was distributed to committee members. The Governor’s budget was not available. Discussion centered on how serious the General Assembly would be in considering the State Board of Education budget. Committee opinions were mixed.

The next meeting of the CORAS Legislative Committee is tentative scheduled for late January or early February 2001, or on the call of the committee chairman.

Chairman Edwards adjourned the meeting at 1:15 PM.