BY SANDY THEIS
Enquirer Columbus Bureau

COLUMBUS - Key members of a House subcommittee said Thursday they will work to restore funding for innovative programs in the Cincinnati Public Schools, with some suggesting the programs be duplicated in other urban districts.

''I can assure you we will pursue this,'' said Rep. Robert Corbin, a Centerville Republican who chairs the House Finance Subcommittee on Primary and Secondary Education.

Superintendent J. Michael Brandt said he was ''thrilled'' by the committee response and hopeful that some or all of the district's request will be met.

He and other Cincinnati Public School officials asked the panel for an additional $26 million in the pending two-year state budget.

The money would fund the district's magnet schools, a new program that targets chronically unruly students, incentives for stellar teachers and the district's New American Schools initiative that is retooling neighborhood schools.

The programs are working, Mr. Brandt said.

On average, students in the magnet schools have higher academic achievement and lower dropout rates than those in no-magnet schools, he said. The discipline initiative has reduced expulsions and suspensions.

And while some other urban districts are wallowing in red ink, Cincinnati has balanced four budgets in a row, passed one new levy and three renewal levies in two years and cut the central office staff in half, according to testimony Thursday.

Despite the district's progress, Gov. George Voinovich has proposed less-than-inflationary increases for the district in the budget. At the same time, the Cleveland Public Schools - bankrupt and under court-ordered state control - would get a 22.7 percent hike in basic state aid.

Mr. Brandt and Lynn Marmer, president of the Cincinnati Board of Education, blamed nuances in the school funding formula for Cincinnati's proposed 3.13 percent hike - the smallest proposed increase among the eight largest urban districts.

''We understand this is not a new problem and we are not going to resolve this here today,'' Ms. Marmer said. ''However, we feel the level of funding in the current budget is not fair, not adequate.''

Rep. C.J. Prentiss, D-Cleveland, asked whether the New American Schools would work in Cleveland. They appear to be preferable to charter schools because they have proven track records, she said.

''We are ready to expand nationwide and we would love to expand into Cleveland,'' said Ron Rapp, state and district coordinator for the New American Schools.

Mr. Rapp, who also testified before the panel, said the schools were piloted in 19 states and he supplied the committee with data that shows the schools have helped boost test scores and parental involvement and decrease truancy.

The schools offer specialized curriculums, intensive teacher training and include funding from corporations and foundations.

''If we found some money .. you could expand into five or six urban areas,'' Mr. Corbin asked.

''Absolutely,'' Mr. Rapp replied.

There are early signs lawmakers will find additional money.

The Legislative Budget Office already is forecasting higher revenues and lower costs than the governor's budget forecasters, and economists are predicting the trend will continue.

Among the greatest uncertainties is the impact House Republicans' re-write of the budget will have on all schools.

Republicans are expected to unveil their budget next week but have already signaled they plan to pump more money into urban and suburban districts.