BY SANDY THEIS
Enquirer Columbus Bureau
COLUMBUS -- The Senate's top Democrat called on Republican Gov. George Voinovich to order the General Assembly back to work, insisting that lawmakers have failed to properly fund the state's public schools.
Both the governor and GOP legislative leaders rejected the idea, but Democrats vowed to return from their day-old summer recess, with or without their Republican colleagues.
"You may see us sitting in the Senate chambers by ourselves working on something," Senate Minority Leader Ben Espy, D-Columbus, said Friday. "They can sit home all they want, but we're going to continue to work on this until we get it right."
Republicans, who hold majorities in the House and Senate, said they have no plans to return until the fall. They dismissed the Democrats' request as the type of political theater common in election years. "He's up to politics," Senate President Richard Finan, R-Evendale, said. "That's all this is about."
Lawmakers recessed for the summer Thursday, after completing work on a bill that makes largely technical changes to the school-funding formula. The measure would provide an additional $300 million for school buildings, but rejects Mr. Voinovich's call to set aside $160 million for school buildings from a year-end budget surplus. A recent state study estimated that Ohio's schools need $16 billion worth of construction and repairs.
The promise of future money, coupled with the technical changes, are the latest in a series of legislative efforts designed to meet last year's court order to overhaul the way money is raised, spent and borrowed for public schools.
By a 4-3 vote, the Ohio Supreme Court ordered the changes, taking special note of the abysmal condition of some school buildings. Most Republicans maintain that the court order has been met. Most Democrats insist it has not.
Mike Dawson, a spokesman for Mr. Voinovich, noted that Republicans
have dramatically increased state funding for schools and school buildings, and said he is confident that the high court will ultimately rule in the state's favor.
Both he and Mr. Finan pointed out that many of the changes were made with input from -- and support by -- Democrats in the General Assembly. Mr. Dawson called Mr. Espy "disingenuous" for failing to offer his alternative plan as an amendment to the budget bill approved this week.
A main component of the plan is a call to expand the state sales tax to legal, accounting and other services now exempt.
Mr. Dawson conceded that the Espy plan lacked the votes needed to clear the Senate, but said that did not dissuade Democrats from offering a series of other amendments.
Mr. Espy said he is not sure when his members will return to Columbus, or how they will organize their meetings.
He did say he hopes to get input from the education community, and said the GOP response to the court was crafted with little input from teachers, superintendents and parents.
