Thursday, May 20, 1999
Finan spurns aid plea
Schools' request hits big obstacle
BY MICHAEL HAWTHORNE
Enquirer Columbus Bureau
COLUMBUS — Facing $20 million in budget cuts, leaders of the Cincinnati Public Schools are pleading with state lawmakers to help bail them out with extra money for the district's magnet schools.
Their efforts may not get far.
Senate President Richard Finan said Wednesday he won't support the district's bid for more money, noting CPS already is in line for substantial increases in state aid during the next two years.
“They are getting a significant increase through the (new school-funding) formula,” the Evendale Republican said. “That's the way it should work, not through special add-ons thrown into the budget.”
Under the House-approved state budget pending in the Senate, CPS would reap some of the largest increases in state aid — 10 percent in each of the next two years.
That's a stark contrast from two years ago, when CPS initially was slated for less-than-inflationary increases and no money was earmarked for magnet schools.
The district's outlook improved after they hired influential Columbus lobbyist Neil Clark, a budget guru and former top aide to Senate Republicans. By the time the final budget was approved, CPS had an extra $10 million for its magnet schools.
CPS officials have retained Mr. Clark to lobby lawmakers again on the issue. But unlike the last budget, the district can't complain it is being shortchanged.
Supporters of the magnet school program note it has allowed the creation of popular, specialized programs, such as Montessori and foreign language academies.
“They say they support school choice,” Tom Mooney, president of the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers, said of majority Republicans in the General Assembly. “They should back it up with their budget.”
“We hope we will have an opportunity to change Senator Finan's mind,” said Jan Leslie, CPS spokeswoman. “His opposition would put us in a very difficult position.”
Mr. Finan denied that his refusal to give CPS what it wants is political payback.
District officials angered him last year when they opposed a ballot initiative intended to help legislators comply with an Ohio Supreme Court order that declared the state's school-funding system inadequate and unconstitutional. Voters overwhelmingly defeated the initiative, known as Issue 2, which would have imposed a penny-on-a-dollar sales tax increase to finance school improvements and modest property tax relief.
“Without the proceeds of Issue 2, many of the past benefits received by Cincinnati Public Schools will simply not be possible,” Mr. Finan wrote in an April 8, 1998, letter to district officials. “If you believe the failure of Issue 2 means more money from the state, forget it.”
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