Sunday, November 21, 1999
CAPITOL INSIDER
Taft sees court role in school funding
BY MICHAEL HAWTHORNE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
They're from the same party, but in some ways Republicans Bob Taft and George Voinovich couldn't be more different when it comes to the Ohio Supreme Court's school-funding ruling.
Shortly after the justices declared the school-funding system inadequate and unconstitutional in March 1997, then-Gov. Voinovich unleashed a vitriolic tirade against the nominally Republican court. “The court opinion represents judicial activism at its extreme,” he said.
Mr. Voinovich later backed a short-lived effort to put a proposal before voters that would have stripped the court of authority over school funding.
Mr. Taft, the current governor, thinks lawmakers have made the reforms needed to comply with the court decision. But he said last week that he still sees a role for the justices in the debate.
“I think the court needs to maintain continuing oversight over the implementation of the new school formula and the school building plan,” Mr. Taft said.
He also refused to join fellow Republicans who make court-bashing a virtual sport, at least on this issue.
“I think you can also say that the court case itself has had a beneficial impact by putting the spotlight on the needs across the state of Ohio, particularly regarding the huge backlog of school facility needs,” Mr. Taft said.
The governor made those comments after being informed that Justice Andrew Douglas had expressed doubts about whether the school-funding system would have been reformed without a court order.
During a hearing last week about the state's efforts, Justice Douglas noted the General Assembly adopted a new school-funding system before a 1979 decision in which the court ruled it didn't have any jurisdiction over the issue. Lawmakers gutted the formula two years later, he said.
“Why would we not say that we should just keep monitoring this?” Justice Douglas said.
It's an understatement that Republican legislative leaders weren't happy with Mr. Taft's comments. The state, after all, has argued repeatedly that the court had no business getting involved in the school-funding debate.
“I don't think it's fair to say they are going to keep looking over our shoulders,” said Senate President Richard Finan, R-Evendale. “The system is either constitutional or it's not.”
Mr. Taft's aides embarked on a formulaic round of spin control the next day. The governor also stressed that he didn't support the idea of appointing a special master to dictate additional reforms. But in many ways he may need the court as a friend.
One of the key sources of funding for his plan to repair and replace school buildings is the state's $10.1 billion settlement with tobacco companies. A bill earmarking the money barely made it through the Senate, where Mr. Finan usually is able to deliver his 21-12 majority with votes to spare.
The tobacco spending bill passed by just one vote in the Senate, and faces more questions in the House, where conservative Republicans want to use the cash for tax cuts instead of schools, anti-smoking programs and medical research.
Mr. Taft's plan to spend $10.2 billion in state funds on school construction, including $2.5 billion in tobacco money, would stretch out over 12 years. By then, term limits will have forced the current roster of lawmakers out of office.
Who knows what future lawmakers might want to do with the money. Perhaps Mr. Taft thinks it would be difficult for lawmakers to back away from his plan if the Supreme Court were still looking over their shoulders.
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