Sunday, April 02, 2000
Lobbyists' side jobs prompting questions
CAPITOL INSIDER
BY MICHAEL HAWTHORNE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Ohio News Network, which bills itself as “your 24-hour, statewide cable news channel,” is doing a lot to promote a weekly talk show devoted to politics.
But the veteran political operatives who are the hosts of On the Square sometimes forget to remind viewers they're also lobbyists who have a vested interest in some of the questions they're asking.
When Senate President Richard Finan appeared on the show last week, one of the hosts, Dale Butland, asked the Evendale Republican why lawmakers don't suspend state proficiency tests taken by schoolchildren every year.
“There now seems to be a rising chorus of questions about these tests,” Mr. Butland said. “Would you favor a temporary suspension, not necessarily of the proficiency tests, but of the graduation and promotion policies that are based on the proficiency tests, until such time that we develop statewide standards and give the local school districts time to align their curriculum?”
It was a provocative question, prompting a robust defense of the tests by Mr. Finan.
At no time during the subsequent discussion was there any mention of Mr. Butland's occupation: chief lobbyist for the Ohio Education Association, the state's largest teachers union and leading critic of the tests.
“I'm not trying to hide anything,” Mr. Butland said Friday. “I don't think every time I ask something about education that I need to say what my job is, but I'm not on the show to shill for anybody.”
Lawmakers developed the tests in response to complaints from university and business leaders, who said students were coming to them woefully unprepared.
Students are required to pass a test measuring eighth-grade learning in order to graduate from high school. Starting in 2002, fourth-graders must pass the reading portion of a proficiency test to advance to fifth grade.
The OEA and other critics contend the tests don't accurately measure what kids are learning. Mr. Butland echoed those concerns in his questioning of Mr. Finan: “There are some people who say, with regard to the fourth-grade test, that the questions aren't worded at a fourth-grade level. Wouldn't you agree that is a problem?”
“People say they're teaching to the test. Well, if they teach them to read, what's wrong with that?” Mr. Finan responded. “I think we need to have these standards to know our kids are progressing; and if they are not, we help them.”
That line drew a supportive response from Mr. Butland's co-host, Curt Steiner, a lobbyist and erstwhile chief of staff for former Gov. George Voinovich.
“It's great to see the legislature talking not just about school funding, but also about how to increase the standards of education in the classroom,” said Mr. Steiner, who ran the ill-fated 1998 campaign to boost school funding by raising the state sales tax by a penny on the dollar.
Health groups felt like they got a kick in the stomach from the Ohio House last week.
On a 76-18 vote, the House approved a bill that would require city councils and township trustees to ratify smoking rules adopted by local health boards. Health groups see the measure as part of a nationwide attempt to block smoking restrictions.
After the House adjourned for the day, many of the lawmakers who voted for the bill walked downstairs to a luncheon held as part of the American Cancer Society's annual lobby day. The group also unveiled a study showing that the death rates for the five leading types of cancer in Ohio haven't changed for five straight years.
“I didn't know it was coming up on their lobby day,” House Speaker Jo Ann Davidson, R-Reynoldsburg, said about the bill. “Had I known, I wouldn't have done that to be in their face. But as you can see from the vote, it had overwhelming support.”
Health groups are trying to block the bill in the Senate.
Michael Hawthorne covers state government for The Cincinnati Enquirer. He can be reached at (614) 224-4640.
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