COLUMBUS - Ohio's state government faces a school funding dilemma, a budget crunch - and a basic question of experience.

        That question surfaced in the Statehouse Tuesday when Ohio's 132 lawmakers took their oaths of office. A 1992 law that put eight-year term limits on all state officeholders put 42 first-time lawmakers in the General Assembly this year, sweeping out incumbents who had spent decades in the House and Senate.

        Most of the new members were elected to the House, and already they face a tough test. They must help fashion a state budget that copes with sluggish tax revenues, spiraling Medicaid costs and a Supreme Court order to dramatically improve school funding.

        Several tried to inspire confidence in the new legislature by praising its newest leader, Speaker Larry Householder. As expected, the Glenford Republican took the House's top leadership post after several nominating speeches and a ceremonial vote.

        “We are a new House enhanced with a fresh vision, but limited by our lack of institutional knowledge,” said state Rep. Lynn Olman, R-Maumee. Mr. Householder “is a quick study and will be up to the task.”

        Mr. Householder vowed to make education funding reform his top priority.

        “My goal, and my passion, is to assure that every child in this state receives a top-notch education,” he said. “Each of us was sent here for a purpose. In large measure, this is mine.”

        The Ohio Supreme Court ruled 4-3 in May that the state's school funding system is inadequate, in large part because local property taxes provide most of the money. The high court gave the legislature and Gov. Bob Taft a June 15 deadline to craft a solution.

        After his speech, Mr. Householder did not offer any specific ideas on school funding reform. He left the door open, however, to a proposal the governor recently floated.

        That plan would transfer a portion of schools' local property tax es into a statewide property tax. The proceeds would be spent to help eliminate funding disparities between rich and poor school districts.

        “I don't know if this is the right plan, but this kind of out-of-the-box thinking is what the Supreme Court was looking for,” Mr. Householder said. “Whenever you talk about restructuring the tax system of the state of Ohio, you are talking about taking money from one pocket and putting it into another.”

        A slower economy and rising health care costs will also make school funding reforms difficult to pass. State sales tax revenues are $100 million lower than expected and budget officials project dramatically higher Medicaid costs for low income families, children and seniors over the next two years.

        “We've got to balance all of that,” said new state Rep. Michelle Schneider, R-Madeira. “That's going to consume our first six months. It's a bit daunting.”

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