The governor’s education plan contains this $200 million mandate that will put many school districts at risk, especially at a time when funding was shaved by $32 million. His provision to force every Ohio school district to offer all-day kindergarten starting in the 2010-2011 school year has received criticisms from many local boards of education; with the reduction in school funding, they will not be able to accommodate the new mandated expenses without making cuts elsewhere-which may mean cuts to other important programs, like extracurricular activities or transportation services.

Here in the 38th House District, our schools will be hit hard by these unfunded mandates. Centerville schools will need 15 more classrooms with 15 additional teachers, which could easily total at least a million dollars each year.

If Ohio’s leaders are serious about improving our state’s education system, they need to provide a stable source of funding to help schools adjust to new regulations. And if state assistance is not available, then individual districts should have the right to be exempt from the mandates based on their budgetary constraints.

To give school districts the right to opt out of all-day kindergarten, I cosponsored House Bill 366 to allow school district boards of education to exempt their districts from unfunded mandates, including the requirement to provide all-day kindergarten. If passed, this measure will return control over expensive mandates back to the school districts, especially when so many are already struggling to make ends meet.

It is important to remember that as state lawmakers, we were sent to Columbus to serve the people back home. Pushing through damaging mandates that will hurt our schools is irresponsible to those who have entrusted us to lead Ohio. I hope that the House majority will move quickly on this common sense legislation for the sake of Ohio’s schools.

Many people seem to believe this can be done by simply shrinking the size of government but even the most aggressive proposals to do that will not come close to filling the budget gaps. Others may propose raising taxes, expanding gambling or a variety of other revenue producing measures. Bottom line however is that those states that prosper have the lowest tax rates and no state has realized sustainable growth via slot machines.

It is my belief that the only route to a sustainable state government is to aggressively prioritize those services that we consider most important and then figure out the most cost effective way to provide those services. Government cannot be all things for all people but those services that are essential must be delivered as cost effectively as possible this is certainly not how the state operates at this point.

For example, the state spends approximately 23% of its budget on Medicaid-almost $13 billion each year. 70% of those dollars are spent on seniors and the disabled although these populations represent only represent 22% of the Medicaid caseload. A substantial portion of that 70% -nearly $4 billion-is spent on long term health care. The average cost of nursing home care for one year is $65,000. The average cost of providing home health care for one year is approximately $20,000 and is the appropriate and preferred option for a significant number of seniors. Yet Ohio continues to rank near the bottom of the states in its nursing home vs. home health care ratio. Because of budget cuts this past summer to the Medicaid Home health care program (PASSPORT) we have a growing waiting list of seniors seeking home care while we continue to unnecessarily spend billions on nursing home care. If we could just match the average national ratio we could save $1 billion per year or $2 billion per budget cycle. If we managed to rank the best in the country (Oregon) we save up to $4 billion per budget cycle….no small savings (Note: As a comparison, Republican proposals to dramatically reduce the size of state government are projected to just save $2 billion per budget cycle).

This month I will be introducing legislation that expands Ohio’s Home First program. Ohio currently limits the number of home heath slot it provides through Medicaid. However by federal law it cannot limit the number of nursing home slots so the only option for many seniors is to enter a nursing home. Home First is a program that is designed to move a nursing home patient into home health care.-unfortunately at the moment they have to actually be in a nursing home first in order to qualify. The bill I am sponsoring with considerable bi-partisan support will allow a senior who has been determined to need immediate nursing home level of care to bypass the requirement that they must first enter a nursing home and immediately qualify for home health care….regardless of where they are on the PASSPORT waiting list. If you are scratching your head trying to figure out how our current system makes any sense you are not alone but it is a perfect example of how considerable savings can be realized by just rethinking how we are provide services. This is only a first step in changing our nursing home/home health care ratio but it is an important first step.

Ohio can return to prosperity and we can do it in a way that maintains a high quality of life for our citizens. However we must be willing to challenge old ways of doing things and be willing to try new and innovative ideas. We must be willing to borrow great ideas from others and quit worrying about whether the Republicans or the Democrats get credit.

If you have an idea that you think can help turn around Ohio please share it… I would love to hear from you. My Columbus office phone number is (614) 644-6008. Click here to send me an e-mail.

Columbus and Washington had a special gift in mind for the people this Christmas season. The stockings Columbus and Washington hung from our family room mantles contained gifts wrapped in very shiny foil but when unwrapped, were merely lumps of coal.

Washington’s gift of coal came in the Christmas Eve Senate passage of “health care reform”. This measure, clearing yet another hurdle, represents a Washington dedicated to policies that will destroy the free fabric that made our society great.

From the Statehouse, the lump of coal left for Ohioans wasn’t much better. After vowing not to raise taxes, Governor Strickland went back on his word and proposed a tax increase to balance his troubled budget. His double talk should not have surprised us given he first tried to fix his budget this summer with a gambling scheme after also promising not to expand gambling. This budget “fix” was nothing more than the Ohio “leader”ship kicking the can further down the road, setting up a daunting $7-9 billion dollar projected budget hole for the next biennium. So much for protecting the people’s money; so much for efficiency; so much for leadership.

No instead of leading, the legislators and Governor who supported this plan abdicated their responsibilities – choosing instead to hide behind threats of what might happen all while they took the easy route of taking more of your money. They proved their unwillingness to right-size government, give bipartisan attention to the billions of dollars of ideas we had placed on the table, or cooperate with us as we explored real ways to repair and resurface the road we are on… not just patch the pothole.

If I sound frustrated – you bet I am and so should you be. While, we all know the amazing political turnaround that appears to be coming thanks to Washington and Columbus’ failed policies and the incredible good group of candidates we have statewide, it doesn’t change the opportunity we have to take note of what is happening right now. As the father of three very young children, regardless of what happens in 2010 and 2012, I am greatly concerned with your and my futures, let alone my children’s.

If we are to win this war of ideas, we must return to the ideas our founders were largely committed to. Raising taxes in an otherwise already high tax State like Ohio is not bad just because it is bad for the economy; although it is. It’s not bad just because it is short-sighted, although it is. Raising taxes is bad for Ohioans because it allows government to expand its power and size – we are Republicans, and like our founders, we believe in a small government – not just because it keeps more money in our pockets – but more importantly because it keeps the power and influence of the government limited, and leaves the financial success of this Nation in the informed decision making of the American people – not through government picking winners and losers.

Likewise, government run healthcare is not just bad for the quality of healthcare or an economic model that will collapse under itself, although both of these attributes are true. Rather government run healthcare, cheaper or not, is an attack on the individual liberties we hold dear and an expansion of government that is unconstitutional. We’ve not had a true free market health care system since I can remember – any solutions we explore should be focused on providing a fair play ground, with economic parity and free market pressures.

These are just two recent examples, but we must frame the debates we have with our neighbors and friends around the truths our founders understood – not the circumstantial issues of the day – we are about liberty, limited government, checks and balances, and the mutual dependence between self rule and freedom. We must insist that these concepts are how we measure our leaders, what we teach our children about America, and the context in which we debate the issues of our day.

During this time of renewal, we must renew our understanding of the foundational principles upon which our liberty, prosperity, and futures were built. Regardless of our excellent opportunities in 2010 as a Party, nothing is more important to our future as a State and Country as to have political leaders, buoyed by informed people that require commitment to the root principles our founders understood so well.

Your team will continue to fight for these American principles in the State House – I only pray for more to labor with us. I encourage you to contact me if we can be of assistance in any way.

In the service of liberty,

As a member of the Senate Education Committee, I listened to the many Ohioans who testified in opposition to the Strickland education spending plan. The Governor’s “evidence based plan” is unfunded, unsustainable and serves as a false promise to Ohio schools. Further, it would effectively close all charter schools within two years – 88,000 students’ school choice options would be eliminated. Even Democrats in the legislature acknowledge that the Governor’s education plan does not provide the required funding for its ten year rollout.

The Republican controlled Senate recently countered with a balanced budget that removes all 139 earmarks and cuts more than $650 million in spending on state government. A balanced budget that does not raise taxes – this is the Republican way.

On another note, as I prepare to become Ohio’s next Secretary of State, I have also introduced legislation to change Ohio’s redistricting process – the way Ohio draws its legislative district boundaries. Currently, the party that controls two of three statewide elected offices – Governor, Secretary of State or Auditor – draws district boundaries that are in place for the next decade. I am seeking to replace the winner take all system with a bi-partisan commission to draw legislative and congressional district lines. We must discontinue the system that allows politicians to pick the voters rather than allowing the voters to pick their public officials.

These issues and the mounting job losses Ohioans are experiencing have me working overtime to find solutions. Please contact me at 614-466-4538 or via e-mail at SD06@senate.state.oh.us if I can be of assistance. For more information on my campaign, please visit www.hustedforohio.com.

Sincerely,

Jon Husted
Senator
6th District