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What Direction for Higher Education in Ohio?
By Marc KilmerWhile other state programs are facing the budget knife, higher education in Ohio is largely being spared. In fact, the Board of Regents is pushing a plan that would expand its funding over the next decade. State taxpayers and students would benefit from a closer scrutiny how the higher education system uses its current funding, however. In fact, the state would be better off with a wholesale re-evaluation of how higher education is delivered in the Buckeye State. Don't look for state education officials to be championing this cause any time soon, though.
BuckeyeVoices
The
Buckeye Institute's 1851 Center for Constitutional Law recently scored
a major victory for charter schools in Toledo. The center forced the
Toledo Plan Commission to reconsider unconstitutional regulations on
the city's charter schools. 1851 Center director Maurice Thompson
discusses the success with Buckeye Institute President David Hansen in
this week's BuckeyeVoices.
New at the Buckeye Institute
The Buckeye
Institute today released two studies regarding the state's higher
education system. Both studies address the ongoing debate
over higher education accessibility, cost and accountability.
However, one specifically focuses on recommendations made in the Ohio
Board of Regents' strategic plan.
In "Which
Way for Higher Education in Ohio?" report authors Dr. Richard
Vedder, an Ohio University economics professor and Buckeye Institute
academic advisor, and Marc Kilmer, a Buckeye Institute policy analyst,
offer a critical analysis of the Ohio Board of Regents Strategic Plan
for Higher Education: 2008-2017. The authors praise certain
aspects of the plan, but question its three major assumptions.
"Higher
Education Vouchers in Ohio: A Proposal for a 'CollegeChoice' Program,"
authored by Kilmer with an introduction by Vedder, examines access,
affordability and accountability of the state's higher education
system. In the study, Kilmer reviews proposals granting the
Board of Regents authority to set tuition rates, as well as legislative
calls for additional accountability measures. His research
concludes that both reforms increase overall higher education
bureaucracy, but provide limited benefit.
It's Spending, not Stimulus
The Columbus Dispatch
reports,
"The Senate agreement on a roughly $827 billion economic-stimulus bill
sets up tough negotiations with the House primarily over tens of
billions of dollars in aid to states and local governments, in tax
provisions and in education, health and renewable-energy programs."
In
No, We Can't Afford This,
Marc Kilmer writes,
"Some say this type of spending is needed to help spur demand and
restart our economy. But just increasing the amount of government
spending does not create new demand. Instead, it merely shifts demand.
There is no evidence that this type of stimulus program has ever worked
in the past, either in the United States or other nations."
Charter Schools Under Fire
The Columbus Dispatch reports, "After trying unsuccessfully two years ago to ban for-profit companies from managing charter schools, [Governor] Strickland is taking a new tactic this time around. He's still targeting for-profit school managers, but this time he's added a new club to the bag: a nearly 20 percent cut in funding."
In
Why We Created Charter
Schools in Ohio,
former State Representative Sally Perz writes, "The current debate over
charter schools should not forget why these schools were created in the
first place. Improving student achievement requires that we
continue to build an ever larger framework of choice. It is
the
only known incentive that has been shown to create demonstrable gains
in student achievement and parental satisfaction. These are
the
goals we should be seeking, not the satisfaction of those in the
government school monopoly who fear the challenge that improvement will
require of them."
A Better Tax Plan
"Gov. Ted Strickland has proposed expanding several tax breaks to companies that create or keep jobs, even after state officials admitted last fall they can't say how many jobs such incentives actually create," reports the Columbus Dispatch.
In
Eliminate the Income Tax
and See Ohio Thrive,
Marc Kilmer writes,
"Ohio needs strong political leadership to address its economic
decline. The failed programs of Governors Taft and Strickland have only
resulted in a continuing slide into stagnation. Eliminating the state
income tax will revive Ohio's economy and give more freedom to its
citizens. If political leaders are serious about helping turn the state
around, they should embrace this bold idea instead of relying on the
failed policies of the past."
Buckeye
Institute in the News
The
Cleveland Plain Dealer published an op-ed by Matt Carr and
Beth Lear dispelling the myths about charter schools.
A Dayton Daily News editorial mentioned the Buckeye Institute's state employee salary database.
The Hillsboro Times Gazette published Marc Kilmer's op-ed on the stimulus bill being debated by Congress.
