Week In Review 1-20-25

Week in Review > Week In Review 1-20-25

Posted by Buckeye Association of School Administrators on January 21st, 2025

FY26-27 BUDGET

Saying his office is unable to rely exclusively on a consistent source of federal funding to address cybersecurity, Secretary of State Frank LaRose is seeking an increase in General Revenue Fund support for his office’s efforts in the next biennium. LaRose’s FY26-27 budget request, provided to Hannah News by the Office of Budget and Management (OBM) through a public records request, seeks an increase of $4.6 million in FY26 and $4.7 million in FY27, primarily for cybersecurity efforts.

RecoveryOhio Director Amy Shadwick expressed confidence this week Gov. Mike DeWine’s February budget will maintain his focus on mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) as her office builds partnerships with six executive agencies, the Ohio Board of Pharmacy and the Ohio Supreme Court. Shadwick says to stay tuned for an upcoming announcement on the administration’s work to forecast and address substance misuse by region and zip code. “Gov. DeWine’s administration has consistently prioritized mental health and substance use disorder services as essential to public health,” she told the RecoveryOhio Advisory Council. “We believe the budget will continue to emphasize the importance of assisting Ohioans in need of behavioral health resources.”

State lawmakers are facing tougher budget decisions in 2025 than they have since at least the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, making this year an inflection point for many state budgets, according to Pew Charitable Trusts. In a series of analyses, Pew is examining the key debates that will be had in the nation’s statehouses in the coming year, starting with the budget. Josh Goodman, author of Pew’s analysis on state fiscal health released Monday, said that not only are more states facing budget stress, but the stresses in budgets are more widespread and having more of an effect on decisions policy makers have had to make and will make.

EDUCATION

The members of the State Board of Education re-elected Paul LaRue as president Monday over Tom Jackson by an 11-7 vote, with Jackson abstaining from the vote on his contest, and chose Teresa Fedor to be vice president over Charlotte McGuire and John Hagan. LaRue is a former high school teacher and coach from Washington Court House who serves as a gubernatorial appointee to the board. One of LaRue’s main priorities for the year is to tackle the board’s funding issues. He said the board is good regarding its licensure processes but he believes it can be great. Fedor, speaking in support of her candidacy for vice president, said blending the varying backgrounds, views and personalities of the membership will help the board to be successful.

After initially hoping to rule by the end of 2024 on summary judgment motions, the judge presiding in the challenge to the constitutionality of the EdChoice program instead will have the parties present their arguments to her in person this spring. The case was previously scheduled to go to trial in November last year, but Judge Jaiza Page of Franklin County Common Pleas scrubbed the trial date, saying the lengthy summary judgment motions filed by both sides could not have been handled in time. Page originally wrote that she would endeavor to rule on the summary judgment motions before the new year. But in a notice filed last week, Page instead scheduled a three-day hearing beginning at 9 a.m. Monday, April 28 for the parties to present oral arguments on their summary judgment motions.

The first Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) meeting of the year held Thursday approved three new school district renovation projects following a renewal of the commission’s leadership. The commission approved the continued tenure of both its chair and vice chair, respectively Ohio Office of Budget and Management (OBM) Director Kimberly Murnieks and Ohio Department of Administrative Services (DAS) Director Kathleen Madden. Gov. Mike DeWine’s appointee to the commission, Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Director Mary Mertz, and the legislators comprising the commission’s non-voting members will also remain in their positions in the new year.

A new report from Pew Trusts on K-12 budget trends across the U.S. shows many states experiencing a story familiar to Ohio – leveling off state revenues after a pandemic-era boom, expiration of COVID relief funding and growing interest in alternatives to traditional district schools. While Ohio is in the midst of a multi-year phase-in of a new funding formula, other states are looking to update their formulas as post-pandemic economic factors converge to create challenges, Pew researchers write.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY/STATEHOUSE

The Senate released its list of chairs for the 136th General Assembly, with Sen. Jerry Cirino (R-Kirtland) leading the Senate Finance Committee. For now, Sen. Kristina Roegner (R-Hudson) will chair two committees, Senate General Government and Senate Higher Education, although there is a majority caucus vacancy right now following the death of Sen. Kirk Schuring (R-Canton). The full list is HERE.

The Senate announced its appointees Monday to three joint legislative committees, including Sen. Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green) as chair of the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review, Sen. Mark Romanchuk (R-Ontario) and vice chair of the Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee, and Sens. Jerry Cirino (R-Kirtland), Shane Wilkin (R-Hillsboro) and Catherine Ingram (D-Cincinnati) as Controlling Board members.

Rep. Nick Santucci (R-Niles) on Monday announced the creation of a bipartisan Lake to River Caucus. “The recent introduction of the new JobsOhio Lake to River Region highlighted the importance of fostering unity and collaboration in Northeast Ohio, a concept that has also taken root amongst the members of the Ohio House of Representatives,” Santucci’s office said in a news release. Other members include Reps. Tex Fischer (R-Youngstown), Sarah Fowler Arthur (R-Ashtabula), David Thomas (R-Jefferson), Lauren McNally (D-Youngstown) and Monica Robb Blasdel (R-Columbiana).

There is no “fair school funding plan” for the General Assembly to implement in the upcoming budget, House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) said Tuesday. “The implementing of Cupp-Patterson that many believe is a fait accompli that we decided four years ago … in my estimation, is a fantasy,” Huffman told reporters during a Statehouse press conference. There can’t be, constitutionally, a requirement that this General Assembly do something because another General Assembly did something four years ago,” he continued. “Probably, the General Assembly is about one-third of the people who were here four years ago.”

There will be 27 House committees during the 136th General Assembly, Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) announced during a Statehouse press conference on Tuesday. There were 35 House committees in the 135th General Assembly, Huffman said, including the House Finance subcommittees that operated during budget deliberations. The House will not form House Finance subcommittees this session, he said. “I think it’s a duplication of work. When I started in the Senate, I was on the education committee, and then I was on the finance subcommittee on education, and it was basically five people from the education committee that came over,” Huffman said. House committee appointments include Rep. Brian Stewart (R-Ashville) as chair of the House Finance Committee and Rep. Mike Dovilla (R-Berea) as vice chair. The full list is HERE.

GOVERNOR

A new working group will examine how missing persons cases are investigated and offer recommendations for improvement, Gov. Mike DeWine announced Monday. Members of the new Missing Persons Working Group will review and study Ohio’s resources and response to adult and juvenile missing persons cases including database usage, law enforcement staffing and training, and investigation best practices, the governor’s office said in a news release. The Missing Persons Working Group will convene its first meeting at the Ohio Department of Public Safety (ODPS) on Thursday, Jan. 23 at 1 p.m. Recommendations are expected to be issued at the end of April.

Gov. Mike DeWine Wednesday gave Ohio Inspector General Randall Meyer another term, one of a number of appointments announced by his office. Meyer, a former chief of investigations for Mary Taylor when she was auditor of state, was appointed as inspector general by Gov. John Kasich in 2011, and has served in that role since. He also worked as a senior investigator for former Auditor Betty Montgomery, a gang investigator in the attorney general’s office, and a Wilmington police officer. His term now runs through Jan. 7, 2029. Also among the appointments, former Kasich chief of staff Beth Hansen was designated to serve as chair of the State Racing Commission, taking over the role from Scott Borgemenke. First appointed to the commission in 2019, Hansen had been reappointed by DeWine to the commission in April 2023 for a term that runs through March 31, 2027. She serves as chair at the pleasure of the governor.

Gov. Mike DeWine told reporters Thursday he’d announce “later” his appointee to the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Vice President-elect JD Vance. His office later scheduled a press conference for Friday afternoon.

Gov. Mike DeWine Thursday followed suit with other Republican-led states and ordered the flags of the United States and the state of Ohio to be raised to full-staff on all public buildings and grounds throughout the state of Ohio on Monday, Jan. 20, the day President-elect Donald Trump will be inaugurated. President Joe Biden had ordered flags to be lowered to half-staff for 30 days in remembrance of the late President Jimmy Carter, as has been customary. Carter died at the age of 100 on Dec. 29 last year.

HIGHER EDUCATION

Twenty-eight colleges and universities will receive a total of $7.5 million in funding for security projects that improve the safety of students and staff, Gov. Mike DeWine announced Monday. “Ohio remains committed to ensuring our colleges and universities have the resources they need to make their campuses as safe as possible,” DeWine said in a news release. “These grants will allow us to continue this important work so students can focus on thriving in their studies, chasing their career goals and reaching their full potential.” The grant awards are part of the FY25-26 Campus Safety Grant Program, which was funded with support from capital bill 135-HB2 (Cutrona-Upchurch). The Ohio School Safety Center, which is a division of the Ohio Department of Public Safety (ODPS), reviewed the campus safety grant applications in consultation with the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE).

PENSIONS

The Governance Committee of the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS) Board of Trustees met with executive search firm consultants Wednesday to talk about how they should go about finding candidates and defining the attributes they want in a new executive director. The watchword for Wednesday’s committee discussion was trust, both among board members and among STRS, its beneficiaries and various stakeholders like local school leaders and the General Assembly.

WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) opened registration Tuesday for the 2025 Ohio Safety Congress & Expo (OSC25) scheduled Wednesday-Friday, April 16-18 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Attendance is free. Registration and information on various education sessions can be found HERE.