Week in Review 7-21-25

Week in Review > Week in Review 7-21-25

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

ARTS, SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

The Ohio History Connection (OHC) and Ohio 529 College Advantage are joining forces later this summer to celebrate the family that reads together at “Once Upon Ohio.” Once Upon Ohio is OHC’s celebration of children’s literature, suited for young children and their families. The event at the Ohio History Center, 800 E. 17th Ave., Columbus, will feature stories by Ohio authors and illustrators. Engaging activities, including songs, rhymes and movement, will be included to foster early literacy skills and enhanced language development in a dynamic and entertaining manner. The event takes place on Saturday, Aug. 16 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., with OHC member early access starting at 9 a.m. Guests are asked to register for the event with times for OHC entry at 10 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and noon. Once Upon Ohio tickets will be valid at OHC all day. Tickets are currently available for OHC members and non-members.

AUDITOR OF STATE

Shelia Haney, former executive director of the Allen County Regional Transit Authority, was found guilty this week in a theft-in-office case pursued by Auditor of State Keith Faber, who served as lead counsel in the trial after being appointed as special prosecutor. According to Faber’s office, a jury in Allen County Common Pleas Court found Haney guilty of one count of theft in office, four counts of tampering with records, one count of tampering with evidence and one count of telecommunications fraud. All are felonies. The theft involved about $27,000, Faber’s office said. Sentencing is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 11.

FY26-27 BUDGET

On Monday, July 21, the Ohio House will vote on potential overrides of the following three vetoes made by Gov. Mike DeWine regarding property tax provisions included in HB96 (Stewart). Much of the simmering debate on how best to address rising property tax bills, and whether vetoed budget policies are the right approach, focus on the concept of local control. But which locals should be in control?

County budget commission powers: This three-person panel, consisting of a county’s auditor, treasurer and prosecutor, would get explicit power to reduce millage for local jurisdictions’ levies “so as to bring the tax levies required therefore within levels the commission finds reasonable and prudent to avoid unnecessary, excessive or unneeded collections,” as HB96 puts it.

School districts’ 20 mill floor: Property tax revenues within the 20 mill funding floor for schools are currently able to grow along with property values. Budget bill changes would count revenue from certain levies that at present don’t count, including emergency levies, among others, toward that 20 mill floor.

Elimination of levy types: For all jurisdictions, replacement levies would be eliminated under HB96 budget language. For schools, fixed-sum emergency levies, substitute emergency levies, combined school district income tax and fixed-sum property tax levies and renewal with increase levies would also no longer be an option.

IT’S IN THE FY26-27 BUDGET

The Senate added budget language that requires the Ohio Department of Veterans Services (ODVS) to investigate sites in Central Ohio for a new state veterans home, with the ODVS director to issue a report on those findings to the Legislature and governor by Sept. 30, 2026. The report is to include an evaluation of relevant grant criteria under a federal program for state veterans home construction, and potential state expenses for construction and land acquisition. The Senate also added budget language reappropriating unexpended and unencumbered portions of the Veterans Homes Modernization Fund, “plus an amount equal to cash previously expended but returned to the fund at the end of FY25 and FY26 to FY26 and FY27 respectively, for the same purpose” according to the comparison document.

Budget negotiations saw lawmakers save from abolishment a special oversight committee they formed years ago to scrutinize the work of Disability Rights Ohio (DRO). But one of the main backers of that panel has no immediate plans for it to swing into action again but wanted to keep it around in case it was needed again. DRO is a nonprofit officially designated by the state to perform advocacy work on behalf of people who have disabilities or need behavioral health services. Designating such an agency is a requirement for receiving federal funding in those areas. In a prior budget bill, 134-HB110 (Oelslager), the General Assembly created the Joint Committee to Examine the Activities of the State’s Protection and Advocacy System (P&A) and Client Assistance Program (CAP).

The DeWine administration announced the appropriation of $4 million in FY26-27 funding to the Direct Services for Victims of Human Trafficking Grant Program Monday following its successful rollout in the previous biennium. The program seeks to assist the growing number of sex and labor trafficking victims through victim advocacy, mental health services, education and employment support, shelter/housing programs and other support. Launched in 2023, the direct-services fund provided $4.6 million in FY24-25 to 30 private and governmental entities led by $200,000 each to Freedom ala Carte in Franklin County, Ohio Justice and Policy Center in Hamilton County, and Rape Crisis Center in Summit County. The original $4 million award grew more than a half million dollars after high demand from worthy applicants.

The final state budget, HB96 (Stewart), provides funds for several aviation and defense-related projects, some of which were added in the House and underwent removal by the Senate before the conference committee restored them. Among them was creation of the “Ohio Airport Improvement Program,” which the House sought to fund at $4.65 million each fiscal year using Petroleum Activity Tax (PAT) receipts derived from the sale of aircraft fuel. The Senate removed those provisions, and while the conference committee restored the program it opted to use the General Revenue Fund (GRF) instead of PAT receipts.

A provision added to budget bill HB96 (Stewart) during its consideration in the Senate narrowed the definition of a “wild boar” or “feral swine” in relation to 135-HB503 (Peterson-Jones) after an Adams County judge stopped that law from taking effect this spring for “vagueness” that could “violate … rights to due process.” The original sponsor of HB503, Rep. Bob Peterson (R-Sabina), said the budget language accomplished what the bill set out to do. “The tweaks to the feral swine definition in HB96 clarify the intent of HB503,” Peterson told Hannah News.

EDUCATION

Ohio’s educators aren’t acting up more than they used to, according to State Board of Education (SBOE) Superintendent Paul Craft, even as referrals to SBOE’s Rapback system — which notifies officials when someone licensed to work with students is convicted of a crime — have increased for every credential type issued since 2019. Craft presented Monday’s SBOE regular meeting with a high-level overview of the state’s license and referral processes. SBOE issues more than 487,000 credentials to more than 370,000 Ohioans, more of both than any other state agency. Craft said the number of individuals evaluated by the three systems comprising Rapback might be the best proxy the state of Ohio has for the number of people teaching in a school building, interacting with children as an educator or administrator.

Soon after state lawmakers mandated that public schools largely bar student cell phone use during class hours, the Ohio Christian Education Network (OCEN) is asking its affiliates to follow suit voluntarily. The network, an arm of the Center for Christian Virtue, announced its Phone-Free Christian School Covenant, in which signatories pledge “an environment for students that is completely free from cell phones or other personal Internet devices from the start to the end of the school day.” OCEN said 23 schools have signed the covenant so far. Under HB96 (Stewart), public schools must adopt policies barring student cell phone use during the school day, with limited exceptions for student health or uses outlined in the learning plans for students with disabilities.

Following the passage of the state’s operating budget for the next biennium, Thursday’s monthly public meeting of the Department of Education and Workforce (DEW) focused on the education issues HB96 (Stewart) looked to address, and the education challenges the state of Ohio is looking at moving forward. Aaron Rausch, DEW chief of budget and school funding, said primary and secondary education received an estimated 40.8 percent of total FY26 appropriations in the final version of HB96, up from the total in the budget’s “As Introduced” version. Rausch said additional appropriations to primary and secondary education during the budget process mainly came from HB96’s human services and corrections portions. HB96 enacts the final phase-in of the Fair School Funding Plan, at 83.3 percent in FY26 and 100 percent in FY27. Rausch said no school district in Ohio will receive less state funding from the budget compared to FY21 funding levels.

Rausch recapped several of the education-related provisions in HB96, including the budget bill’s increase for school districts in the minimum state share for transportation to 45.83 percent in FY26 and 50 percent in FY27. HB96 also includes $10 million for school bus safety grants, open to traditional districts, joint vocational school districts (JVSDs), community schools, STEM schools, ESCs, county developmental disability (DD) boards and chartered nonpublic schools, among other provisions.

ELECTIONS 2025

Secretary of State Frank LaRose Wednesday released the audit results from May’s primary election, which included a statewide election to decide bond issue renewal Issue 2. LaRose said that the results of the audit showed a 99.99 percent accuracy rate.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY/STATEHOUSE

Former Rep. Jack Cera (D-Bellaire) passed away on Sunday, July 13, according to an obituary provided to Hannah News. Cera served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1983 to 1996, and again from 2011 to 2020. He is survived by his wife Becky, his daughters Jaclyn Yocum (Brent) and Bethany Trifonoff (Jimmy), and granddaughters Scarlett and Lena Yocum and Finley Trifonoff and his beloved dog Poppy. The 69-year-old waged a valiant battle with cancer for 2.5 years. His memorial service is set for Saturday, July 19 at South Bellaire Methodist Church. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to any of the following groups or organizations: Bellaire Big Reds Endowment Fund, Bellaire Big Reds Touchdown Club, Bellaire Girls Softball Association, the James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute or Liza’s Place.

While the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review (JCARR) took no action against any items on its agenda on Monday, one member had strong words for agencies which he said were “wordsmithing” in order to get around statutory requirements to reduce regulations. Sen. Andrew Brenner (R-Delaware) questioned representatives from the Ohio Tuition Trust Authority and the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) about a package of rules which he said seemed to be trying to skirt statute passed by the General Assembly to reduce the amount of regulations by changing the word “shall” to “will” in the Ohio Administrative Code. Michael Graham, director of legislative affairs for ODHE, confirmed that those changes had been made in a number of the rules in the package. “That doesn’t do anything to meet compliance with what we asked for in the law to reduce regulations,” Brenner told Graham.

MENTAL HEALTH

The Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS) and Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) announced Thursday the launch of a recruitment campaign to boost the “Ohio’s Wellness Workforce” of behavioral health services professionals. “The campaign features real Ohio professionals and students who share why they were drawn to the field and encourage others to pursue a career helping those in need. Growing and strengthening the behavioral health workforce is a priority for OhioMHAS, with work underway to increase career readiness, support recruitment and retention, and enhance contemporary practice for Ohio’s behavioral health professionals,” the agencies said in a statement. The administration said demand for services has increased more than three-fold, with research showing about 40 percent of Ohioans live with a behavioral health disorder.

PUBLIC SAFETY

Gov. Mike DeWine announced Friday that the Ohio Department of Administrative Services (DAS) will be expanding Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) technology into 15 additional counties after a successful implementation in 10 pilot counties. The administration said the technology will help get critical information to first responders more quickly during emergencies. The 10 pilot counties that are now fully implementing NG9-1-1 include Athens, Carroll, Champaign, Columbiana, Harrison, Monroe, Morgan, Union, Van Wert and Washington. Counties that have now begun the onboarding process include Allen, Belmont, Fairfield, Guernsey, Hardin, Hocking, Jackson, Jefferson, Marion, Muskingum, Noble, Perry, Pickaway, Ross and Vinton. NG9-1-1 modernizes how Ohioans interact with 9-1-1, allowing citizens to text and use smartwatches and other wearable technology to contact 9-111. NG9-1-1 technology also saves times when Ohioans call emergency services by reducing the number of call transfers between 911 call centers and by more precisely pinpointing the location of callers using cell phones, the administration said.

The Ohio Department of Commerce Division of State Fire Marshal swore in the newest member of its investigative team Monday — a two-year-old yellow lab named Karl. A special ceremony took place this morning at the State Fire Marshal’s campus in Reynoldsburg. As the division’s newest explosive detection K9, Karl joins the Fire and Explosion Investigations Bureau (FEIB), where he has been trained to detect a variety of explosive materials, including fireworks, firearms, and shell casings. Karl will work alongside his partner, FEIB Investigator Ken Wright, as they serve communities across Ohio.

The Ohio State Fire Marshal’s Office Tuesday issued a caution after reporting a spike in fireworks-related incidents over the Fourth of July holiday. The State Fire Marshal’s Fire and Explosion Investigations Bureau (FEIB) investigated 15 fireworks related incidents that resulted in 31 injuries from July 3-5. FEIB said it was also notified of many other incidents that were handled at the local level. Burn injury reports from hospitals across the state indicate an additional 24 individuals were injured in fireworks-related incidents during this holiday. That marks a significant increase from last year, when, in all of 2024, the FEIB investigated 14 fireworks-related incidents resulting in 28 injuries, the State Fire Marshal’s Office said.

TECHNOLOGY/AEROSPACE

Ohio Auditor of State Keith Faber spoke Wednesday on current and future government uses of artificial intelligence (AI) at an Ohio Chamber of Commerce AI summit, detailing both its usefulness in audits and the importance of auditing AI to prevent it from providing incorrect information. Retaining the ability to challenge an AI decision will be important, he added. Also on the panel was Andrew Freedman, co-founder and chief strategic officer at the organization Fathom, which works to identify governance solutions regarding AI and public trust.

As the pace of artificial intelligence (AI) applications evolves rapidly, education leaders say they’re not so much focused on making students and instructors expert in AI per se, but in getting them to understand how it will help them explore their interests more deeply or collaborate across disciplines, among other uses. The Ohio Chamber of Commerce AI Summit included a panel on AI in education featuring Chris Woolard, chief integration officer for the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (DEW) and Shereen Agrawal, who leads the Center for Software Integration at Ohio State University. “You’re going to have the computer science students who are doing the AI, but for the vast majority, it’s not about the AI, it’s about whatever work you’re doing, and AI’s just going to be infused in that,” said Woolard.

Rep. Tex Fischer (R-Youngstown) told the Ohio Innovation and Technology Association’s (OITA) annual Innovation Summit Wednesday that he doesn’t want to live in a world where government is 10 to 15 years behind in technology. Fischer sat down with OITA President Bobby Kovey to discuss the General Assembly’s work to integrate new technology into government work, saying one application he would like to see it used is in compliance with state and local regulations.