Week in Review 8-4-25

Week in Review > Week in Review 8-4-25

Posted by Buckeye Association of School Administrators on August 03rd, 2025

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT/URBAN REVITALIZATION

Intel this week indicated further delays in its Ohio chip plant projects, saying in its second quarter earnings announcement that it will “further slow the pace of construction in Ohio to ensure spending is aligned with market demand.” The announcement did not deter Gov. Mike DeWine, who said the chipmaker has made a commitment to its Central Ohio project.

Gov. Mike DeWine’s administration announced Monday the approval of assistance for three projects expected to create 1,241 new jobs and retain 742 jobs statewide. During its monthly meeting, the Ohio Tax Credit Authority (TCA) reviewed economic development proposals brought by JobsOhio and its regional partners. The projects are expected to collectively result in more than $65 million in new payroll and spur more than $13 million in investments across Ohio.

The Ohio Department of Development (DOD) announced it is now taking applications for the Historic Preservation Tax Credit Program, which helps property owners and developers to transform historic buildings into “thriving community assets” and encourage reinvestment while preserving architectural heritage.

The Ohio Department of Development (DOD) and its BroadbandOhio office recently announced they are now taking applications for a program to expand high-speed Internet service coverage across Ohio. The application deadline is Friday, Aug. 15, and applicants must provide other pre-qualification information by 12 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 8.

ECONOMY

A report released by personal finance website WalletHub Tuesday found Ohio was among the 10 lowest states for median credit card debt, the cost to pay it off and the time needed to do that. Ohioans have $2,476 in median credit card debt; an interest cost of $263 to pay it; and it typically takes 11 months and 14 days for them to complete that. Ohio ranked ninth lowest nationally for each category.

EDUCATION

Cincinnati Public Schools and the Ohio Federation of Teachers (OFT) are among numerous plaintiffs in a lawsuit alleging the Trump administration illegally withheld billions of dollars in federal education funding for the upcoming academic year. However, late last week, multiple media outlets reported that the Trump administration was releasing $5.5 billion frozen education funds.

Educators in Cuyahoga, Franklin, Montgomery and Seneca counties are the finalists to become the 2026 Ohio Teacher of the Year, the State Board of Education announced Tuesday.

School principals must register by Thursday, Aug. 7 in order for their students to participate in the new statewide fitness challenge led by Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel. The challenge, for students in grades 4-8, will run from September through November and aims to help students form healthy habits in physical activity, sleep and nutrition through goal setting. Students can earn one of three recognition levels – bronze, silver and gold. Any public, private or charter school student will have the option to participate if their school opts in, according to the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (DEW).

While charter school leaders must take annual training on public records and open meetings laws under 2015 statutory changes, they’re not bound by the requirement imposed on locally elected school board members to undergo training offered by or under the aegis of the attorney general. Absent further statutory specification, the state auditor can set standards on the nature of the training. That’s the upshot of a formal legal opinion issued Wednesday by Attorney General Dave Yost, who was responding to an inquiry from Auditor Keith Faber sparked by apparent disparities in the level or content of current training. Faber wrote that his office believed charter school officials needed to take the attorney general’s training, regardless of their non-elected status.

ELECTIONS

Facing a tight deadline and potentially not enough funding, the Ohio Elections Commission is looking to “do as much as we can” before passing on its duties to a new panel in the secretary of state’s office on Jan. 1, 2026. Lawmakers abolished the commission in biennial budget HB96 (Stewart), replacing it with a five-member Ohio Election Integrity Commission in the secretary of state’s office that will be appointed by the secretary of state and leaders of the General Assembly. Elections Commission Executive Director Phil Richter told Hannah News that staff and commissioners are still discussing what needs to be done before it finishes its work.

Secretary of State Frank LaRose this week issued a new statewide directive instructing election officials to begin the process of removing certain registrations. The newest directive comes as the secretary of state’s office and boards of elections prepare to remove nearly 352,389 inactive registrations by Sept. 23 under the previous supplemental process.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY/STATEHOUSE

Senate President Pro Tempore Bill Reineke (R-Tiffin) said Thursday he intends to seek the Senate presidency for the 137th General Assembly after current Senate President Rob McColley (R-Napoleon) leaves due to term limits. His announcement sets up a potential battle with another senator for the spot — Sen. Jerry Cirino (R-Kirtland), who currently serves as the chair of the Senate Finance Committee.

HIGHER EDUCATION

Miami University announced that students from 29 counties in Indiana can attend its main Oxford campus for the same tuition cost as Ohio resident students for both undergraduate and graduate programs. Miami already had tuition reciprocity agreements for students in parts of Indiana and Kentucky for its regional campuses. The Oxford campus is one of 19 Ohio campuses represented in the agreement. Seven Indiana campuses are in the agreement and offer in-state tuition to residents of 15 Ohio border counties.

While President Donald Trump’s executive order on college sports was a step in the right direction, the business of college athletics will continue to lack clarity and stability until Congress takes action, according to Ohio State University (OSU) Athletics Director Ross Bjork. “You have state by state law operating the NIL environment. So, some of those state laws conflict with the House case settlement,” Bjork told NBC4 anchor Matt Barnes during a Columbus Metropolitan Club (CMC) event on Wednesday.

JUDICIAL

A newly approved rule by the Supreme Court of Ohio requires courts to adopt a local rule and a written compliance plan to ensure that specific background information — including fingerprints, case dispositions, mental health adjudications, protection orders and certain traffic convictions — is reported to law enforcement databases. It is the responsibility for administrative judges in local courts to work with their clerks and other criminal justice partners to comply with several reporting requirements established in Rule 4.01 (G) of the Rules of Superintendence for the Courts of Ohio.

An Ohio woman who grabbed the trade name of a Lima car dealership after it repossessed her car is not required to go to arbitration over the naming rights, the Ohio Third District Court of Appeals recently ruled. The dispute between Taylor Automotive Group and Tiah McCreary went to the appeals court after McCreary discovered the dealer’s rights to the name Taylor Kia of Lima had expired while exploring her legal rights in the wake of a repossession.

PENSIONS

The Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund’s (OP&F) bid to boost employer rate contributions now has a vehicle for discussion in the Senate after Sen. Al Cutrona (R-Canfield) this week introduced SB239. His legislation would incrementally increase the contribution rate for police officers from 19.5 percent to 24 percent, making it equal to that for firefighters. The legislation also would allow further increases, up to 1.5 percent spread over three years, if the projected period to pay down unfunded liabilities of the system exceeds 30 years.

POVERTY

Ohio placed 29th nationally in a recent report measuring how states support people in poverty that was released by SmileHub, a tech company focused on charitable giving. Among neighbor states, Ohio placed fourth. Michigan led them at 17th nationally, followed by Pennsylvania, 20th; Indiana, 28th; Kentucky, 39th; and West Virginia, 41st.

STATE GOVERNMENT

Continuing its recent analysis of state budgets, Pew Charitable Trusts recently found the share of states’ total revenue coming from federal funds has stayed near record highs, but there are uncertainties ahead. Looking at the numbers from FY23, despite a modest dip in the federal share of state budgets, Pew found the continuing near record highs had been bolstered by ongoing pandemic aid, infrastructure funding, and a slowdown in state tax collections.

TAXATION

As members contemplated at their first meeting, the next meeting of the property tax working group set up by Gov. Mike DeWine will not be open to the public nor press. According to the governor’s office, the group next plans to meet virtually on Wednesday, Aug. 6. Bill Seitz, the former state legislator who is co-chairing the group, said at the body’s first meeting DeWine’s office advised him the group is not subject to the open meetings laws.

Ohio is now observing its two-week expanded sales tax holiday, during which most items priced at $500 or less will be tax-free. State leaders in the prior budget bill created a policy of expanding the existing sales tax holiday for a weekend of back-to-school shopping into a longer, broader holiday in years where sufficient surplus revenue exists to support the holiday. The back-to-school holiday remains in law for years when there is not enough surplus revenue. The sales tax holiday runs from 12 a.m. Friday, Aug. 1 through 11:59 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14.

WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

Public employer taxing districts would see a statewide rate decrease of 1 percent starting on Jan. 1, 2026 under a proposal from the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) management team. “This recommendation gives due consideration to both the actuarial rate indication and BWC management’s goal of maintaining stable rate levels,” BWC Chief Actuarial Officer Dan Myers said in a memo.