After weeks of wrangling tied to a dispute over a congressional redistricting plan, the Ohio House and Senate have agreed on a single primary election date of March 6, 2012. The compromise, set forth in Substitute House Bill 369, will now go to the Governor’s desk, where a veto is viewed as highly unlikely. The bill repeals key portions of an earlier bill (Sub. H.B. 318) which would have required dual primaries on March 6 and June 12. It also reinstates an August special election date (August 7, 2012) for school and other political subdivision issues.

The bill does not provide relief from the December 7 filing date for March tax levies. School districts that did not complete the required filings by December 7 will not be able to submit a levy to the voters on March 6.

An updated levy calendar showing action deadlines for school tax issues has been prepared by the Public Finance Group of Bricker & Eckler LLP and can be requested from Ohio ACTE.

- Information provided by Bricker & Eckler, Ohio ACTE's Legislative Counsel

During her presentation Dec. 5 to career-technical educators, Rhonda Reda, executive director of the Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program, emphasized the need for skilled workers to meet the growing workforce demand of the oil and gas industry.  She shared her organization’s need for accurate information on existing programs, and expressed her commitment to insuring that current and future programs adequately prepare workers for the industry.

 

Other speakers at the Dec. 5 meeting shared information on the industry, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services programs, leasing considerations and an ODE update.   

 

For speaker presentations, click here. 

The Ohio House of Representatives is holding regional ad hoc committee meetings around the state to discuss workforce development issues in 

Ohio.  The committee members are looking for examples and best practices for career and workforce development.  ACTE has already testified at the initial hearing in Columbus. Ohio ACTE members are encouraged to attend and testify.

 

Click here for the list of meeting locations/dates. 

Note: Due to a scheduling conflicts with House sessions, the Workforce Development Committee will NOT meet next Wednesday, September 14 and will NOT meet next Thursday, September 15.

Following are a few basic talking points and topics that may provide continuity in message and branding of CTE as educators and professionals testify around the state.  Please do not hesitate to contact  Ohio ACTE with questions and to provide follow up on your experience.

·             Address the chairman (Chairman Tim Derickson) and members of the committee before beginning your testimony and thank them for the opportunity to share your story.

·             Provide your name and title and recognize yourself as an

OhioACTE  member - an organization representing 2400 career tech educators statewide

·             Provide specific examples of how workforce development works at the career tech level – both secondary and adult education.

·             Utilize the phrases, “Career and Technical Education equals jobs!” and adult education is, “economy driven and life changing.”

·             Emphasize that AWE is designed to quickly and efficiently train adult students for jobs that are needed – highlight how your school works with local businesses to develop programs.

·             Emphasize that career tech works when it comes to successfully preparing and placing students into the workforce.

·             Offer concrete suggestions on how the state can improve workforce development.

·             Be prepared to answer questions about how your programs currently interact with state workforce development programs such as the “one-stop-shops.”

·             Provide statistics and figures (assuming they are positive) on the many different programs at your school.

·             Offer to host any of the members for a tour of your facility and to continue the discussion as they prepare their report for the legislature.

- by Greg Lestini, Esq., Bricker & Eckler, Ohio ACTE Legislative Counsel

This week Members of Congress are going to vote on the final budget for FY 2011. In addition to the 0.2 percent across-the-board cut to programs, the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act will lose an additional $138 million. The Perkins Act funds both secondary and postsecondary institutions such as community and technical colleges, and provides individuals with the knowledge and skills to compete in today’s global workforce. The proposed reduction of Perkins will impact 14.4 million students, including adults who are trying to re-enter the job market.

“America is facing tough economic times and it’s important to control spending. However, if the Administration and Members of Congress want to restore job growth and educate the future workforce, we need to invest in career and technical education (CTE),” said ACTE executive Jan Bray. “CTE plays a critical role in retraining adults to enter the workforce and preparing students to be college- and career- ready. These cuts will impact CTE programs across the country resulting in a reduction of the number of classes being offered, cuts to professional development and curtailing efforts to ensure students have access to the latest technology and equipment. If we want to meet the goal of graduating 5 million more students from postsecondary institutions, reducing the dropout rate, and preparing citizens to compete for high-wage, high-demand jobs, then we need to spend more resources on education and workforce programs, including Perkins.”

As Congress and the Administration work on the FY 2012 budget, they need to work together to restore funding cuts to Perkins, so secondary and postsecondary schools can provide students and adults the opportunity to gain the necessary skills to compete for high-demand jobs including STEM, sustainability and health care.

Mary Beth Freeman, Superintendent, Delaware Area Career Center and Mary Jane Stanchina, Executive Director of the Six District Educational Compact, testified at the Ohio House of Representatives Finance and Appropriates Primary and Secondary Education Subcommittee on April 6.

Both provided information on Ohio's career-technical and adult education system and the importance of adequate funding for Ohio's career-technical programs. 

Testimony from Mary Beth Freeman included comments on administrative burdens and unfunded mandates and suggested budget-neutral reforms, as well as input and concerns on current language in the budget that would impact CTE. Read the full testimony here.

Testimony from Mary Jane Stanchina included information on comprehenisve CTE programs throughout the state and service to career-technical students through comprehensive and compact delivery systems as well as the importance of continued weighted funding. Read the full testimony here.

The Governor has released information regarding his plans to balance the State’s biennial budget.  Information is available at www.obm.com.  The State Office of Budget and Management has compiled general information in four separate documents about the assumptions used by the Administration to make their budget decisions.  

Generally, the 2012-2013 budget documents released on March 15, 2011 contained the following components of career tech and general primary and secondary education:

• $1,000,000 in each year that is currently allocated to Tech Prep Consortia will be redistributed to provide an increase for the High Schools That Work program and Tech Prep grants.
• Funding for federal Perkins administrative funding match maintained.
• Adult workforce programs do not seem to be too adversely affected, but it is too early to make a final determination.
• Total funding for DOE decreased by 16.4% over the biennium.
• School foundation funding program saw an increase.
• The budget promotes and supports regional shared service models.
• New assessments will be aligned with newly created content standards.
• ODE's general administrative and program support decreased by 8.7%.

Following are talking points for use by members of the career tech community when discussing the budget.  Generally, the theme is that it is too early to determine the real impact of the Governor’s proposed budget on career and technical education in

Ohio .

• There is a sense, after initial review, that the budget impact is not expected to be as bad as many in career tech may have initially thought. 
• What we don’t yet have is the actual budget bill language.
• Until the Governor and the Ohio House of Representatives shares the actual budget bill language, we cannot fully evaluate the impact in career and technical education.
• It is still too early to predict the impact of a proposed acceleration in the elimination of the tangible personal property tax on schools and school districts.
• Once our Association leadership and Legislative Counsel can review and analyze the actual bill language, then the association can better take a position on what this budget means for the future of career and technical education in Ohio.
• We look forward to briefings by Bob Sommers, the Governor’s Director of 21^st Century Education.
• We hope that Governor Kasich and all legislators value and support career and technical education as a jobs generator both in this budget bill and in the years to come.

ODE Budget Information

OBoR Budget Information

Ohio ACTE members met with Sen. Sherrod Brown in Washington, DC, during the National Policy Seminar to discuss career-technical education and how it impacts Ohio’s economy by educating students for high-skill, high-demand jobs.   Sen. Brown supports career-technical and adult education and understands the important role of CTAE in Ohio.

Following is a list of the legislative Education Committee members.  If there is a member in your school district, please make contact and be sure and invite them to tour your school to learn about all the benefits career-technical and adult education offers students.

 

129^th General Assembly Education Committee:

Gerald Stebelton (R-Lancaster) – Chair

Craig Newbold (R-Columbiana) – Vice Chair

Marlene Anielski (R-Walton Hills)

Nan Baker (R-Westlake)

Andrew Brenner (R-Delaware)

Jim Butler (R-Oakwood)

Tim Derickson (R-Oxford)

Bill Hayes (R-Granville)

Michael Henne (R-Clayton)

Cliff Hite (R-Findlay)

Matt Huffman (R-Lima)

Casey Kozlowski (R-Pierpoint)

Clayton Luckie (D-Dayton), Ranking Member

Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood)

Ted Celeste (D-Upper

Arlington )

Denise Driehaus (D-Cincinnati)

Teresa Fedor (D-Toledo)

Ron Gerberry (D-Youngstown)

Bill Patmon (D-Cleveland)

Debbie Phillips (D-Athens)

Dan Ramos (D-Lorain)

The SFAC met Nov. 16 to review subcommittee reports, including recommendations for Career-Technical Education.  In a public call for comments regarding the work of the subcommittees in October, 312 comments were received, with 112 of those comments coming from and positively supporting CTE. 

On Nov. 16, the SFAC approved the career-technical education proposals developed by the Educational Linkages Subcommitte  that would:

• Fund CTE programs with a weight mechanism representative of the costs identified in the report.
• Make state funding available for the start-up of new CTE programs where demand is high or regional business collaboration emerges.
• Require better data collection for all CTE programs and student outcomes.
•  Include K-12 CTE in workforce and economic development strategies.

During the meeting, the future of the SFAC was addressed in light of Gov. Elect Kasich’s comments regarding EBM.

 

View the entire draft report . 

 

SFAC Website

Election Recap by Bricker & Eckler

Ohio’s 2010 election results will have a tremendous impact on not only the national political landscape, but also on the U.S. Presidential election in 2012.

This Election Night Bulletin is a brief recap of the major state and national races that will shape the future of Ohio for many years to come. The Governor’s office will be occupied by John Kasich, on January 1, 2011 and the Ohio House will be led by the Republican Party.

 

In addition, the Republicans will be leading the U.S. House of

Representatives while national Democrats look to have a slim majority in the U.S. Senate as of late Tuesday night.

 

Republicans swept all other statewide races, with former U.S. Senator Mike DeWine beating incumbent Rich Cordray to become the next Attorney General. Jon Husted was elected Ohio Secretary of State, Dave Yost, a former Delaware County Prosecutor, will be the State’s next Auditor, and Josh Mandel was elected State Treasurer.

Perhaps most importantly, control of the Ohio Apportionment Board, made up of the Governor, Auditor, Secretary of State, and one appointment from the majority of each legislative chamber, will be in the hands of the Republican Party. The Party will have complete control over the “pen” used to draw new State House of Representatives, State Senate, and U.S. Congressional districts for the next 10 years. Ohio is slated to lose two U.S. Congressional seats based on last year’s census and this will have a major impact on how the state’s new congressional districts will look, and who will be running two years from now.

 

For the complete election night recap by Bricker & Eckler,click here.