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By William Hershey 11:20 PM Saturday, June 6, 2009

John Scheu doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who’d hang out in the Ohio Senate.

But there he was last Wednesday, June 3, in the gallery, getting a warm introduction from the senators before they went about the business of passing their version of the state budget.

Scheu, a Dayton native, loves traditional public schools. He attended Fairview Elementary School and graduated from Meadowdale High School in Dayton.

These days Scheu’s superintendent of Hardin-Houston Local Schools in Shelby County.

The Senate used its version of the budget to save charter schools from Gov. Ted Strickland’s budget ax.

The Republicans who control the Senate aren’t exactly Strickland lovers. The governor’s a Democrat, in case you forgot. Scheu voted for Strickland in 2006.

Then there’s taxes.

Nobody hates taxes more than Senate Republicans.

Just ask Senate President Bill Harris of Ashland. Harris, a retired major in the Marines, is a very polite guy but his ever-present smile shows hints of a scowl when the terrible t-word is uttered.

Scheu, 58, thinks a temporary hike in the state sales tax might be a good idea to help the state get over the current multi-billion dollar budget hump.

Scheu, however, also is a whistleblower, clanging the alarm about problems with Strickland’s so-called evidence-based model to overhaul schools and school funding. That’s what the Senate Republicans, who dismantled Strickland’s plan in their version of the budget, like about him.

Months ago when most Democrats and organized education groups were starting to gush about Strickland’s plan, Scheu was asking questions.

He didn’t like many of the answers he got, especially when applied to small, rural low-wealth school districts like Hardin-Houston, which has 900 students.

The district didn’t get much money in Strickland’s plan – at least compared to big city districts – and his schools have no need for Strickland requirements such as nurses and tutors, Scheu said.

The big problem had to do with the 15-1 student-teacher ratio for grades K-3 in Strickland’s plan.

It took Hardin-Houston six tries before voters approved a levy last year to come up with a local match of $9.2 million for a new $23 million school project through the Ohio School Facilities Commission.

Groundbreaking is set for March 2010. Classrooms have been designed with a 25-1 ratio, said Scheu.

It’d cost another $1.2 million in modifications to satisfy the 15-1 ratio, according to Scheu’s calculations.

“People would string me up by the highest light pole here if I were to come back and say, ‘Guess what? We need more money.’” he said.

Scheu’s been told that his district could get waivers for some of the Strickland plan requirements.

“I can’t imagine the waivers are going to be endless,” he said.

The governor himself urged calm about the 15-1 ratio.

“We’re not going to be unreasonable in our expectations,” Strickland said. “And we’re going to be working with these schools...they need to use some creativity and flexibility.”

It’s too early to tell whether the final version of the budget will include Strickland’s plan or at least part of it.

Whatever decision the lawmakers make, Scheu understands why they probably won’t endorse his suggestion for a tax hike.

“I don’t have to run for re-election,” he said.

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i agree. we don't need as many school districts as we have. Districts like miamisburg and West Carrollton could merge into one. Think of the savings in administrative costs alone. It's not like they are teaching different subjects, it's all the same. Jefferson township could go with DPS, Franklin and Carlisle... Centerville is big enough along with Kettering but the small districts need to merge. Next would be fire and police departments...

ideaguy
12:26 PM, 6/7/2009

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In a well-managed system of education, there would be no districts so small as Houston-Hardin. There is no need for one superintendent to oversee a system with 900 students and its own school board.

And it's about time our legislators woke up to the fact that, on occasion, raising taxes to balance a budget is THEIR JOB.

Oldprof
8:59 AM, 6/7/2009

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