'Embarrassing' items found in Ohio's education funds application, Husted says

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Columbus Bureau Updated 9:56 PM Wednesday, March 3, 2010

COLUMBUS — Buried within a 263-page application for $409 million in federal grant money, Ohio education officials detail how they want to spend $600,000 for two cultural anthropologists, $400,000 for a video, $320,000 for a communications plan and another $160,000 for “creative messaging.”

Ohio is competing against 39 other states and the District of Columbia for a chunk of $4 billion from the U.S. Department of Education’s new “Race to the Top” program.

State Sen. Jon Husted, R-Kettering, called items in the application further evidence of why some people lose faith in government’s ability to reform education.

Ohio’s application seems to be “a way to fund the status quo and pay for things that have nothing to do with educating children in the classroom,” Husted said. “We should be embarrassed by some of the things they want to fund in this application.”

Ohio Department of Education spokesman Scott Blake said he is not familiar with some of the items but defended the need for money to communicate proposed reforms to parents, teachers and community members.

Federal authorities are expected to announce today, March 4, which states made the first cut in the competition for funds. If Ohio is passed over for the first round, it can apply for round two.

If Ohio wins funding, the state Department of Education plans to keep half of the money and distribute the rest to local school districts and charter schools that agreed to participate. Only about half of Ohio districts are participating.

Former Ohio representative and state Board of Education member Colleen Grady said she has read Ohio’s application plus 600 pages in appendices as well as the applications from 18 other states.

Grady, a Cleveland area Republican who blogs and consults on education policy, said she believes Ohio’s application isn’t as strong as other states in part because it seems to focus on bolstering existing programs rather than taking a strategic approach.

“I agree that you shouldn’t re-invent the wheel. At the same time, if you’re going to spend $409 million, you should have a realistic expectation that you’ll see positive results,” she said.

She also criticized Ohio for proposing to spend more than $29 million in grant money to hire more than 50 new state employees.

Contact this reporter at (614)224-1624 or lbischoff@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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