So why would he cut Educational Service Centers -- which, among other things, are where many cost savings can be wrung out in curriculum development and purchasing -- by $91 million? It makes zero sense. Yet that's exactly what his plan does.
To be honest, dear reader, I don't know what else to say about how disconnected Kasich's rhetoric is from the plan itself.
- When Kasich told a ballroom full of superintendents that if they were a poor district they'd get more state revenue, and if they were a rich district, they'd get less, the plan actually gave more to wealthy districts and less to poorer ones.
- When he said he wanted to help special ed kids by giving them more money, he set their funding in stone so it will never grow to keep up with the cost.
- When he said he wanted districts to become more efficient, he slashed funding to the entities that can provide much of that efficiency.
- He spoke for almost two years about getting tougher accountability for Charter Schools, yet his education policy experts admit the plan contains no additional accountability for Charters, which remain exempt from some 270-odd sections of the Ohio Revised Code.
- He raved about how wonderful it was that Cleveland Municipal Schools had done a large-scale reform package last year, then reveals a budget that will cut them by $63 million a year in the near future, all but wiping out the massive, 15-mill levy Clevelanders passed in November as a sign of support of the reforms Kasich trumpeted!
I sure hope it's a misunderstanding between himself and his staff. I would really hate it if Kasich is trying to have his cake and eat it too. Because right now, his rhetoric demonstrates that either he doesn't understand what his plan does, or he's lying about it.
And, frankly, I don't know what's worse.
