Ohio Governor Mike DeWine addresses the legislature and guests Tuesday during his 2023 State of the State address in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus.
David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Gov. Mike DeWine, in his State of the State address on Tuesday, laid out a wide-ranging spending plan to help Ohio children, from expanding childcare and children’s health care to providing more education funding from kindergarten to college.
DeWine, speaking before a packed Ohio House chamber, said his proposed two-year state budget will seek to continue fully funding Ohio’s school-funding plan, expand K-12 school vouchers, provide more money for charter school students, offer state financial aid for community colleges and regional campuses, and expand and increase college scholarships.
DeWine also called for a “renewed focus on literacy and on the way we teach reading in the State of Ohio.” Even though research shows “the great value and importance of phonics” in teaching kids to read, he said, “sadly, many Ohio students do not have access to the most effective reading curriculum.” He noted that 40% of Ohio third-graders are not proficient in reading.
The governor’s budget plan would direct the Ohio Department of Education to lay out a plan, guided by research and evidence, “to ensure that all Ohio students have the best opportunity to master the skill of reading.” The budget proposal would also give schools money to “pay for curriculum based on the Science of Reading and for professional development for those teachers needing it.”
In his speech, the governor proposed new tax cuts and deductions geared at helping parents, including a $2,500-per-child state tax deduction and no longer charging state sales tax for many baby supplies. He also asked lawmakers to approve money to pay for childcare for 15,000 more Ohio children, expand Medicaid to cover children adopted through private agencies, and give more money to county children’s services agencies.
To help new and expectant mothers in Ohio, DeWine’s budget plan would expand access to “safe, stable housing” for pregnant and new mothers, as well as offer more mothers help through home-visitation programs.
DeWine proposed creating a new cabinet-level state agency called the Ohio Department of Children and Youth, which would oversee programs dealing with early childhood education, foster care, children’s behavioral health, and the health of mothers and children.
The governor said his budget plan “reflects our obligation to make sure every Ohioan has the tools to succeed, to get a good job, to live their dreams, whatever they may be. So, let us start with our children.”
DeWine, a Greene County Republican who won re-election in a landslide last November, did not say in his speech how much all these proposals would cost, nor how he would pay for them.
Following DeWine’s speech, state Sen. Matt Dolan, who is the Senate Republican’s point person on budget issues, said he will have to “look under the hood” of the governor’s proposal, to see, for instance, whether its underlying tax projections envision a recession happening or not.
“It’s a process and today is just day one in the process,” said Dolan, a Chagrin Falls Republican.
