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Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine revealed Tuesday that his priorities in this budget cycle are focused on literacy in children, mental health, and spending to bring in big business.
In his annual state address to the joint session of the General Assembly, DeWine announced the big money move included in the proposed budget. This includes a one-time payment of $2.5 billion to prepare construction sites for major businesses and a tax credit per child. He says it will help bring about better health and educational outcomes.
“Our future is bright, but that future will depend on how well we educate all our children and remove the barriers to their success.
education
Some of his proposals for the budget will be analyzed by the General Assembly as both the House and Senate come up with their own priorities to spend on negotiations in the spring and summer. State sales tax on “baby products.”
He also encourages high school students to stay in Ohio for postsecondary education by offering a $5,000 renewable annual scholarship to the top 5% of all high schools if they attend a college or university in the state. I would like to encourage you to do so.
DeWine also has an eye on Ohio’s adoption system, where his budget “makes it easier for families to adopt their children into a safe, loving, and permanent home,” so that their children are It states that you can still get Medicaid coverage if you were adopted through a private agency.
The governor’s budget also promises to address underlying issues for children and families in Ohio with affordable housing tax credits for low-income families and single-family homes.
And as Congress considers restructuring Ohio’s education system, changing the name of the Department of Education and placing its director under the governor’s cabinet, DeWine said the children’s We hope to do the same with our services.
Dewine said the proposed Department of Children and Youth would like to integrate programs from six other state agencies focused on maternal and child physical health, foster care and early childhood education.
“Issues that affect the lives of our children are too important to remain scattered across multiple agencies without members of the governor’s cabinet pushing them every day,” DeWine said. I got
The governor has proposed an overhaul of the state’s public school funding scheme. It’s called the Cup-Patterson Plan and the Fair Schools Funding Scheme, and it said it hoped it would be funded. The plan, which has so far been funded by Congress for two years, is designed as a six-year phase-in to include a study of the real costs of It has completed specific objectives for well-positioned students and special education students.
But DeWine also pushed the expansion of EdChoice’s private school vouchers. This has been criticized by public school supporters and Democrats for wasting money that public schools desperately need.
His budget will also increase charter school facilities funding from $500 to $1,000 per student.
DeWine didn’t make a move on his gun safety efforts, even when he spoke about school safety.
“One of the things that families have never worried about was the safety of their children at school,” says DeWine. “Today, sadly, they do.”
What the governor has proposed is state funding to place school resource officers in the building, even if schools cannot afford to do so themselves.
“We also want to do this because there is often a relationship of trust between the students and the police because the police are in school every day,” said DeWine. say.
The proposal came the year after DeWine signed a bill that would allow teachers to be trained and armed during class if the school district approves.
DeWine also encouraged the expansion of state school safety centers. The center patrols social media for threats to schools and students and houses anonymous reporting lines.
mental health and police
The governor also used his state speech to emphasize the need for a community mental health system that Ohio has long lacked.
“Don’t accept that mental illness and addiction are inevitable,” said DeWine.
The budget bill DeWine will submit to Congress will focus on increasing the workforce for prevention, crisis response, treatment and behavioral health, he said.
Among these increases, the Creation of Actions for the Ohio Resiliency Network (SOAR) “will harness the talents of our citizens to conduct a first-of-its-kind comprehensive multi-year research study. We need to expand,” he said. According to the governor, that includes Ohioans in all areas of our state.
“This will help us understand the unique nature of mental health problems across Ohio’s urban, suburban, rural, and Appalachian communities, and to better determine which interventions are most effective in many diverse communities. It’s helpful.
Relevant to mental health is DeWine’s proposal for the Department of Public Safety, in which his budget is “for law enforcement officers in Ohio, from de-escalation to the use of force to crisis intervention for persons with disabilities.” $40 million annually for ongoing training on the topic of mental illness. “
The governor didn’t mention 29-year-old Tyre Nichols, who lives in Tennessee. He died three days after he was severely beaten by five Memphis Police Department officers. They are now facing murder and assault charges related to the beating. But I mentioned the importance of body cameras to law enforcement.
“Recent events demonstrate once again how important body camera footage is and the importance of continued training for law enforcement officers,” said DeWine.
bring big business
He said that Ohio is “just moving on” when it comes to hiring big companies. He raved about business progress, including Intel’s new plant in Licking County, Honda’s plans to expand into Fayette County, Ford’s Avon Lake and his GM plans to build electric vehicles in Toledo.
But the state has more sites that could be developed if they were ready.
“There just aren’t enough out-of-the-box, developable sites to handle the kind of inquiries we’re getting from businesses around the world,” says DeWine.
With that in mind, DeWine plans to use the $2.5 billion lump sum to “prepare the infrastructure for large-scale economic development sites throughout Ohio.”
Democrat reaction
At a joint press conference right after DeWine’s State of the State, Democrats in the House and Senate said the governor and Congress need to push for a budget that puts the people at the forefront, but not take more money out of public schools. I said it should be done like this.
Senate Minority Leader Nicky Antonio said the state’s state not only highlighted some of Ohio’s strengths, but also “shed light on what we need to improve.” rice field.
“We want a budget that works for everyone, a budget that puts people first,” said Antonio. “We need a budget that creates a ladder of opportunity and a path to success for all Ohioans, especially our children.”
House Minority Leader Allison Russo said fully funded well-resourced classrooms and fair school funding plans are top priorities as Congress enters the budget process.
“We can’t afford laws that take money out of public schools, and we can’t afford taxpayer money to support a voucher system that lacks transparency and accountability and teaches children to hate,” Russo said. seems to be referring to a small group of Ohio homeschooling parents who were reported to be using neo-Nazi content in their curricula.
Democrats also argued that Ohio must focus on safe, affordable housing for families to drive economic development and increase occupancy.
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