But opponents said it could lead cash-strapped districts to shortsightedly oust nurses, counselors, music teachers and others who don’t directly help students with the core academic subjects that are part of the state’s testing regimen.
“I think it’s going to give local schools who can’t afford these teachers the ability to opt out,” said state board member and opponent of the measure A.J. Wagner of Dayton, who represents Montgomery, Miami, Preble and Butler counties. “The rich districts will be fine, and the poor districts are going to lose art teachers and nurses and counselors and social workers — the very people who make it possible for those poor kids to become good students.”
For the past 30 years, the “five of eight” rule has required that for every 1,000 students, school districts must have a minimum of five full-time equivalent service personnel from any mix of these eight areas — elementary art, music and physical education specialists, counselors, social workers, nurses, librarians and “visiting teachers” for sick or pregnant students.
State board member Ron Rudduck, who represents Greene and Clark counties, said the 30-year-old rule was “outdated and restrictive” to schools that today may need to hire English as a Second Language teachers or reading specialists more than the eight categories enshrined in Ohio law.
Board vice president Tom Gunlock of Centerville agreed with Rudduck, and said educators regularly tell him they need fewer unfunded mandates like the “5 of 8” hiring rule.
“Some of the people who complained don’t seem to have any faith in local school board members to make the right decisions for kids,” Gunlock said. “We have a very diverse state, and what’s good in rural southeast Ohio is not necessarily what’s good in inner-city Cleveland. … I really believe they’re going to make the right decisions for their own districts.”
The change still must be reviewed by the state’s Common Sense Initiative — which evaluates regulatory changes’ impact on businesses – and by the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review. State board leaders hope all approvals are complete so the change can take effect for the 2015-16 school year.
It’s not clear what impact the rule change would have on local schools.
Four Dayton-area superintendents interviewed recently all favored having more local control but said their residents value a well-rounded education. None said they planned to make any drastic cuts in the short term.
But superintendents in Huber Heights and Dayton, hit hard by recent budget cuts, said last month that state staffing minimums do play a key role in what positions they fill. Huber Heights Superintendent Susan Gunnell said her district cut positions in these categories to get closer to the state’s “5 of 8” minimums.
Dozens of people testified before the state board the past two months. State associations representing nurses, counselors and social workers argued that eliminating the 5 of 8 rule would lead to layoffs. The Ohio School Boards Association supported the new rule because it would give local districts more flexibility. Ohio law also mandates that art, music and physical education be taught.
In addition to eliminating the 5 of 8 rule, the new language requires that educational service personnel “shall hold appropriate qualifications, including applicable special teaching certificates, multi-age licensure or specific licensure in the areas to which they are assigned.” The language, which was proposed by Rudduck, also requires that the number of those personnel be included on school districts’ state report card for the first time.
Wagner argued that 60 years after the Brown vs. Board of Education U.S. Supreme Court case, Ohio is heading back to “separate but equal” schools.
“When we send it back to the local school boards, money drives these decisions about how well we educate our kids. We’re saying we don’t want to pay for our poor kids to have a good education,” he said. “Because of the effect on minorities in those schools, it has an unintended discriminatory effect that we should be very, very careful about (under the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution).”
Rudduck said even with the 5 of 8 rule in place, these service positions are among the first ones schools cut, and there’s no penalty in Ohio law for doing so.
“I believe communities will hire the positions they value,” he said. “And we want highly qualified, licensed, credentialed people in all positions.”
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