A Purcell Marian High School administrator was fired for declaring his public support for same-sex marriage. Mike Moroski, who was the assistant principal at the Catholic school, wrote about his support for LGBT equality on his personal blog. Following the blog post, Moroski claims he was given an ultimatum by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati to resign or recant his statements. CityBeat covered same-sex marriage and the amendment that could bring marriage equality to Ohio here. A board vote failed to remove State Board of Education President Debe Terhar from her position. In response, Ohio Democrats filed a lawsuit seeking access to her cell phone and other records. Terhar has been receiving heavy criticism for a Facebook post that compared President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler. CityBeat wrote about Terhar’s ridiculous Facebook post here. Cincinnati Public Schools and Winton Woods City Schools were among nine city school districts found to be scrubbing attendance data by the state auditor. The school districts claim most the errors were simple mistakes, not intentional manipulation of data. Both the auditor and schools agree state policy is too confusing and must change. The city of Cincinnati is beginning the process of sorting through construction bids for the streetcar. Three bids ranging from $71 million to $87 million have already come to light, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer. The bids could push up the price tag on the streetcar, but Meg Olberding, city spokesperson, cautions the process is barely starting. CityBeat covered the streetcar and how it relates to the mayor’s race here. Cincinnati is speeding up the demolitions of condemned buildings this year, particularly buildings near schools and family zones. A new report from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services found employment in the shale industry was up 17 percent in the first quarter of 2012. Critics caution the jobs aren’t worth the risks — pointing to a number of environmental and health concerns related to hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.” CityBeat wrote about fracking and its extensive problems here. One in 25 students in Columbus schools are restrained or secluded. The state’s lax seclusion policies have been under heavy criticism in the past year following the discovery that school staff were using seclusion for convenience, not just to restrain students. On Wednesday, Metro staff will be holding a security exercise meant to gauge counterterrorism capabilities. Metro bus service will not be affected. The Horseshoe Casino pays homage to Liuzhou, China — Cincinnati’s sister city of 25 years. The chief curator resigned from the Cincinnati Art Museum. A Cincinnati woman was charged with helping her daughter beat up a student during a classroom brawl. Curiosity is officially the first robot to drill another planet.

In response to Democratic mayoral candidate John Cranley’s call for a debate, the campaign for Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls, another Democratic candidate for mayor, is calling both campaigns to schedule a series of debates. Jens Sutmoller, Qualls’ campaign manager, said in a statement, “Vice Mayor Qualls believes the citizens of Cincinnati deserve a robust series of public debates between the two final 2013 Mayoral candidates. She looks forward to articulating her optimistic vision of Cincinnati’s future and the investments we need to make in our neighborhoods and city to achieve a welcoming city of opportunity for all our citizens.” Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) are being used as a model by other schools around the state and country. Other schools are particularly interested in Cincinnati’s community learning centers, which provide services not directly related to education, including health clinics, mental health counselors, tutoring programs and extensive after-school programs. The approach is being praised for making schools serve the greater needs of communities. CityBeat wrote about CPS and its community learning centers here. Steve Dyer, an education policy fellow at Innovation Ohio, says Gov. John Kasich’s school education plan actually does the opposite of what Kasich claimed: “However, after examining the district-by-district runs produced by the Kasich Administration yesterday (which I posted at Innovation Ohio earlier), what is clear that even without eliminating the guaranteed money Kasich said he wants to eliminate soon, kids in the poorest property wealth districts in the state will receive 25 cents in additional state revenue for every $1 received by kids in the property wealthiest districts.” A CityBeat analysis found the education plan increases funding for Cincinnati Public Schools, but not enough to make up for past cuts. The University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati State and Miami University are getting slight increases in funding under Kasich’s higher education funding plan. The plan increases overall higher education funding by 1.9 percent, with UC getting 2.4 percent more funding, Cincinnati State getting 4 percent more and Miami getting 1.8 percent more. The increased funding should be helpful to Miami University, which recently initiated $99 million in summer construction and renovation projects. Historically, Ohio has given its universities less funding per pupil than other parts of the country. An appeals court ruling could put the Anna Louise Inn back at square one. On Friday, the Ohio First District Court of Appeals affirmed most of a lower court’s ruling against the Anna Louise Inn, but it sent the case back down to the lower court on a legal technicality. The ruling means the case could restart, but Tim Burke, the inn's attorney, claims the Anna Louise Inn has already done what the appeals court asked. For CityBeat’s other coverage of the Anna Louise Inn, click here. Media outlets are finally picking up the story about illegal immigrants and driver’s licenses. Gongwer wrote about it here, and The Columbus Dispatch covered it here. CityBeat originally wrote about the story last week (“Not Legal Enough,” issue of Feb. 6). Following the board president’s comparison of Adolf Hitler and President Barack Obama, the Ohio State Board of Education is set to discuss social media. CityBeat wrote about Board President Debe Terhar’s ridiculous Facebook post here. Remember the Tower Place Mall! Two tenants are holding out at the troubled mall as they look for different downtown locations. Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine wants everyone to know he’s still cracking down on synthetic drugs. The pope is stepping down. How kids draw dinosaurs is probably wrong.

Gov. John Kasich touted a rosy, progressive vision when announcing his education reform plan Jan. 31, but reality does not match the governor’s optimism. It’s true Kasich’s proposed 2014-2015 budget will not reduce school funding, but under the Kasich administration, local schools will still have a net loss in state funds. The governor’s office released tentative budget numbers yesterday that show the Kasich plan will give Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) $8.8 million more funding for the 2014 fiscal year. But that’s not enough to make up for the $39 million CPS will lose in the same fiscal year due to Kasich’s first budget, which was passed passed in 2011. Even with the new education plan, the net loss in the 2014 fiscal year is $30.2 million. The problem is Kasich’s first budget had massive cuts for schools. The elimination of the tangible personal property reimbursements (TPP) hit CPS particularly hard, as CityBeat previously covered (“Battered But Not Broken,” issue of Oct. 3). In the Cut Hurts Ohio website, Innovation Ohio and Policy Matters Ohio estimated Kasich’s budget cuts resulted in $1.8 billion less funding for education statewide. In Hamilton County, the cuts led to $117 million less funding. Kasich’s massive cuts didn’t even lead to lower taxes for many Ohioans. A report from Innovation Ohio found school districts and voters made up for the big education cuts with $487 million in new school levies. In 2012, Cincinnati voters approved a $51.5 million levy for CPS. The school levies are a direct increase on local income and property taxes, but they’re measures Ohioans clearly felt they had to take in the face of big state budget cuts. For more analysis of Kasich’s budget, check out CityBeat’s other coverage: Kasich Tax Cut Favors WealthyGovernor’s Budget Ignores Troubled PastKasich Budget Expands Medicaid, Cuts Taxes

Gov. John Kasich’s school funding plan may not be so progressive after all. In his initial announcement, Kasich promised the program will be more progressive by raising funding to poorer schools, but this fact from StateImpact Ohio seems to contradict that claim: “Under the projections released by the state, a suburban district like Olentangy that has about $192,000 of property value per student would get a more than three-fold increase in state funding. Meanwhile, Noble Local, a small rural district with about $164,000 of property wealth per student sees no increase in state funding.” The Toledo Blade found Kasich’s education plan favors suburban schools. The Akron Beacon Journal pulled numbers that show rich, growing school districts will do fine under the plan. According to The Columbus Dispatch, 60 percent of Ohio schools will not see increases in funding from Kasich’s plan. The Ohio Department of Transportation is now shying away from statutory guarantees for northern Ohio in the Ohio Turnpike plan. Originally, Kasich promised 90 percent of Ohio Turnpike funds will remain in northern Ohio, albeit with a fairly vague definition of northern Ohio. Now, even that vague 90 percent doesn’t seem to be sticking around. But the plan would still be a massive job-creating infrastructure initiative for the entire state. The Ohio Turnpike runs along northern Ohio, so changes to fees and the road affect people living north the most. WLWT published a thinly veiled criticism of local teacher salaries. The article pointed out Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) pays 45 of its employees more than $100,000 a year. Of those people, 42 are administrators and three are teachers. In comparison, the highest paid Cleveland school teacher makes $86,000. The article also glances over the fact CPS is “the number one urban-rated school district in the state” to point out the school district is still lacking in a few categories. As CPS Board President Eileen Reed points out, a school district needs to attract better educators with higher salaries if it wants to improve. Paying teachers less because the school district is performing worse would only put schools in a downward spiral as hiring standards drop alongside the quality of education. County commissioners seem supportive of Kasich’s budget. Republican commissioners Chris Monzel and Greg Hartmann said the budget could be “revolutionary” by changing how county governments work. Democratic Commissioner Todd Portune highlighted the Medicaid expansion in the budget. As “revolutionary” as the budget could be, it’s not enough to make up for Ohio and Kasich’s troubled past. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital was ranked the third best pediatric hospital in the United States by Parents magazine. The Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments is looking for comments on updating the region’s bike map. Anyone who wants a say should leave a comment here. The upcoming Horseshoe Casino is partnering up with local hotels to offer a free shuttle service that will seamlessly carry visitors around town. One courageous grandma stood up to an anti-gay pastor. During a sermon, the pastor outed a gay high school student and told everyone they would "work together to address this problem of homosexuality." At that point, the grandma snapped at the pastor, “There are a lot of problems here, and him being gay is not one of them.” She then apologized to the boy and walked out. Music has a lot of effects on the brain. Here is an infographic that shows them. Bonus science news: Earth-like planets could be closer than most people think.

Speaking in front of Ohio school administrators Thursday, Gov. John Kasich unveiled a surprisingly progressive-sounding education reform plan that seeks to diminish school funding inequality, but it also expands Ohio’s flawed voucher program. Kasich said the plan will not cut any school district’s funding, but it will work to reduce gaps between the wealthy and poor. Currently, the poorest school district can get $700 to $800 per pupil for 20 mills of property taxes, while the wealthiest districts can get as much as $14,000 per pupil. The plan will eliminate much of that gap, according to Kasich. Kasich’s plan will open up extra funding for students with severe disabilities and students who need to learn English, on top of a $300 million “innovation fund” that will reward schools with grants for initiatives that improve learning and teaching. The plan will also expand the state’s voucher program to provide private school tuition for any family below 200 percent of the federal poverty level — about $46,000 for a family of four. The vouchers, which will become available in the fall, will be worth up to $4,250 a year. Parents will be allowed to choose between participating voucher schools. But the expansion of “school choice” through more vouchers may not be a good thing. A previous Policy Matters Ohio report found expanded school choice can have negative effects on education, including worse results for students and teachers. Kasich justified his proposals by claiming, “The Lord is watching us as we make an effort to give our children the knowledge that they want in order to be successful and to pursue their God-given destinies.”  He also said the program is fully funded, which was made possible by extra revenue gained from Ohio’s economic rebound. On judging his proposals, Kasich said, “We need to think about this not in isolation. We need to think about this over the course of the last couple years.” Taking the governor at his request, his administration actually signed off on education cuts in the past couple years. Cuts Hurt Ohio, a website that tracks budget cuts enacted by Kasich, shows funding to education was cut statewide by $1.8 billion. For Hamilton County, $117 million in education funding was cut. Kasich also helped push a few education initiatives through the Ohio legislature. During the press conference, he cited his Third-Grade Reading Guarantee, which forces schools to hold back students who aren’t “proficient” in reading. Kasich also pointed to the new school report cards, which use an A-to-F grading system to give more transparency to parents and enforce higher standards for schools.The plan will require approval from the Ohio legislature to become law. It also may face scrutiny from courts; the Ohio Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled the state's school funding system relies too much on local property taxes.

Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls is asking the city administration to complete construction of the streetcar in time for the 2015 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, which will be hosted in Cincinnati. A letter from Qualls to City Manager Milton Dohoney and Mayor Mark Mallory explains her reasoning: “This may present a challenge, but it is one I am sure the administration is capable of meeting. The streetcar will serve a critical role in efficiently and effectively moving visitors to and from Great American Ballpark and allowing them to conveniently visit other venues such as Fountain Square, Horseshoe Casino, Over-the-Rhine, Washington Park, etc.” CityBeat covered the streetcar’s delays and how the project relates to the 2013 mayor’s race here. Gov. John Kasich will reveal his plan for funding Ohio schools today. The plan is expected to include a $300 million “innovation fund” to support school initiatives that improve teaching and learning. In a previous interview, Rob Nichols, Kasich’s spokesperson, explained the troubles of establishing a plan: “Many governors have tried before. Many states have been sued over their formulas. It’s something we have to take our time with and get it done right.” City Council passed a resolution urging Kasich to expand Medicaid. Qualls explained the need for the resolution: “Expanding Medicaid will create a net savings to the state over time, allow the City’s health department to improve access to health services at lower costs, and most importantly, provide health care coverage for thousands of Cincinnati residents who need it most.” A study from the Health Policy Institute of Ohio found a Medicaid expansion would save the state money for the first few years. Previous studies also found correlations between improved health results in states and a Medicaid expansion, and a study from the Arkansas Department of Human Services claimed Arkansas would save $378 million by 2025 with the Medicaid expansion. A new report found poverty is increasing in Ohio. About one in six Ohioans are below the federal poverty line, according to the Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies report. About $100 million in development downtown is kicking off today. City officials and business leaders are gathering for the groundbreaking this morning of a lot at Fifth and Race streets that has idled for nearly 30 years. The lot will host the new four-story headquarters for DunnhumbyUSA. Kasich says Ohio will continue taking Ky. jobs in the future. The rough words are Kasich's interesting approach to encouraging Ky. legislators to support the Brent Spence Bridge project. Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine issued a scam alert telling businesses to be wary of emails claiming to be from the Federal Trade Commission or FTC. Miami University broke its application record. A Wright State professor saved Cincinnati-based Kroger more than $170 million with his work on more accurate pharmaceutical predictions. The professor, Xinhui Zhang, is now one of the six finalists worldwide for the Franz Edelman Award.Ohioans now have a phone number to report cases of child abuse or neglect: 855-O-H-CHILD, or 855-642-4453. Reports can be anonymous.Humanity is one step closer to the inevitable robot apocalypse. GE's hospital robot can sort scalpels, sterilize tools and prepare operating rooms for surgery.

In support of Ohio’s charter school and voucher programs, conservatives point to the wonders of “school choice.” But a new Policy Matters Ohio report revealed school choice may not be the boon supporters make it out to be. Citing a study from Community Research Partners, the Policy Matters report found the extra mobility enabled by school choice programs can lead to a worse education. Students who changed schools frequently performed worse than their peers, and the higher mobility can also put a strain on teachers and staff by forcing them to make accommodations for new students. The Policy Matters report pointed out the two findings directly contradict the basis for more school choice: “School choice advocates envision parents and students acting as consumers in an education marketplace, trying out different schools until they find one that ‘fits,’ but as this study shows, the movement this implies clearly has far-reaching effects on teaching and student learning.”The report also looked through previous literature to gauge charter schools’ academic results. Research from the Rand Corporation and Stanford University’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes found only 17 percent of charter schools performed better than traditional public schools. Compared to their public school counterparts, charter school students did worse in math and showed no difference in reading. An analysis of Ohio’s 2011-2012 achievement test scores by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute found only 6 percent of charter schools met the state goal of having a performance index of 100 or higher and only 10 percent rated excellent or above.The Policy Matters report attributes the poor academic results to faulty regulations. Lax rules and oversights were uncovered by a report from the Rand Corporation. In another report, Policy Matters unveiled poor oversight and loopholes in Ohio state law, which CityBeat covered here. Poor academic results also applied to voucher programs. An in-depth look at Cleveland’s voucher program from the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy found voucher-toting students performed at the same level as students who did not use vouchers. Around the state, public school students outperformed voucher students in third to eighth grade achievement tests, according to the Policy Matters report. Students in public schools did better in math, while both types of students had mixed results in reading. Voucher programs have been particularly controversial because they can end up subsidizing private, religious schools — possibly violating separation of church and state.

Ohio Democrats are moving to sue the state if it continues blocking access to texts from State Board of Education President Debe Terhar, a Republican from Cincinnati. The school board leader has been facing criticism for making a Facebook post that compared President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler. The post was a picture with the caption, “Never forget what this tyrant said: ‘To conquer a nation, first disarm its citizens.’ — Adolf Hitler.” There is no historical evidence Hitler made that quote. Despite ongoing litigation questioning its constitutionality, JobsOhio intends to move ahead with plans to sell liquor-backed bonds. The Supreme Court agreed to take up ProgressOhio’s challenge of JobsOhio last week. JobsOhio is a nonprofit private agency set up by Gov. John Kasich to drive economic growth, but bipartisan questions have surrounded its legality and constitutionality since its conception. Hamilton County Board of Commissioners President Chris Monzel wants to change the county’s mission statement. His proposed changes would remove references to equity and add conservative language about the county government living within its means. The county is already required to balance its budget. Ohio State University expects to save nearly $1 million a year due to wind power. The university signed a 20-year agreement in October to buy 50 megawatts annually from Blue Creek Wind Farm, the state’s largest commercial wind farm. The city of Cincinnati is tearing down hundreds of blighted houses. The demolitions, which are being funded by a grant, are meant to make neighborhoods safer. A Cleveland man was the first to benefit from a law that expedites payouts to those who were wrongfully imprisoned. After being imprisoned for 16 years, Darrell Houston will receive a partial judgment of nearly $380,000. The Ohio Department of Transportation is looking at removing 34 positions. One of the potentially affected jobs is a counselor position that helped apprehend a man suspected of kidnapping two teenaged girls. Ohio may soon require the replacement of old license plates. The Ohio Tax Credit Authority is assisting eleven companies in investing more than $51 million across Ohio. In Hamilton County, Jedson Engineering will spend an additional $2.8 million to create 30 full-time jobs. StateImpact Ohio has an in-depth look at Nate DeRolph, one of the leaders in school funding equality. A new gun shoots criminals with DNA tags, which lets cops return to a suspect during less confrontational times. The guns will be particularly useful during riots, when attempting an arrest can result in injuries.