House Republicans rolled out a plan that would overhaul the state’s education system by consolidating several departments into one umbrella organization – including the Ohio Department of Education and of Higher Education. As Statehouse correspondent Andy Chow reports, supporters say this will bolster the connection between education and career-readiness.
The plan would create the Ohio Department of Learning and Achievement, with the director answering directly to the governor. Republican Rep. Bill Reineke says Gov. John Kasich’s office played a role in writing this plan.
Although it creates a huge new department and new positions, Reineke believes the consolidation will actually scale back the role of government in Ohio’s schools.
“We need to solve these issues that we have with the workforce. ... We are not supplying the needs of our kids.”
But Democratic Rep. Teresa Fedor says a mega-department would take local control away and strip important decision-making power from an elected state school board and puts it in the hands of political appointees.
