Governor Voinovich's Selected Speeches   

1997 State of the State Address (14th January, 1997)
State Capitol Columbus, Ohio

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Speaker Davidson -- President Finan -- Minority Leaders Boggs and Espy -- distinguished members of the 122nd Ohio General Assembly -- Senator DeWine -- Lieutenant Governor Hollister -- justices of the Supreme Court -- elected state office holders -- members of the Cabinet -- my wife, Janet, and son, Peter -- family, friends, and fellow Ohioans...

It's hard to believe that it's been exactly six years to the day since I was sworn in as Governor. It's a pleasure to be back in this House Chamber for the State of the State address for the first time since 1993, and it's especially comforting to me since my career in public service began here in 1967.

Some are still serving from the "Class of '67" -- Troy Lee James and Bob Netzley.

I see we have a new Senator who also was a member of that class -- former House Minority Leader, Pat Sweeney, now of the 23rd Senate District. Welcome, Pat.

It's also a great pleasure to welcome Dick Finan -- an old friend and a veteran of this chamber -- to your new seat as Senate President. Dick, I know that you will be a great president of the Senate. Without your leadership and commitment, we would not have had a Statehouse renovation and this beautifully restored chamber.

I appreciate the cooperation that you and Speaker Davidson have already given me as we tackle the budget and set the agenda for the next two years.

And to all members of the General Assembly, I do not take for granted the respectful, cooperative relationship that I have with you. I'm confident that, by working together in bipartisan fashion and putting Ohio first, our fellow citizens will continue to benefit from the fruits of our labor.

I have told my Cabinet, most of whom will serve longer than any of their predecessors, that our final two years will not be a period of "winding down," but of "winding up" and finishing our agenda to secure Ohio's future -- a future that takes on added significance to me personally with the birth of our first grandchild, Mary Faith.

Like a champion marathon runner, we must summon that extra "kick" to finish and win the race.

This is my seventh State of the State speech. More than ever before, I'm a firm believer in the saying that "nothing is certain in life but change."

Since I took office in 1991, the leadership of both the House and Senate has changed. Fully half of the membership of the General Assembly has changed -- 66 of you were not here six years ago. And we've seen nothing short of dramatic change in the state of our state as well.

In March of '91, when I first stood here on this occasion, Ohio was facing a potential revenue shortfall of $1.5 billion. The "rainy day" fund was being reduced, ultimately to fall to 14 cents.

Our welfare rolls ballooned throughout the 1980's. Our unemployment rate was second worst among the ten largest states. And Ohio's economic future was uncertain at best.

In many quarters, Ohio was viewed as part of America's "rust belt" -- and perhaps we were.

Since then, with the cooperation of the legislature and Ohio's public-private partnership, we've gotten Ohio back on the right track.

I've always believed that government is just one thread in the fabric of a community, and that government's highest calling is to empower people and galvanize their energy and resources to help solve our problems, meet our challenges, and seize our opportunities.

More than any other state, we've put that philosophy into practice by empowering Ohio's private sector to get involved in education reform and many other operations of state government.

And, through my number one management priority -- our Quality Services through Partnership program with our employee unions -- we have empowered our state workforce to help us reinvent state government.

Because of our cooperative relationship with our enlightened union leaders, Ohio leads the nation in quality management and will be the first state to have a high-performance work force.

I came into office dedicated to the principle of working harder and smarter and doing more with less. We identified a vision for the future called "Ohio 2000/Ohio First" -- our strategic plan for maintaining and strengthening Ohio's place as a national leader and world-class competitor now and into the 21st century.

We've stayed focused on the four primary components of that vision -- management, education, jobs, and quality of life. And today, we are getting results.

First and foremost, we have been fiscally conservative.

Since 1991, we have held state spending to its lowest growth rate in 40 years. We've eliminated two state departments, cut the state workforce by over 5,000 (excluding corrections), and, with your help, abolished 121 boards and commissions.

We have rebuilt the state's "rainy day" fund to $828 million, which represents a sensible 5 percent reserve. There are some who think that amount is too high and that we should spend it down. I would remind them that there are 22 states with proportionately larger "rainy day" funds than Ohio's. Ours is at a responsible level, and we should fight to keep it that way.

Most of us who were around for the '91-'92 recession remember how we had to go through $1.2 billion to balance the budget.

Last July, our fiscal conservatism, our "rainy day" fund, and Ohio's diverse economy combined to secure the first increase in the state's general obligation bond rating in 17 years. Our rating is tied with New Jersey's as the highest among the ten largest states, and it's better than all of our competitors on Ohio's borders.

We were also able to deliver a "good management bonus" in the form of the nation's second largest personal income tax cut -- $400 million -- which Ohioans will see this year when they complete their 1996 returns.

Through the same mechanism, another "good management bonus" will be returned to the taxpayers in '98. Today, I am recommending that you make the Income Tax Reduction Fund permanent.

Working in bipartisan agreement with the General Assembly, we transformed welfare from a way of life to a way to work. Today, there are a quarter-million fewer people on welfare than at the peak in 1992 -- a 32 percent reduction -- and we have reinvested part of the savings on children and families.

In fact, one of our proudest achievements over the past six years is the fact that we increased state support for programs that serve our children and families by 34 percent.

We have held our schools accountable for improved performance, and today, we are getting results. Our SAT and ACT scores are above the national average. Our October proficiency test results just released on Friday were the best ever.

And I call on the State Board to raise the bar and make them even more rigorous.

Our two-year colleges are doing better than ever before at meeting the education and training needs of their local communities and represent the most unsung economic development tool we have. And I meet more and more Ohioans who tell me that the quality education offered by our state colleges and universities is the best education value in America.

And, in a recent national survey, 10 of our 13 public universities were ranked among the best in the nation.

While paying particular attention to the needs of our youngest citizens, we have not forgotten our seniors.

For example, we expanded the Homestead Exemption program to bring property tax relief to 76,000 more older Ohioans, bringing the total to 350,000. And we've expanded by 500 percent the PASSPORT program, which helps older Ohioans remain at home, close to their loved ones -- at 40 percent of the cost of a skilled nursing home.

We've also worked hard to strengthen Ohio's business environment and improve our competitive position in the global marketplace.

Through workers' comp reform and last year's unemployment compensation tax cut, we have saved Ohio businesses almost $1 billion in costs and have transformed each system to take far better care of our customers -- Ohio's injured and unemployed workers.

By also paying attention to energy and health care costs, transportation needs, and Ohio's incentive package -- and by focusing on Ohio's strength in agriculture, travel and tourism, science and technology, and international trade -- we have rejuvenated Ohio's business environment into one of the best in the nation.

Just ask our customers.

Our unemployment rate has gone from second highest to second lowest among the ten largest states. Ohio has led the nation for the last three years in new business facilities and expansions, and we're in the hunt again for '96.

Let there be no doubt -- Ohio is America's "jobs and productivity belt."

But we must always be aware of what the competition is doing. For example, surrounding states have taken steps toward "retail wheeling" of electricity in order to lower energy costs for consumers -- an action that could threaten Ohio's competitive position.

I'm pleased that Speaker Davidson and President Finan are convening a joint select committee to review this issue. As we move forward with competition, we must ensure that our schools are "made whole" from any changes in property tax rates for utilities.

The bottom line is that we must maintain Ohio's competitive edge and protect Ohio jobs.

As pleased as we rightfully should be with the progress we've made over the last six years, this is no time to slow down. We need to keep the momentum going, recognizing that we must act within the context of fiscal reality.

For example, the budget will reflect the full impact of corporate franchise tax credits from earlier jobs bills and last session's permanent increase in personal exemptions. Our new budget already contains a $203 million reduction in personal income tax funds.

Revenue growth will not meet earlier expectations, and the amount of new discretionary money available will be extremely limited.

Clearly, we have some very difficult choices to make, and I wish I had time to talk about them all. Instead, I want to focus on the one choice on which I know we can all agree -- the need to build on the foundation we have laid to make Ohio's schools second to none, now and in the 21st century.

Perhaps the most significant thing we have done since 1991 is to reinforce the idea that education is everyone's business -- and that education improvement is our state's number one priority.

No state in America has seen the level of involvement and commitment by the business community that we have experienced in Ohio. From the statewide "BEST" initiative, to the local Business Advisory Councils, to the Adopt-A-School program that my wife, Janet, has championed, Ohio's private sector is making a positive difference.

And I know that, without the support of the mayors and business communities in Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Columbus, we would never have seen major school levies pass in those cities last year.

Building on the Adopt-A-School program and her effort to help Cleveland fulfill its bicentennial promise that every school will be adopted, Janet has agreed to take on a special challenge in attempting to get every school in our urban districts adopted.

I'm also pleased that our new budget provides funding for the "Seniors in Schools" program, which will enable more older Ohioans to volunteer their time in our schools. We simply cannot forget the "love factor."

I want to spend my remaining time outlining what state government can do to help bring about further education improvement in Ohio. My recommendations are grouped into four subject areas: Families, finance reform, teacher support, and urban schools.

First, with respect to helping Ohio's families, I could not be more grateful for the support I have received from the General Assembly since 1991 in maintaining the "line in the sand" that I drew in my first State of the State address on behalf of Ohio's children and families.

Your support was never more evident than in 1996, when so many of you stepped up to that line on behalf of Ohio families and helped beat back the serious threat of casino gambling.

The "line in the sand" we drew in '91 helped create our Family and Children First initiative, which is looked upon as the model program nationwide for helping children get off to a healthy start in life so they can begin school ready to learn.

Perhaps the most critical need for families with small children is health care. According to the National Governors' Association, Ohio has the fewest children under two not covered by health insurance.

To further help struggling Ohio families, we are proposing to expand Medicaid eligibility to 96,000 additional Ohio children, which should make Ohio one of the nation's leaders in providing health care for the children of the working poor.

We also propose financing 2,000 new waiver slots to enable families to keep their children with disabilities at home, where they belong.

Perhaps no other initiative better underscores our commitment to children and families than Head Start.

Since I took office, we have increased state support for Head Start by nearly 500 percent and remain the nation's leader in this area. The number of children served has nearly doubled, and, with the additional dollars we will propose in the new budget, Ohio will be the first state to provide a place in preschool for every eligible child whose family so desires.

Too often, though, we talk about programs and not about God's children. It's now my privilege to introduce Tajuan Burkheart, a 9th grader at East High School in Columbus, who is going to talk about his family's experience with Head Start.

Thank you, Tajuan, for putting a face on Head Start. Perhaps in the future, when we think about Head Start, we will think of you.

I now want to offer a brief progress report on school funding reforms we have undertaken, along with our proposals for further action.

Since 1991, total state spending on schools has increased 36 percent -- essentially double the inflation rate over that period. Under our proposed budget, basic aid funding will have increased almost 50 percent over eight years. And, with your support, the actual formula for distributing those dollars has become more equitable.

With the support of the General Assembly, our administration was the first in Ohio history to take decisive action to close the equity gap between our low- and high-wealth school districts.

In fact, between Fiscal Year '91 and the current fiscal year, state per-pupil appropriations to these school districts grew about 31 percent, while appropriations to the richest districts grew just 5.7 percent. We have targeted $375 million directly to our poorer districts.

In the area of school building assistance, we have earmarked $300 million since 1994, which is more than what was spent on such assistance during the entire course of our state's history prior to then.

Today, I am proposing that we again double our commitment to Ohio's school buildings. Of the new $300 million, $200 million will be targeted toward the 60 lowest-property-wealth districts around Ohio, with the remaining $100 million designated for use by our eight largest urban districts.

Now, a word about school technology. With the strong support of the General Assembly, Ohio is a national leader in bringing 21st century technology into our classrooms through SchoolNet and SchoolNet Plus.

Our new budget recommends using $30 million in excess Lottery funds toward our SchoolNet wiring initiative to help schools remedy the electrical problems that some have encountered. We are also recommending additional dollars for professional development to make sure our teachers are prepared to use this vital resource.

Recognizing the fact that our teachers do a significant amount of their preparation work outside of school, we are also proposing the elimination of sales taxes when certified teachers purchase personal computers.

And this brings me to the third area in our ongoing education improvement agenda -- supporting Ohio's teachers. Next to parents who have not forgotten that they are their children's first and most important teacher, our teachers are the heart of education.

As your Governor, I have really enjoyed visiting classrooms throughout the state and getting to know Ohio's heroic teachers.

People still ask me why today's teachers aren't as good as they were 30 years ago. I tell them that today's teachers are better. The fact is, they face enormous challenges not confronted by their predecessors. And that is why we must do even more to help them.

We must provide our teachers with additional opportunities for professional development and growth. We've redefined education to mean "lifelong learning" -- and it should certainly apply to those whose profession it is to help others learn and succeed in life.

I want to thank the State Board of Education for developing new teaching standards this past year. Our new licensure system is one of the first and most demanding in the nation, and it will help guarantee that our new teachers can get the job done where it counts -- in the classroom.

I'm pleased that we also have reached agreement with Ohio's education unions to develop a statewide peer review and mentoring system that identifies and gives help to those teachers who need it.

I'm also encouraged that the State Board will soon complete its good work on developing a core set of student standards. Our school improvement agenda obviously centers around our students achieving higher results, and I believe these academic and vocational standards will represent another important step toward that goal.

And, today, I'm pleased to announce that 11 school districts will participate in our deregulation pilot project, which will allow them to cut through the red tape of existing rules and regulations, and begin testing these new student standards.

Ohio has also been a pioneer in underwriting the cost for teachers to apply for certification by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, and one of the few to provide them a yearly stipend once they're successful.

Ohio leads the nation with 350 teachers in the process of applying for Board certification -- and our new budget will contain funding to help 800 more begin the process.

I'm pleased that Ohio is fast becoming recognized nationally as the professional development state for teachers.

One of Ohio's first teachers to become Board-certified is here with us today. She teaches English and language arts at Walnut Hills High School in Cincinnati -- she's an accomplished author of children's books -- and she is Ohio's Teacher of the Year for 1996.

Please join me in welcoming one of Ohio's outstanding teachers -- Sharon Draper.

By the way, Sharon is one of the four finalists for National Teacher of the Year. Good luck, Sharon.

I believe we must take special action to better support those teachers like Sharon who work in our troubled, big-city school systems.

We are fortunate in Ohio that we have two model programs -- the Mayerson Academy in Cincinnati (where Sharon serves as a trainer) and the Columbus Urban Academy -- which are aimed at providing teachers in those systems with specialized training and support.

To help put this "best practice" in place elsewhere in Ohio, we are proposing to provide a challenge grant of $1 million each, to establish similar academies for teachers in Akron, Cleveland, Dayton, and Toledo. I'm confident these communities will respond to the challenge.

I've often said that, at the national level, our number one challenge is dealing with this country's financial deficit and that on the state and local level, it's the "human deficit." There is no question that our urban school districts are contributing to that human deficit.

I know that some of you who do not represent urban areas are asking, "Why should I support special initiatives directed at urban school systems? Don't they already get enough?"

Although our 21 urban districts comprise just three percent of the total statewide, they include 24 percent of our total student population. And just 43 percent of those students are graduating -- including just 35 percent in the six largest districts.

Ohio's greatest resource is our people -- and thousands of our young people from those urban districts are not fully developing their God-given talents. I believe it is our moral responsibility to respond.

Second, businesses that are looking to expand or relocate in our big cities are shying away because they are concerned about the lack of an educated, trained workforce. This issue is already having a negative impact on the state's economy.

Finally, Ohio's welfare and exploding corrections expenditures are fueled by the fact that half of the people on public assistance, and three-quarters of those in our prisons, are dropouts, with disproportionate numbers of them coming from our urban areas.

Our corrections budget will grow from $479 million in Fiscal Year '91 to a projected $1.2 billion by FY '99 -- a staggering 149 percent increase. If that growth continues for the next eight years, Ohio's corrections budget will balloon to almost $3 billion.

We can't let that happen because, practically speaking, there simply won't be any money left for anything else. We have to attack the problem at its roots.

Ladies and gentlemen, Ohio is already doing more than any other state to intervene early in our children's lives through our "line-in-the-sand" Family and Children First initiatives. We have to make sure that, when children get to school, the progress continues.

We know that all-day kindergarten can have far-reaching, positive effects on a child's later academic performance. For that reason, our new budget will call for an expansion of all-day kindergarten in our urban school districts.

You have already authorized America's first, bona fide experiment in school choice. The Cleveland Scholarship Program has gotten off to a solid start -- more than 1,800 low-income students are taking advantage of this program.

And I am proposing that we expand the program to include a new kindergarten class each year.

And last year, we proposed moving forward with a charter school experiment. This year, let's get it done. We recommend funding a pilot charter school program in Lucas County.

I want to commend State School Superintendent of Public Instruction John Goff, the State Board, members of my Cabinet, and the representatives of Ohio's urban school districts who have worked diligently over the past year to find some additional creative ways to effectively address our challenges.

First, we agree with Speaker Davidson that we need to ensure that these districts are accountable to the taxpayers. Developing performance audits would identify and quantify performance benchmarks and empower districts to improve on these benchmarks.

Second, I support expanding the number of resource centers from the current six to 21 districts. This will help families in all urban districts in preparing their children for school by strengthening linkages to health care and other social services.

And with respect to school violence, we provided funding in a prior capital bill for detection devices to keep weapons out of our schools. We should take the next step. I support the creation of discipline intervention grants to deal with unruly students in our urban districts who are keeping everyone else from learning.

And, with a 43 percent graduation rate, we've got to do more to help our urban kids stay in school and make sure they graduate.

Our Jobs for Ohio's Graduates program does just that by identifying high school seniors at risk of dropping out and putting them back on track toward graduation, further school, the military, or a good job.

This year, JOG is serving 9,000 seniors in 243 high schools around Ohio, which represents more participants than any other state in the Jobs for America's Graduates program. We propose to dramatically expand the Senior Program to reach 12,000 students over the next two years.

We also intend to fund a five-year program that targets students as early as the 8th grade. A third component will expand an existing pilot project that targets 16- to 21-year olds who have already dropped out.

Those of you in this chamber who know me well understand that I expect results in everything we do in state government. Frankly, so do the taxpayers, and I assure you that we're going to monitor all of the initiatives I've suggested to you today.

One of the reasons I'm so enthusiastic about the JOG program is that 90 percent of the kids graduate and 80 percent go on to post-high school placement.

Today, I would like you to meet one of our JOG graduates, Airman First Class John (Jay) Percifull -- a West Carollton native currently stationed with the United States Air Force in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Thank you, Jay. Your story underscores how one program or one person can make a difference in someone's life. Just think about your own lives, and the people who made a difference for you.

The education challenges I've outlined today are not unique to Ohio. In fact, the problems in America's big-city school systems constitute a national crisis. If ignored, they will result in a national catastrophe.

In Ohio, we're doing something about it, because the people of this state understand that a crisis threatening some of us today ultimately threatens us all. And more important, we care.

As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose birthday is tomorrow, once said: "I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be....No individual or nation can stand out boasting of being independent. We are inter-dependent."

Realizing that we must work with parents, local communities, and the private sector, we, the elected representatives of the people of this state, should never rest in our efforts to build an education system that enables all Ohioans to go as far in life as their God-given talents will take them.

Some day, when Tajuan and Jay realize their dreams, I suspect that each will think back to that critical point when, as youngsters, their lives turned around -- when people, some of whom were strangers to begin with, cared enough about them to make a difference.

With God's help and all of us in Ohio working together, I am confident we will continue to make a difference.

Thank you.