The Ohio Constitution's mandate that the state provide a "thorough and efficient" education was the basis for all four Supreme Court rulings declaring the state's school-funding system unconstitutional.

The Ohio Constitution�s mandate that the state provide a �thorough and efficient� education was the basis for all four Supreme Court rulings declaring the state�s school-funding system unconstitutional.

Now, a panel proposing updates to the constitution is considering whether to remove the 163-year-old phrase from the document.

�The real question is whether we want those individuals in government to set policy or let the judicial branch do that,� said Columbus attorney Chad A. Readler, chairman of the Constitutional Modernization Commission�s Committee on Education, Public Institutions & Miscellaneous and Local Government.

�In terms of the particulars of how we�re going to operate, control and fund schools � in my view, those are decisions that should be left to the governor and General Assembly, rather than the courts.�

A proposal from Readler would require the General Assembly only to �provide for the organization, administration and control of the public-school system of the state supported by public funds.� If Ohioans don�t like the school-funding setup, they can always elect new lawmakers and a different governor, he said.

Bill Phillis, longtime executive director of the Ohio Coalition for Equity & Adequacy of School Funding, said the change would virtually eliminate public accountability for school funding.

�The �thorough and efficient� standard has held the legislature�s feet to the fire for 160 years. Without a standard, public education could be diminished markedly and citizens would have no viable recourse via the courts,� he said.

In a March 1997 ruling that later became know as �DeRolph I� after its lead plaintiff, Ohio Supreme Court Justice Francis Sweeney determined that �the facts documented in the record lead to one inescapable conclusion � Ohio�s elementary and secondary public schools are neither thorough nor efficient.� He added: �In reaching this conclusion, we dismiss as unfounded any suggestion that the problems presented by this case should be left for the General Assembly to resolve.�

The unconstitutionality of Ohio�s school-funding system was reaffirmed in three subsequent rulings � all, like the first, by 4-3 margins.

Former Gov. Bob Taft � who was in office for all but the first ruling � said Readler�s proposal drew �vigorous discussion� when he and other committee members saw it for the first time this week.

�We need to look at all the language ... from the sense of, is that up-to-date language, do people understand what �thorough and efficient� means,� Taft said. �The second issue, if any changes need to be made, the question is how specific or prescriptive should the changed language be.�

He said he needs to hear more expert testimony before deciding.

Another member of the committee, Franklin County Commissioner Paula Brooks, said she was struck by the lack of any standards in the proposed change.

�If you were going to set up a company or a school system, don�t you want to have the blueprints for what you�re going to pay for?� she asked.

�I think that our founders had it right when they developed a checks and balances system,� Brooks added. �I don�t feel like, �Oh, keep the judges out of it.�??�

The 32-member commission, created in 2011, consists of 12 legislators and 20 public members. Two-thirds of the group must agree on a proposed change before sending it to the legislature, which then would decide whether to put the measure on the statewide ballot.

Readler, who successfully defended the constitutionality of Ohio�s charter schools in the state Supreme Court, said he welcomes public input into his committee�s work.



drowland@dispatch.com