Space wants national referendum on trade deals

Sept. 30, 2010, Chillicothe Gazette

BY JESSICA ALAIMO

CentralOhio.com

U.S. Rep. Zack Space, D-Dover, has waged a war against free-trade deals, blaming them for the mass exodus of Ohio jobs in recent years.

On Wednesday, Space took his campaign to the next level, submitting legislation that even he acknowledged as extreme. Before any new trade deal passes, Space said, there should be a national, up-or-down referendum.

Daniel Chow, a law professor at Ohio State University, laughed when he heard Space’s proposal.

Candidates discuss plans to boost state

Sept. 30, 2010, Lancaster Eagle Gazette

BY JESSICA ALAIMO

CentralOhio.com

NEWARK — As a Democratic candidate for governor, Ted Strickland promised to fix Ohio’s unconstitutional school funding formula.

“If I do not solve this problem if I am elected governor, then I will be a failure, no matter what else I achieve,” he told editorial boards for Gannett’s Central Ohio properties in September 2006.

Fast forward four years. Embroiled in a tough re-election battle, Gov. Strickland appeared in front of CentralOhio.com editors and reporters Wednesday, defending his education reforms and other policies.

Later in the day, his Republican opponent, former U.S. Rep. John Kasich, appeared in the same setting, arguing Strickland’s policies had failed and his own ideas could breathe life into Ohio’s troubled economy.

Who pays for pickups?

Sept. 26, 2010, Mansfield News Journal

BY JESSICA ALAIMO AND LINDA MARTZ

News Journal

MANSFIELD — Bucyrus taxpayers spent $412,214 last year to cover pension contributions that otherwise would have been paid by city employees.

Combined with the city’s mandatory employer contributions, 7.9 percent of all revenues go to the Public Employees Retirement System and the Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund.

Bucyrus is far from the exception. Often the result of long-standing contracts, many local entities “pick up” — or pay all or some of — their employees’ contributions to the retirement funds.

The practice has continued to grow.

In the past three years, the cities of Coshocton, Lancaster, Chillicothe, Heath and others all agreed to new or increased pickup plans, according to an analysis of public records by CentralOhio.com and the News Journal.

A free retirement

Sept. 26, 2010, Mansfield News Journal

SPECIAL REPORT BY JESSICA ALAIMO

CentralOhio.com

Some see it as a little known perk for public employees that's a growing burden for cash-strapped Ohio governments and schools.

Others, including public employee unions, say they're saving taxpayers money while shortchanging their own retirements.

The same can't be said for a select group of school officials – and a few school unions – that have negotiated deals that give them lucrative pensions without paying a penny for them.

Welcome to the world of Ohio's public pension plans, where confusing terms like “pick-ups” and “pickup-on-the-pickup” have nothing to do with trucks and more to do with decisions that can lead to free retirements.

Gibbs corrects finance reports after accusation

Aug. 31, 2010, Coshocton Tribune

BY JESSICA ALAIMO

CentralOhio.com

The campaign of 18th Congressional District candidate Bob Gibbs filed an amended campaign finance report Monday morning, shortly after his opponent accused him of accepting illegal contributions.

Gibbs, a Republican state senator from Lakeville, misreported some contributions for his primary campaign as general election donations, said campaign spokeswoman Emily Pettigrew.

Federal Election Commission rules allow candidates to accept $2,400 from each individual donor for each election, the primary and the general.

Schools’perk pads pensions

Sept. 26, 2010, Mansfield News Journal

BY JESSICA ALAIMO

CentralOhio.com

MANSFIELD — Many public school administrators pay nothing toward their own pensions. But the perk doesn’t stop there.

A lucrative deal allows 84 percent of Ohio superintendents to retire with a higher pension than they otherwise would have earned — all at additional taxpayer expense, according to an analysis of public records by CentralOhio.com and the News Journal.

About half of Ohio districts also give this benefit to other certified administrators, although it’s far less common for other school employees — only 29 of Ohio’s 613 school districts statewide give the perk to teachers or classified staff. Four of those districts are in the Mansfield area.

The practice is officially called “pickup-on-the-pickup.” School districts pay the employee share of the individuals’ retirement contribution, and then consider it extra salary for pension purposes at a total cost of 26.4 percent of the employee’s salary.

Only 14 percent of that cost is mandatory. While practiced widely at many schools, this method has received virtually no attention on the state level. Many close to the public pension system process are unfamiliar with the practice, and apparently has never been the focus of statewide legislation.

It is only offered in the pension funds for school employees. Ohio’s other three retirement decline to participate.

School budgets face uncertain future

Aug. 22, 2010, Fremont News-Messenger

BY JESSICA ALAIMO

Special to the News-Messenger

Like many educators across the state, those at Elgin Local Schools are returning to school with a certain uneasiness.

The district barely averted layoffs this year, and officials do not know what kinds of cuts the state will make to education in the next two years or how local revenue might change.

“It’s really scary,” Superintendent Bruce Gast said. “This district has been through so many cuts. We’re being as cautious as we can, and then more cautious. ... All our employees understand there is uncertainty.”

By October, every school treasurer must submit a five-year forecast to the Ohio Department of Education, estimating revenues and expenditures through 2015. While they submit only one plan, the education department advises districts to plan for three scenarios — steady, bad and catastrophic.

Many treasurers contend they might as well use a Magic 8 Ball to answer the following questions when compiling their forecasts: