Highland Local School District Treasurer Neil Barnes told the board that state legislators voted to return  more than  half of state aid that the district had expected to lose by June 30. At the May school board meeting, Superintendent Catherine Aukerman reported Highland lost nearly 19 percent of its state funding  when Ohio’s education budget was cut by  $355 million. Since then, state legislators passed and Gov. Mike DeWine signed House Bill 164, Barnes said, “which actually returned some of that initial cut of $913,000 to us. We [Read More]

These are extraordinary times and I hope you and your family are keeping healthy, safe and in good spirits. As you know, Governor DeWine has issued a State of Emergency to respond to COVID-19 on March 9, 2020. A declaration of emergency was necessary – allowing the state government to access federal funds and to quickly purchase necessary medical equipment without the usual bidding process. As you are also aware, the Department of Health Director, Dr. Amy Acton along with the Governor, have issued a “Stay at Home [Read More]

Republican Ohio Senator Matt Dolan says it's time for Ohio to address the issue of gun violence in the state and believes his bill does exactly that. Image: Marcin Wichary "This bill addresses what the citizens of Ohio want us to address. We need to curb gun violence in our streets, we need to stop these mass shootings and we need to address that the majority of gun violence is suicide and this bill gives them help," he said. Senate Bill 221, which has the support of [Read More]

CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio -- The “STRONG Ohio” initiative to reduce gun violence is a meaningful response to Ohioans who demanded we “do something” about the all-too-frequent gun violence on our streets and in our homes, and to horrific events such as the mass shooting in Dayton. I agreed to be the sponsor of Gov. Mike DeWine’s gun reform bill because it is constitutional, effective and, most importantly, will save lives. AP Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, center, greets Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, left, before speaking at a news conference Monday, Oct. [Read More]

After hitting several speedbumps along the way, the state's transportation budget is finally on the road to Gov. Mike DeWine's desk, fueled by a significant hike in gasoline and diesel taxes. Adoption of the $8.5 billion transportation budget (HB 62) comes two days after the March 31 deadline. Leaders of both chambers worked behind the scenes to reach a compromise on the size of a gas tax increase. They ultimately settled on 10.5 cents per gallon, bringing the total to 38.5 cents. That figure is closer to the House-passed [Read More]

COLUMBUS—Senate President Larry Obhof (R-Medina) announced today that he will appoint Senator Matt Dolan (R-Chagrin Falls) as Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, the panel responsible for managing Ohio’s biennial state budget bill. “Matt brings an extensive and diverse knowledge of financial matters to the Statehouse from his experiences in both the public and private sectors,” said Obhof. “I value his commitment to an open and thorough review and debate of the state’s operating budget, one of the most complex and important pieces of legislation we will consider throughout [Read More]