Gov. Bob Taft proposed expanding the state鈥檚 voucher program beyond Cleveland in the budget he released Feb. 10.
In his State of the State Address a day earlier, Mr. Taft, a Republican, noted that his budget would 鈥渋nclude new choices for students trapped in persistently failing schools.鈥�
His two-year education budget for the 2006 and 2007 fiscal years recommends $6.9 billion in general fund spending for K-12 schools for fiscal 2006, up just over 2 percent from the current year.
The budget also recommends spending $9 million to offer new vouchers worth up to $3,500 to 2,600 public school students in schools outside Cleveland with low test scores.
Read the text of Gov. Taft鈥檚 . ()
Currently, some 4,000 students in Cleveland receive vouchers worth up to $2,700 to attend private secular or parochial schools.
Mr. Taft also said he wanted to establish a statewide education partnership to 鈥渆ngage educators, employers, and legislators in building a continuous learning system for students, preschool through college.鈥�
That partnership would take on three tasks: align high school graduation requirements with college-readiness standards, increase the number of high school students who take a rigorous curriculum, and create incentives for colleges and universities to improve their graduation rates.
鈥淓nrolling students is not enough,鈥� Mr. Taft said. 鈥淲e must do more to help them graduate.鈥�
