Support for the statewide broadcast of the state of Ohio comes from medical mutuel, providing more than 1.4 million Ohioans peace of mind with a selection of health insurance plans online at med mutual dot com slash Ohio by the law offices of Porter Wright, Morris and Arthur LLP.

Now with eight locations across the country, Porter Wright is a legal partner with a new perspective to the business community.

More at Porter Wright dot com and from the Ohio Education Association representing 124,000 members who work to inspire their students to think creatively and experience the joy of learning online.

At OHEA.org School's out for summer, and for some teachers it's out forever.

Educators talk about why they're leaving the classroom for good and an early happy new fiscal year discussion with the head of the state budget office.

That's all this week in the state of Ohio.

Welcome to the state of Ohio.

I'm Karen Kasler.

First, a note to start this week's show.

There are several U.S. Supreme Court decisions that will definitely have an impact in Ohio, including the ruling overturning the landmark decision legalizing abortion.

Which happened just as the show was being finalized on Friday, as well as Thursday's decision striking down a New York law requiring people to show proper cost to get concealed carry licenses as a violation of the Second Amendment.

We'll have more on what those decisions will mean in Ohio next week.

The last few years have been chaotic for education Ohio was the first state to close schools for COVID, and teachers and school staff were moved to the front of the vaccine line so schools could reopen in March.

20, 21.

A timeline teachers unions called unrealistic.

And at the same time, there have been bills by Republican state lawmakers to ban what they've called critical race theory and so-called divisive concepts, implying that exploring racism and public policy from slavery to redlining to Jim Crow laws to gaps in wealth and health by race is racist and attempts to indoctrinate impressionable children.

And as parents grapple with the deaths of children and 27 school shootings in the US so far just this year, including 19 children and two teachers gunned down at an elementary school and you've already Texas a month ago a law was just signed that allows Ohio's school districts to permit teachers to arm themselves in class with no more than 24 hours of required training.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says more than 300,000 people have left teaching since just before the pandemic started in February.

2020 and fewer are coming into the profession.

And the exodus of teachers like that of school bus drivers and school nurses could continue.

More than half of K-through-12 teachers surveyed by Gallup recently said they're burnt out and many are saying they may find different work.

State House correspondent Joe Ingles has more on this story.

It's the end of the school year, one unlike any other, and a lot of teachers are unsure if they ever want to return to the classroom.

Some want this year just with how stressful it's been.

I decided to leave the profession for good.

Andrew Marx left for a more lucrative job in instructional design.

He says the biggest frustration has been not earning enough money to pay his bills.

I think a lot of teachers come in that first year and I think I did as well, kind of, you know, with the hope that you get in and you want to change the world.

It's kind of that first year teacher mindset.

And I was kind of the same way.

And then you realize just how much pushback you get on a lot of that, number one.

The number one reason I'm leaving, if I'm being honest, is the wages, the compensation, especially with getting a four year degree in.

I'm $40,000 in debt at the current salary rate.

I'm at the current salary schedule.

I would almost never be able to pay back my student loans with interest.

So moving over to a another profession that pays me enough to pay off my student loans, I live I live with my fiancee.

I have two incomes, but I still we're still struggling to kind of make ends meet times and pay car payments and to pay rent.

And especially now with rising prices and inflation, I just realized I could not keep up with these wages if I wanted to live the life I want to live by a house of a child.

Other teachers say they're burnt out from stress.

We literally just carry the entire world on our shoulders, Kelly says.

Like most teachers, she's been dealing with learning loss and difficulties posed by the pandemic Concerns about safety and mental well-being of her students and more.

Add to that controversial bills sponsored by Republican lawmakers that limit what and how teachers can teach or put more demands on them, such as the possibility of being armed in school.

It seems just with what's going on down at the statehouse, not just in Ohio, but across the nation, and seeing other states fall prey to these to these bills, that are are being put in place, are being created by people who know nothing about public education and it's just it's very alarming.

And you know, what else what else are they going to throw at us?

And what else are we going to have to overcome?

The top teacher in the nation is worried to Oberlin High School history teacher Kurt Russell, the 2022 National Teacher of the Year says while his diverse school supports him, he talks to other teachers and he knows they aren't getting the same respect Educators should be the experts in the classroom, and we have put time and investment into our craft, which teaching is a craft and that we should be respected in that manner.

And if there's anyone who knows students more, it has to be teachers.

The state's largest teachers union says a crisis could be coming.

They found 90% of their members are feeling burnt out and questioning whether they want to go back in the classroom.

This fall.

It's a combination of things.

It's some of it is COVID related.

So you have just really pressures in the workplace whenever you have, you know, outbreaks of the virus and large numbers of students who are absent.

Large numbers of staff members who are absent substitutes, shortages and all of the things that that does in terms of creating pressure on teachers.

Then you have the equity issues that have been brewing for a long time.

But but even more so, now, where classroom teachers are just feeling like there's so much on their plates.

The need for mental health support for students and for themselves and their colleagues and just not having the resources, not having enough nurses or counselors or social workers to do that.

And then layer on top of that, these political attacks, you know, where, you know, teachers fundamentally are most satisfied in doing their job when they're given the autonomy to do what they were trained to do and they care deeply about the success of their kids.

But when there are people either in the community or, you know, politicians at the national level, or in the news media or on their school boards at times, you know, who are questioning their motives and questioning their intent and putting up barriers and wedges that drive distrust between families and schools.

Melissa Cropper with the other teachers union, the Ohio Federation of Teachers says teachers are bearing the brunt of a lot of public frustration.

We hear stories of parents showing up on board meetings, complaining about things like legislators blaming teachers for low test scores as just one thing after another.

That piles up where teachers just feel like there's not a level of respect for what they do.

So what does that do to the teaching profession?

Long term?

I'm very concerned long term about what's going to happen to the profession.

We're already seeing that fewer, fewer people are in the teaching profession.

Unfortunately, I think we have fewer and fewer teachers recommending the students to enter the profession.

So that means they'll We're already experience shortages.

And that that gap, that that gap is going to continue to grow if we don't do something to change how we're how we're dealing with this.

And it's not just teachers thinking about leaving.

300,000 teachers and staff who were in school at the start of the pandemic have quit a 3% drop in the workforce, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Teacher of the Year, Kurt Russell says that shows change is definitely needed.

And now I think respect is on several levels.

The first level, once again, as I mentioned, in regards to policies.

Right.

I think teachers should be at the table dealing with educational policies that affect students.

Number two is pay as well.

I think teachers deserve no compensation for all of the work that they are putting into the classroom.

And then finally, I believe that teachers deserve to be valued and that value across many different parameters, value in terms of making sure that teachers receive resources to do his or her job effectively.

But right now, some Ohio teachers who are worn down from the pandemic political battles and understaffing say it's tempting to make this summer break a permanent one.

Joe Ingles, Statehouse News Bureau.

The state's three and a half billion dollar capital budget was signed recently, sending millions of dollars all over Ohio for infrastructure and other projects.

And the state is about to celebrate the new fiscal year.

And what some might consider a surprisingly good shape when compared to a $2.4 billion budget deficit and hundreds of millions of dollars in state budget cuts.

Almost exactly two years ago.

This week, I talked with Kim Nix, the director of the Office of Budget and Management.

So let's talk first about the three and a half billion dollar capital budget.

There are some things that are different this time, and the big one being that of the $2.8 billion that could be bonded, the state will be paying some or all that in cash.

Why is that a good idea?

Well, Karen, it's just like if you were buying a new home and you were able to buy cash instead of entering into a mortgage and paying interest That's, of course, the smart thing to do.

Unlike most new homeowners, the state of Ohio has typically not been in a position to be able to pay cash for our capital improvements budget.

But because our revenue situation has dramatically improved the past couple of years, we are able to do that.

And so the administration, Governor DeWine, worked with the leaders of the General Assembly and came up with with a plan that allows us to use at least a portion of the cash balance in the general fund to fund the capital budget.

And then as this two year capital cycle goes on, if we continue to be in a strong financial position, we are able to do even more up to that $2.8 billion amount.

Then we will continue to just work with General Assembly to to work towards that goal.

Where is that money come from?

Is that all federal COVID relief dollars and other dollars that have come in from the federal government?

Where's all that money coming from?

It's actually from our traditional sales and income tax revenues largely.

So throughout the past couple of years, as we have researched post pandemic, we have seen month after month, month of continued revenues exceeding our budgeted estimates.

And some of that we know is still one time result of, you know, changes that happen during the pandemic, people moving away from purchasing services and buying more taxable goods has really led to increased sales taxes.

The very strong stock market during calendar year 21 resulted in additional personal income tax receipts this year.

So as we look to good ways to utilize what you know, largely is probably some one time general fund revenues using those to fund our capital improvements instead of incurring interest seems like a great deal for the taxpayers of Ohio.

The capital budget includes $100 million in school safety grants.

$50 million for local jails, a little over $191 million in community projects, including $2.4 million for the Lima Community Pool.

That's notable because of the large dollar amount there, but also because both Senate President Matt Hoffman and House Speaker Bob Copper from Lima.

I think a lot of people, though, when they look at the capital budget, are looking specifically at the $1.1 billion that's going to go to Intel.

Some of that has a clawback provision.

What does that mean for the state?

Is that simply just if Intel doesn't deliver them, the state gets to pull back some of those tax incentives if Intel does not deliver, then then you have some of that those grants, those on shoring grants that were included in the capital budget.

But, you know, they're not part of the traditional capital investment of the state.

But those do have provisions that if Intel doesn't deliver on their job creation in their investment, then then that can be clawed back by the state.

We in you know, we anticipate that Intel will make good on their their their investments they for the, you know, one just over $1,000,000,000 that the state is investing into the project.

Intel will invest at least $20 billion just in the capital portion.

And it's going to create thousands of jobs both in the construction of their facilities and ongoing.

It really is and that's just the first couple of phases which as you know this Intel's intent is for it to be a long term.

You know perhaps the biggest chip manufacturing facility, you know on the in the globe.

So so that is it's transformational for Ohio And our investment is definitely going to see, you know, returns very high returns on that investment for the taxpayers of Ohio.

You've referenced a couple of times the idea of one time money and federal money that's being used in the capital budget.

Does that set the state up for a financial cliff in the future?

We've had issues in the past where one time money was used for something that turned out to be a long term project that needed to be backfilled later.

So, Karen, we have been very careful both with our federal dollars and with what we see as some of this one time general revenue fund coming in to make sure that we are not creating new ongoing programs, we're not hiring new state staff, we are not creating new bureaucracy that will continue beyond we're looking to invest in one time spending that will have long term effects like water and wastewater investments like the governor's program for the 32 county Appalachian region, which was recently passed with dollars.

Yes, yes.

$500 million for really transformational investments in those communities that will have lasting effects but not create new, ongoing, you know, responsibilities into the future.

It's really, you know, investing in those things that have a return beyond the time of the spending.

One, there are always people that have ideas on how extra money could be spent.

And there is a lot of money, $2 billion in the rainy day fund, people who have ideas on how that money should be spent.

But the state's food banks have now been weighing in, say they really need extra funding to deal with some of the effects of the pandemic, specifically on low income Ohioans.

Is there a possibility that more money could be headed to Ohio's food banks from the rainy day fund or from somewhere else?

We will continue to work with the General Assembly.

The governor has worked really in coordination with the the leaders in the House and the Senate throughout the past two years as we've made smart decisions about how to utilize all of our resources, both federal and state and we have invested in food banks in those programs that are helpful to Ohioans and will continue to have an ongoing dialog with the General Assembly, which, you know, there they are, the appropriators of our budget, and we will continue to to see how we can.

Again, utilize these dollars to those investments that really have a lasting impact.

Turning to the two year state budget, which we are getting ready to start the second year of that, the financial picture you've hinted at is really positive.

Two years ago, the state was facing a two and a half billion dollar budget deficit.

The effect of the pandemic could last for years.

You even it said at that time.

How did things change?

How did they turn around?

I believe that part of the turnaround that we are seeing in Ohio is because we made very conservative and immediate decisions early in the pandemic to control our costs, to control state government spending, and to surge resources that we receive from the federal government to respond to the pandemic, not to prop up state government bureaucracy, but to invest back in our communities.

So investments in our universities and our schools and those businesses that had been most impacted.

That was key to ensuring that Ohio could turn around quickly.

And I think we've seen that.

We also use those onetime dollars to invest back into our communities.

We we were one of the states that fully shared our Cares Act coronavirus relief dollars with our local government.

So so funds went to every county, every city, every village and township throughout the state so that they could respond directly to the to the needs of the citizens.

And I think that that has really fueled Ohio's turnaround in the initial impact of the pandemic.

There were hundreds of million dollars in budget cuts to various organizations and groups, and there was a staffing freeze and all this.

Then you feel that helped pay off here?

It did.

It did, because we were able to control state government expenditures while again surging those one time federal resources to fill the gaps and meet the needs of Ohioans during what was a very unpredictable time.

And now we are specifically the auto non g. I'm sorry.

Let's try that again.

Now, specifically graph non auto sales and use tax collections.

That's basic taxes.

Plus auto sales were 7% above estimates, just specifically in numbers.

Income tax collections have exceeded estimates every month of this year.

So there are some really positive signs here.

And when you look at something called the Back to Normal Index that you also track, Ohio is doing better than the national average and getting the state back to where it was before the pandemic.

But there are people who might be looking at their own personal lives and saying that's not how it feels.

When you look at inflation and specifically gas prices, it doesn't feel like we're back to normal.

How do you square those those two numbers where people are saying this feels one way, but your indexes and your numbers say something else?

That is a a result that we are seeing nationwide lead.

And it's something that is a concern.

Inflation is a concern.

And every home and every every community.

And that is that's why it's important that we utilize our one time resources to to meet the needs of our communities and all Ohioans in a way that we can continue to recover.

You know, 11 very positive sign is Ohio's labor market.

Our unemployment rate is down to 3.9%.

That is low is that we've only seen a couple of times in Ohio history.

If we're going down to below June of 2001.

Past that point.

So yeah a long time and we have more than 250,000 jobs available in Ohio means jobs.

So while it is still there's still a lot of uncertainty especially when you look at the national economy and we are we are ensuring that Ohio is prepared for that uncertainty.

You talk about the unemployment rate and again very very low lower than it's been in decades.

Does that explain the labor shortage that we're seeing or are there other factors involved?

For instance, are there some industries that are handling people's demand for better wages and better benefits better than other industries?

You know, Karen, I think that there is a lot of variation in the labor market.

But what what I think is positive is Ohio's economy.

Has become more and more diversified over the last really the last decade and even prior.

We have a lot of businesses high tech industries moving into Ohio.

We have in-demand jobs and we have invested into our citizens and our workforce training so that Ohioans are ready for those in-demand jobs.

And so as we continue to recover, as we continue to look forward, Ohio really is poised to continue to be a leader and to really kind of be a global leader in the in the new economy of the future.

And finally, the forecast for the second quarter of the 2022 calendar year is for moderate growth from most forecasters.

But there are still fears of recession.

So what does the state of Ohio think's going to happen in the next year and the next quarter here?

Well, you know, if you ask a couple of economists what's going to happen, you'll probably get at least ten different answers.

And and the fact is the economic models that have existed and been fine tuned over the years, none of them fit what we've seen in the last couple of years.

And and we all know that.

And it is unchartered territory that we continue to be in.

What we can do is be prepared, maintain a strong reserve in our budget maintain a an outlook where we ensure that we are not resetting a baseline of spending above where the baseline really will be.

Once we see kind of these peaks and valleys as we move forward, we know that the business cycle will continue to affect our revenues.

It will continue to affect every Ohioan.

And, you know, the best thing we can do is continue to invest in all of Ohio, in our communities and in the growth long term so that we can be a leader.

And we've done that.

The first.

DeWine, you said budget invested in in-demand jobs, created programs like tech cred, invested in our universities and in those high tech fields, so that we are poised to really move ahead of the pack as we all go through these uncertain times and the rainy day fund is maxed.

There's no more money going into the rainy day fund.

That money, if there's surplus, it is spent at this point in time.

The rainy day fund is at over $2.7 billion.

And we also, as as we've talked about, have a strong balance in the state's general fund as well.

So you know, we have a strong backup.

Should there be a, you know, future uncertainty on the on the overall national economy?

And that's it for this week.

My colleagues at the Statehouse News Bureau of Ohio Public Radio and Television, thanks for watching.

Please check out our Web site at State News dot org and follow us and the show on Facebook and Twitter.

And please join us again next time for the state of Ohio.

Support for the statewide broadcast of the state of Ohio comes from medical mutuel, providing more than 1.4 million Ohioans peace of mind with a selection of health insurance plans online at med mutual dot com slash Ohio by the law offices of Porter Right, Morris and Arthur LLP.

Now with eight locations across the country, Porter Right is a legal partner with a new perspective to the business community.

More at Porter right dot com and from the Ohio Education Association representing 124,000 members who work to inspire their students to think creatively and experience the joy of learning online at OHEA.org.