Ohio voters turn down 1-cent school tax.

• Position: Public school financing

Ohio legislators are pretty sure they've come up with a plan to meet court-ordered school financing reform. But that's up to the court to decide. Voters have already said they won't participate, turning down a penny sales tax hike to help pay for the plan.

The General Assembly passed legislation this spring mandating increased state spending for students, classroom materials and transportation, as well as setting tougher academic and financial standards. Operating expenses for those reforms are fully funded through 2001, according to most legislators and Governor George Voinovich, but the proposed 1-cent tax that would have provided some property tax relief was defeated in a May special election by an overwhelming 4-1 margin.

Lawmakers agreed that the defeat was a message from Ohioans that they didn't want a tax increase. The defeat was also credited to teacher groups that campaigned against the increase.

Senate President Richard Finan said educators who opposed the measure were hoping for a larger tax increase.

The tax hike was part of the legislature's response to a March 1997 state Supreme Court decision that the school funding formula was unconstitutional because of its dependence on property taxes, which creates a spending gap between rich and poor districts. The state also was...