Record of Accomplishments on the State Board of Education

By Melanie Bates

Highlights of Melanie Bates' record as an advocate for fiscal responsibility, urbhan schools and vocational education.

Melanie Bates currently serves as the Chair of the State Board's Fiscal Accountability Committee. In this leadership role, she successfully led the State Board in a joint venture with the Office of the State Auditor's office in the adoption of rules of the Ohio Administrative Code regarding the Budget Reserve Fund, the Capital Improvement and Maintenance Fund, the Certification of Adequate Revenues, and the definition of Textbooks and Instructional Materials.

State Board Member Bates was instrumental in the formation of Ohio's Urban Initiative. As a parent of three children in the Cincinnati Public Schools, she was acutely aware of the problems resulting from pervasive poverty and deteriorating school facilities. In 1995, Ms. Bates met with key legislators to develop a plan to organize and support the twenty-one urban districts, who educate a full 25% of Ohio's students, to find solutions focusing on both the strengths and needs of the urban student.

As a direct result of the efforts of the Ohio Urban Initiative, state funding for all-day kindergarten is now available for urban schools. Smaller class size is another successful reform effort currently being implemented.

Melanie Bates was very concerned with anticipated cuts in the latest state budget in the area of Vocational Education, a program with highly successful results. She worked with legislators, educators, and State Board members to develop a correction to the funding formula to avoid devastating cuts in student slots and special education funding in vocational programs. This work was adopted in H.B. 770 this spring, and Ohio students now continue to have the opportunity to choose a vocational education in our schools.