State lawmakers have been working to find ways to trim $800 million in spending from the next two-year budget. And that’s one reason why a $5 million allocation to a new program at Ohio State University has gotten some attention. Another is it came from the House Speaker.
The money would launch a leadership institute at Ohio State’s John Glenn College of Public Affairs, aimed at teaching local and state elected officials about budgeting, dealing with state government and other matters. It was added to the budget by House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger (R-Clarksville), who is term limited at the end of next year. “This has been in discussions for over a year," Rosenberger said. "And let me just also quell – I am not looking, nor have I ever had an opportunity to say that I’m going to run that in the future. This is solely an opportunity to get something started.”
Rosenberger said the funding isn’t recurring, and there is also a dollar for dollar match with the private sector.
