School talks

He doesn't plan to lock anyone in a room until they come up with a plan - as he said about school funding during the campaign - but Gov. Ted Strickland is ready to discuss education. It's about time. Ohio's first-term Democratic governor campaigned on the issue, but has waited well into his second year to begin addressing it.

School officials might be optimistic the conversation is going to begin. With Ohio being in the final phase of eliminating the property taxes on businesses that have funded public education, school officials want to know what the governor is thinking. After all, voters continue saying no to new levy requests and, given the economy, renewal requests might be iffy - levies being about the only form of taxation people control themselves.

Strickland plans 12 statewide meetings to discuss education reform. The first meeting will begin at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in Columbus. You can watch it online at www.ConversationOnEducation.org. He'll have one of the 90-minutes meetings Aug. 15 in Lima.

One thing to watch for is who's there and who's talking. One fear is that Strickland's "discussion" will be among only those most inclined to agree with his vision. The Conversation on Education Web site says parents, students, teachers, school administrators, school board members, business and community leaders, and "education advocates" will be part of the discussion.

But, if Strickland for now only talks to those most likely to agree with him, he's likely to run into strong opposition in the Legislature, where those who want reforms some "education advocates" oppose will find lawmakers to hear them. Strickland need only consider the state's EdChoice voucher program, which he tried to write out of his first state budget, but which Republicans put right back in.

Strickland certainly isn't going to reissue invitations for Tuesday's event or the one Wednesday in Akron, but he's holding these through mid-September. At some point, he's going to face things that require negotiation and compromise. The governor should do it sooner rather the later when it surely would come.