Gov. Kasich signs bill at Buckeye Boys State

6/12/2014
BY TOM TROY
BLADE POLITICS WRITER
Surrounded by local school and public officials, including J. Robert Sebo, left, and BGSU President Mary Ellen Mazey, center left, Gov. John Kasich signs House Bill 484, a piece of educational legislation, before a group of hundreds of this year's Buckeye Boys State attendees at Bowling Green State University.
Surrounded by local school and public officials, including J. Robert Sebo, left, and BGSU President Mary Ellen Mazey, center left, Gov. John Kasich signs House Bill 484, a piece of educational legislation, before a group of hundreds of this year's Buckeye Boys State attendees at Bowling Green State University.

BOWLING GREEN — Gov. John Kasich greeted 1,200 high school seniors attending this year‘‍s annual Buckeye Boys State today. 

During the event held at the Bowling Green State University Stroh Center, Gov. Kasich signed a bill changing the funding formula for higher education that he says is the first in the country. The bill links university and college funding with student graduation and course completion instead of enrollment.

“We’‍re no longer going to give them money just because a kid comes in the door,” Gov. Kasich said. “We have all the incentives in higher education to get a degree or complete courses.“

The governor told a familiar story about his own experience as a college freshman at Ohio State University when he asked for and got, to his parents amazement, an oval office meeting with the president at the time, Richard Nixon, although Gov. Kasich didn‘‍t mention the president’‍s name in his anecdote.

The governor was joined on stage by BGSU president Mary Ellen Mazey, members of the BGSU board of trustees, some lawmakers and representatives of the Ohio Board of Regents. He encouraged students to listen to their hearts.

”If you think about the fact that you were made special for a special purpose, you can figure out what that special purpose is,“ Mr. Kasich said.

While he was signing the bill, he challenged the boys state band to provide some music, so they struck up with ”Hang on Sloopy,“ the official rock song of Ohio.

Buckeye Boys State, which is a national program sponsored by the Ohio American Legion, is an eight-day hands-on experience that teaches high school seniors about the operation of Ohio government and the organization of political parties.