Ohio Slots Ruling Casts Pall Over K-12 Funding

Ohio officials are weighing their next move after the Ohio Supreme Court dealt a huge blow to Gov. Ted Strickland, the legislature, and public school advocates by ruling that the legalization of slot-like machines at horse-racing tracks is subject to a statewide referendum.

The ruling yesterday zapped—at least temporarily—about $850 million from the state’s fiscal 2010-2011 two-year budget, money that was to pay for K-12 education.

When the legislature approved the state budget in July, it plugged a deficit by cutting $2 billion from its spending plan and by adding projected revenue from new video-lottery terminals, similar to slot machines, that were set to appear later this year at the...