COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A member of Ohio’s state schoolboard resigned Monday after questions
arose over his work as a lobbyist.He cited an ethics opinion suggesting the arrangement was
illegal.BryanWilliams, a former Republican state lawmaker from the Akron area, saidin an email to board
President Debe Terhar that recent media reportsdrew his attention to an Ohio Ethics Commission opinion
saying electedmembers of state boards shouldn’t be registered lobbyists."Adherenceto Ohio ethics
laws and advisory opinions of the commission chargedwith interpreting state ethics laws is of the utmost
importance to me,"he wrote.Williams was one of four members of the 19-member panelidentified in a
November report by the Akron Beacon Journal as havingties to businesses with a stake in education
funding. One other member,C. Todd Jones, is a registered lobbyist. The others are the spouse of
alobbyist and a college president.A message seeking comment from Williams was not immediately
returned.Williamsis a lobbyist for the Associated Builders and Contractors of Ohio, agroup of non-union
contractors. According to state lobbying records, hehad pushed recently for a bill establishing a state
apprenticeshipprogram open to contractors that calls for public school districts topay the related
costs. The bill, introduced in May, has not yet clearedthe Legislature.Republican Gov. John Kasich had
appointedWilliams to a vacant elected spot on the state board in 2011. The ethicsconflict arose when he
successfully ran this year to keep the seat,becoming elected rather than appointed.Jones said the
opiniondoesn’t apply to him, as an appointed board member. He said he alsodoesn’t believe his work for
the Association of Independent Colleges andUniversities of Ohio actually constitutes lobbying. The
EthicsCommission has received a request to review Jones’ situation."My behavior doesn’t fit,"
he said. "I’m not doing anything that acts in conflict."Withquestions swirling, Jones said he
intends to amend his legislativeethics forms to remove an incidence of lobbying that he had
previouslylisted. He said he overreports such activity "out of an abundance ofcaution," but
does not believe he has any conflicts of interest when itcomes to his state board work.Terhar said she
sees no reason for Jones to follow Williams’ lead and leave the board."It doesn’t appear to be the
same thing at all," she said.Joneschairs the board’s powerful Achievement Committee, which is
embroiledin a disagreement over revisions to Ohio’s standards for identifying andeducating gifted
students.The standards will dictate how morethan $85 million in state gifted funding is allocated. That
includeswhether some of it goes to college-level programs, such aspost-secondary and dual enrollment
options offered by memberinstitutions in Jones’ association, among others. Jones said herepresents the
association, not the individual institutions, and theassociation doesn’t have any contractual interests
with the state.Terharsaid she has pulled discussion of the standards from the agenda of aschool board
meeting scheduled for Tuesday. She said she wants to sortout the effects of a governor’s line-item veto
of gifted fundingmandates contained in the budget. She said she has contacted OhioAttorney General Mike
DeWine’s office to consult with the board.OhioHouse Finance Committee Chairman Ron Amstutz wrote a
letter to Terharin October raising concerns over the draft rules, saying the Legislatureintended the
money in the budget to go to identifying gifted studentsand paying gifted coordinators and intervention
specialists."Weare relying on the State Board of Education to ensure that alladministrative rules,
procedures and policies demonstrate bothaccountability and transparency and reflect the legislative
intent thatgifted students are afforded quality education opportunities through thestate," he
wrote.Terhar said she’d like the disagreement resolved as soon as possible."Wereally do need to get
this into the process, and get these rules readyfor people so that districts know what they have to do.
That’s our job,"she said. "But I can’t do that absent the facts, and each side hastheir
‘facts’ and we have to sort through those. There’s also a lot ofemotion that goes with this issue, and
we have to sort through that,too."Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rightsreserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten orredistributed.