Enquirer Columbus Bureau
COLUMBUS -- The campaign to raise the state sales tax for schools and homeowners had to modify its latest TV commercial after learning that it included copyrighted footage from a PBS documentary.
A spokesman for the campaign said the footage was used accidentally and replaced promptly.
Documentary producer Jeffrey Hayden, however, said he has repeatedly asked a campaign official to stop using his film but the campaign only complied when he threatened legal action.
Released in 1996, the documentary used Ohio as an example of the funding and facility problems that plague many U.S. public schools. Gov. George Voinovich and other GOP leaders have been critical of the show, although Mr. Voinovich said he did not see it. Cliff Treyens, a spokesman for the Every Child Counts committee, said TV stations are receiving new versions of the ad, the sixth in a series of commercials to promote State Issues 1 and 2.
Issue 2 asks voters to raise the state sales tax from 5 cents on the dollar to 6. The $1.1 billion dollars raised annually would be evenly divided between schools and property tax relief for homeowners. The plan is the final component in a package of bills passed to meet a court-ordered overhaul of the way public schools are funded. Many educators have lined up in opposition to Issue 2, saying it unfairly shortchanges some of the poorest schools and does not constitute the "overhaul" demanded by the court.
Supporters say it is a good first step.
Issue 1, however, has little opposition. It allows the state to issue bonds more cheaply for school construction projects.
