Ohio State lobbyists at the Ohio General Assembly will need all the support they can get as the public school funding battle looms this month.A decision last March by the Ohio Supreme Court gives the legislature until Feb. 4 to decide how funds will be distributed to Ohio’s primary and secondary schools. The legislature is currently deciding whether to cut the state budget, which would directly affect OSU’s funding, or raise taxes.In the Ohio legislature, 21 out of 132 total members are OSU graduates.Ohio State legislative officials know which members are OSU alumni, but that’s not the most important factor when dealing with the legislators, said Colleen O’Brien, OSU director of state relations.OSU officials make an effort to educate the legislators about the scale and magnitude of the university. They do this by demonstrating how OSU affects the legislators’ constituents through the university’s extension programs, veterinary clinics, research and other programs, said Herb Asher, political science professor and former lobbyist. Four of the 33 Senators who make laws and allocate funding in the state have attended or received bachelor’s degree from OSU.The Senate also has another member with a strong OSU connection.Sen. Eugene J. Watts, R-Columbus, is the assistant president pro tempore for the Senate and an OSU associate professor of history.Of the 99 members of the House of Representatives, 17 attended OSU at some point, and 12 of them received bachelor’s degrees.Three representatives, William Batchelder, R-Medina; Otto Beatty Jr., D-Columbus; and Amy Salerno, R-Columbus, received their law degrees from the OSU College of Law.James R. Jordan, R-West Liberty, received his master’s degree from OSU, and Bill Taylor, R-Norwalk, received a doctorate of dental surgery.Ronald Mottl, 23, D-North Royalton, graduated from OSU in 1996 with a degree in political science. He was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives six months later.Legislators who are alumni of OSU have a sense of loyalty, he said.Mottl transferred to OSU after a year at Urbana College and has a deep love for OSU. He said he thinks OSU should get the higher education funding it needs so that everyone who attends OSU can have the same kind of experiences he had.Mottl believes there is a connection between legislators who are OSU alumni and during session he often pals around with members of the assembly who are former OSU students.Rep. James Jordan, 33, R-West Liberty, obtained a master’s degree in education from OSU while acting as an assistant coach for the Ohio State wrestling team from the fall of 1986 to the spring of 1995.Jordan enjoyed his time at OSU, especially working with student athletes. He said he has not seen a major distinction between those who attended OSU and those who didn’t when issues involving the OSU arise. Alumni status is not critical in issues in higher education, Jordan said.Salerno is the representative for the 23rd district, which includes the OSU campus area, and feels alumni push for issues dealing with higher education but not harder than for any other issue.How the OSU president interacts with and lobbies the legislature affects the support higher education issues receive in the general assembly, Salerno said. OSU alumni hold seats on the House and Senate education committees, which deal with funding for the state’s schools.Two of the nine members of the Senate education committee, Merle Grace Kearns, R-Springfield, and Richard P. Schafrath, R-Columbus, have attended OSU.On the House Education committee, two of the 21 members, Jordan and Charleta B. Tavares, D-Columbus, attended OSU.The Higher Education subcommittee has two OSU alumni, Priscilla D. Mead, R-Columbus, and Frank S. Sawyer, D-Butler, among its six members.