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The really unusual part happened inside, after the meaty 65-minute talk.

Bill Phillis actually was happy.

"This has been the first ray of hope that we've had since March 24, 1997, when the Supreme Court ordered the state to fix the system, and the state never has," he said.

But let's just say that warm glow didn't extend to numerous critics who wonder how Strickland is going to pay for it all -- both this year and especially in two years, when the federal economic-stimulus money is gone.

To many Statehouse types, Phillis, a 71-year-old former assistant state superintendent, has become a pain in the posterior over the years, mainly because he's seemingly never satisfied with what the legislature or administration does on school funding.