Top reasons to take power out of the hands of the politicians

in

Or why the Voters First initiative is so important

  1. Ohio’s new Congressional Districts now look like they were drawn using an Etch-A-Sketch.
  2. Ohio’s new 9th Congressional District is so narrow that with a good long jump you could leap right over it — from the 4th District, right in to Lake Erie.
  3. The mapmakers put The Ohio State University and Ohio University in the same Congressional District instead of the NCAA Elite 8.
  4. Tax-payers had to foot the bill for a fancy hotel room[1] — the politicians called “The Bunker” — so the mapmakers could have more privacy to gerrymander Ohio’s new Congressional and State Legislative districts.[2]
  5. The mapmakers came up with a brand new criteria for redistricting called, ‘Save Our Politicians Millions in Future Campaign Spending.’ [3]
  6. Partisan operatives got $150,000 to help draw the maps.[4] Ohio’s voters got the shaft.
  7. Mapmakers ignored public input and protected their own political interests. Their efforts made a mockery of public redistricting hearings held across the state.
  8. Congressional districts were rigged so that most U.S. Representatives were selected during the Primary, robbing millions of General Election voters of a voice. [5]

To find out more, please visit Voters First Ohio.

[1] Map-makers worked in Room 601 of the Double Tree Guest Suites, The Elephant in the Room, Appendix p. 31-34

[2] Apportionment Board Secretary Ray DiRossi’s August 16, 2011 email at 9:53am noted, “I’m free all day today at the Bunker,” The Elephant in the Room, Appendix p. 35

[3] Ohio House Speaker’s Chief of Staff Troy Judy provided Ray DiRossi with an analysis which ranked the top Ohio House Districts for the amount of in-kind campaign support provide by the Republican Party or caucuses. DiRoss replied, “But we have made significant improvements to many HD on this list. Hopefully, saving millions over the coming years,” The Elephant in the Room, Appendix 106-107.

[4] Both Apportionment Board Secretaries received contracts for $75,000 for map-making. Each received an additional $30,000 for their work during litigation, Elephant in the Room, Appendix pp. 41-46.

[5] Partisan indexing based on the results of the following statewide races: 2008 – President, 2010 – Governor, Auditor, and Secretary of State project no highly or heavily competitive Congressional races in 2012.

Mitt Romney - Mr. Corporate Ed

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Yesterday, Republican Presidential hopeful, Mitt Romney gave one of his first speeches of the campaign on education, while releasing a policy booklet on the subject titled, "A Chance for Every Child.

The Washington Post has this analysis of his proposed policies

“A Chance For Every Child” is the name of the education program that the presumptive Republican presidential candidate spelled out in a speech and then a white paper released on Wednesday.

Romney is advancing a pro-choice, pro-voucher, pro-states-rights education program that seems certain to hasten the privatization of the public education system.

In a Romney-run education world, the parents of poor and special education students would choose a school — public or private, based on standardized test scores and other data — and then a specific amount of public money would follow the child to the school.

It’s a voucher system that would, among other things, require families of the neediest children to constantly shop around for schools in an unstable market and would likely exacerbate the very thing — a chronic achievement gap — all of this is supposedly intended to fix. Obama opposes vouchers.

Romney’s education vision is based on an ideology that demonizes unions and views the market as the driver of education reform. His program is not based on quality research or best practices; indeed, it doesn't mention the one reform that has been shown over years to be effective, early childhood education.

NEA President Dennis Van Roekel went even further, in pointing out that...

“If you liked President George W. Bush’s education legacy, you’re going to love Mitt Romney’s education vision for America if he’s elected president,” said NEA President Dennis Van Roekel. “Not only did he recycle many of the key education players from the Bush administration but he’s also pursuing some of the failed policies that hurt students and schools.”

Romney’s education plan outlined today during his speech demonstrates a complete disdain for public schools and educators. His speech lacks a meaningful plan for parental engagement or providing what is best for students in need. There’s no mention of priorities or realities about what is actually happening in classrooms across America.

Educators also are scratching their heads about the choices that Romney made in selecting his team of education advisors, which includes former Education Secretary Rod Paige. Paige once referred to teachers, bus drivers, custodians, and other educator members of the NEA as “a terrorist organization.” His list of advisors also included a state superintendent who pushed a host of bills protested by community leaders, parents and educators because he promised to increase class sizes, reduce the teaching force, replace teachers with mandatory online classes and erode educator rights. Other advisors come straight out of think tanks which have worked to undermine public education and what works for students.

Picking someone who called teachers terrorists, does seem like a poor choice of Romney's.

Ed Week has a series of articles based upon Romney's speech and policy book

  • Details of Romney's School Choice Plan Emerge

    • But it appears Romney didn't consult with special education advocacy groups before making his pitch. While special education vouchers have grown in popularity in recent years, the number of programs is small, and the number of participants is also tiny.

    Many advocacy groups warn parents against using vouchers for students with disabilities because, in doing so, they give up their rights outlined in federal education and disability laws. And they may not know that.

  • Romney Calls for Using Title I, IDEA Funds for School Choice

    • The accountability proposals also prompted a host of question from Sandy Kress, a lawyer in Austin, Texas, and a former White House aide who played a key role in working with Congress to craft the NCLB law during President George W. Bush's tenure.

    "What would the expectations be for states and districts?" Kress wanted to know. "What would the expectations be for the money in terms of the report cards and for the responsibility for learning? What will the expectations be for the rigor of the standards and the consequences? That's unclear."

  • Dividing Lines: Romney and Obama on Private School Choice

    • The title of Petrilli's essay sums up his view: "The Romney education plan: Replacing federal overreach on accountability with federal overreach on school choice."

    Education Sector's Anne Hyslop offers a different perspective. She praises pieces of Romney's proposal but says it wrongly assumes that choice—rather than polices for turning around low-performing schools and helping struggling students—will act as a cure-all.

The takeaway seems simple, if you like the failed policies pursued by corporate education reformers, and you want more of it, Mitt Romney is your guy.

Education News for 05-24-2012

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Statewide Stories of the Day

  • Vote on Cleveland schools in doubt (Dispatch)

    • With his plan to overhaul the Cleveland school district stalled in the state legislature, Mayor Frank Jackson will return to Columbus today to urge lawmakers to approve the legislation this week before they leave for summer recess. But Republican leaders said House Bill 525 will not be put up for a vote this week. “We are not ready to move this bill,” Rep. Ron Amstutz, a Wooster Republican and co-sponsor of the legislation, said yesterday. Read More...

  • Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson plans to visit Columbus to encourage state lawmakers to approve his education reform plan (Plain Dealer)

    • COLUMBUS — With negotiations over his education reform plan reaching a tipping point, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson publicly called on state lawmakers to approve the proposal today so he can move ahead with a school tax campaign. But House Speaker William G. Batchelder had doubts that the mayor's timeline will be feasible, adding that the mayor might have to wait until mid-June. In an interview Wednesday, and later at a news conference at a Cleveland school, Jackson said he intends to be in Columbus today to help resolve any differences. Read More...

  • Actions by districts puzzling (Tribune Chronicle)

    • The Mahoning County Educational Service Center has been working with the Ohio Department of Education and Gov. John Kasich's administration on ways to operate more efficiently. The state has at times highlighted the efforts made by Mahoning's ESC. These include: Sharing a treasurer and merging fiscal departments with the Mahoning County Career and Technical Center beginning in August. Joining forces with 16 other government entities. Read More...

  • Schools facing trend of dropping traditional textbooks for digital versions (News-Herald)

    • In the future, will students be carrying backpacks filled with technological learning devices rather than textbooks? Area educators recently weighed in on the subject as well as on the Obama Administration’s recent release of the Digital Learning Playbook encouraging electronic textbooks to be placed in the hands of all students by 2017. Though West Geauga Schools use some online resources, high school principal David Toth said President Obama’s goal is “a lofty vision.” Read More…

  • Ohio auditor flags credit card purchases, busing bills in Warrensville Heights schools (Plain Dealer)

    • WARRENSVILLE HEIGHTS — A former superintendent and treasurer of the Warrensville Heights city schools used district credit cards for $6,710 in purchases that weren't supported by required documentation, according to the Ohio auditor's office. Most of the money went to hotels and airfare, with the remainder spent at restaurants and retail stores. The state audit released Tuesday covered the period from mid-2007 to mid-2008. Read More...

  • Bold political thinking: Pizza’s not a vegetable (Dispatch)

    • WASHINGTON — The notion that Congress could consider pizza a vegetable might be just too much to digest. The SLICE Act, for School Lunch Improvements for Children’s Education, has been introduced in response to congressional action last fall ensuring that two tablespoons of tomato paste slathered on pizza could continue to be classified as a full vegetable serving in the federal school lunch program. Read More...

Local Issues

  • Akron mom convicted in school switch now education activist (Dispatch)

    • Kelley Williams-Bolar, the Akron mother of two who received clemency from Gov. John Kasich last year related to her school-switching conviction, has formed the Ohio Parents Union, an organization focused on education reform. Williams-Bolar has “morphed from a desperate mom to an impassioned activist,” according to a story about her in Colorlines, an online publication of the Applied Research Center, a “racial justice think tank.” Read More...

  • Riverside Schools to eliminate 23 teachers (News-Herald)

    • Riverside Local Schools will cut 23 teaching positions effective Aug. 21. The cuts to the 2012-13 school year come from across the district in social studies, science, language arts, physical education, computers, industrial arts and family consumer science. Superintendent James Kalis said that the administration has done its best to keep cuts as far away from instruction as possible and will seek an operating levy with hopes of restoring some positions. Read More...

  • Deal to freeze Springfield teachers' pay OK'd by board (Blade)

    • The Springfield Local Board of Education unanimously approved a contract Wednesday that calls for a pay freeze and for teachers to pay an increased share of health insurance premiums. Members of the Springfield Education Association voted to ratify the agreement Tuesday. The previous contract expired June 30, 2011. The new agreement takes effect July 1, 2011; the economic concessions begin July 1, 2012. The contract expires June 30, 2013. Read More...

  • Despite cutting teachers, new LH tax issue likely (Newark Advocate)

    • PATASKALA - Licking Heights has cut teacher positions and frozen teacher salaries, but officials contend they still might need to place a funding issue on the November ballot. The school board on May 15 approved a resolution suspending the contracts of four teachers, a consumer and family science teacher, a physical education teacher and two music teachers. District officials estimate the move could save Heights at least $120,000 next school year. Read More...

  • More Northeast Ohioans ‘Redshirting’ Kindergarten-Bound Kids (WJW 8 FOX)

    • AVON LAKE — Simply knowing their colors or days of the week isn’t always an indicator that your 5-year old child is ready for kindergarten. As a result, more and more families in Northeast Ohio are holding back their child from entering school: it’s a growing controversial trend called redshirting. “They would have been 10 months behind the oldest child in the class and now they’re 10 months ahead of those children. Read More...

  • Hubbard district faces cuts (Tribune Chronicle)

    • HUBBARD - Only weeks after winning a prestigious award for her work, Hubbard Elementary assistant principal Robyn Fette may be stripped of her administrative position as the district seeks to cut costs. Board of Education member Don Newell confirmed Wednesday that Fette's position may be eliminated but refused to comment further. Board President Dr. Benjamin Hayek told a reporter Tuesday that the reorganization plan is to be presented at next month's board meeting, which is scheduled for June 25. Read More...

  • Public schools' plan in jeopardy (WKYC 3 NBC)

    • CLEVELAND - The Cleveland public schools' reform plan is stalled out in the Ohio legislature and in jeopardy. Mayor Frank Jackson held a news conference Wednesday in an effort to pressure the legislature to act on the reform plan. He will be in Columbus today and says his plan was for the Ohio House to vote on the plan. The mayor says he expects the vote to take place. Part of the holdup in the legislature is concern over how charter schools will be reviewed by a local panel -- before they open in Cleveland. Read More...

  • Niles school board spares 15 teachers but lays off 19 other district workers (Vindicator)

    • NILES - A motion to eliminate 15 teaching positions in the city school district failed Wednesday when the five-member board of education deadlocked 2-2 with one abstention. A vote to lay off 19 non-teaching employees passed by a vote of 3-2. “We’ve just put ourselves in fiscal emergency,” said Superintendent Mark Robinson. “The only way out of this is to pass a levy this November that would [generate] enough money that we can collect in 2013. Read More...

  • Granville terminates teacher over test issues (Newark Advocate)

    • GRANVILLE - The Granville Board of Education this week terminated the contract of English language learner teacher Jane Pfautsch, on the recommendation of the referee who oversaw Pfautsch's school-district appeal hearing in March. Board members unanimously voted in favor of the resolution after an executive session during Monday's regular May meeting. In November, the board suspended the contracts of both Pfautsch and ELL teacher Mary Ellen Locke just after the Ohio Board of Education suspended their teaching licenses for one year each. Read More...

  • Big changes coming to Indian Creek (WTOV 9 NBC)

    • WINTERSVILLE — Today truly was the last day for students at Bantam Ridge Elementary in Wintersville. Changes coming to the district will close down the building to students for the next school year. The changes are all apart of district's attempt to consolidate because of cuts from the state. The students who went to Bantam Ridge this year will move to Wintersville Elementary for next year. Read More...

Education News for 05-23-2012

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Statewide Stories of the Day

  • Ohio House adds gifted schools to education bill (Dispatch)

    • Ohioans could see charter schools set up for gifted students in 16 regions of the state under a still-evolving education plan in the legislature. An Ohio House committee continued making changes yesterday in Gov. John Kasich’s sweeping education proposal, which already had been altered by the Senate before that chamber approved its version this month. In another revision, the House Education Committee removed a provision that would have allowed school principals to pass third-graders who failed the state reading test. Read More…

  • State Superintendent Stan Heffner talks about direction of schools (News-Herald)

    • State Superintendent Stan Heffner was in Lake County this week to lay out the direction of Ohio’s schools. The former Madison Schools Superintendent, in a gathering Monday at Lakeland Community College’s Mooreland Mansion, keyed in on the importance of retooling the current Kindergarten through 12th grade system. Classrooms of the future will be learner-centered rather than teacher-centered; content coverage will be replaced with learning and doing; and textbook dependency will take a back seat to multiple sources of information, Heffner said. Read More…

  • Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson's schools plan slows down in Ohio legislature amid concerns over charter schools (Plain Dealer)

    • COLUMBUS - Negotiations to pass Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson's education reform plan have reached a critical stage, as state lawmakers continue to wrestle with provisions that deal with charter schools. At the heart of the stalemate is a new panel Jackson proposed to serve as gatekeeper for charter schools in Cleveland. Charter-school proponents want to weaken the panel's authority but Jackson and his Democratic supporters in the legislature have held their ground. Read More…

  • State schools chief outlines changes ahead (Canton Repository)

    • CANTON — By the 2014-15 school year, school as we know it will change. Ohio Department of Education Superintendent of Public Instruction Stan Heffner made the rounds in Stark County on Tuesday to deliver that message and ask public school districts and parents to prepare. “Since 1989, we have focused on a minimum set of standards,” he said during a meeting at The Repository, “but as technology evolved, our system didn’t.” Now, said Heffner, plans are progressing to replace the existing state standards with the new College and Career Ready Standards. Read More…

  • Budget fine-tuning wins panel’s support (Dispatch)

    • The Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel will avoid a significant budget cut next year, youths can take driver’s education online and Thomas Edison is headed to Washington, under changes completed last night in the wide-ranging mid-biennium review. The bill, introduced by Gov. John Kasich this spring and described by House Finance Committee Chairman Ron Amstutz, R-Wooster, as a “process improvement package,” touches on nearly every agency in state government, often with minor adjustments intended to improve efficiency. Read More…

Local Issues

  • Galion school board votes to cut 20 positions (News-Journal)

    • GALION - After cutting 32 positions last year, the Galion schools are faring no better. Tuesday night, in a special meeting of the Galion City Schools Board of Education, the district did away with more than 20 additional positions -- some administrative -- in a cost-saving measure that made a dismal five-year-forecast look only a little better. The move last year saved the district $960,000. This year, the jobs being cut will save $956,000, said Superintendent Kathy Jenney. Read More…

  • Indian Valley High going totally electronic in fall (Times Reporter)

    • GNADENHUTTEN — This fall, Indian Valley High School will go totally electronic when its comes to educating students. The Indian Valley Board of Education voted Monday to implement the One-to-One Laptop Initiative for students in all four grades in the high school at a cost of $222,605. That amount will cover the cost of everything involved in making the switch, from purchasing computers to teacher training. Read More…

  • More local teachers considering retirement (Journal-News)

    • A proposed change to the state’s teacher retirement system may be the reason more local teachers are seeking retirement after this school year. Nick Treneff, spokesman for the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, said the state has seen a “slight increase” in the number of retirees recently. He said the state is proposing changes to the State Teachers Retirement System and the Schools Employees Retirement System that may result in more contributions and less take-home pay for teachers, and could push the retirement eligibility age back at least five years. Read More…

  • Howland schools expect tough times (Tribune Chronicle)

    • HOWLAND - The Howland Board of Education approved a measure that will require some financial investment from its student athletes in the upcoming year. According to Tom Krispinsky, treasurer, the board approved a measure Monday that will cost student athletes $100 per student per sport at the high school level and $75 per student for unlimited sports at the junior high level. The measure does cap a maximum of $200 per student and $400 per family for grades 7 through 12. There is, however, a little relief for some. Read More…

  • Bluffton looking at deficit spending (Courier)

    • BLUFFTON - Bluffton school board this week approved a revision of the district's five-year forecast for fiscal years 2012-16, which predicts the district may outspend revenue this year by $345,616, said Superintendent Greg Denecker. "More than likely, that number will not be that great," he said. "Not everything is in" and the district's fiscal year does not end until June 30, he said. The amount is "probably a conservative projection," he said. Read More…

  • East Holmes district recalls six teachers (Times Reporter)

    • BERLIN — The East Holmes Board of Education approved an extensive realignment of its teaching staff Monday in the wake of a decision in March to eliminate 16 full-time teaching or staff positions as a cost-savings measure. Six teachers were recalled because more teachers retired than the district anticipated. Among the changes: Special-education classes were eliminated at the Winesburg and Mount Hope buildings. Students in those classes will be shuttled to classes at the Berlin and Chestnut Ridge buildings. Read More…

  • Hamilton High School honors seniors headed for military (Journal-News)

    • HAMILTON - Hamilton High School paid tribute Tuesday to its 17 seniors that will be joining a branch of the United States military upon graduation. Keynote speaker was Lt. Col. Joseph Copas, U.S. Army, a graduate of Taft High School in Hamilton who enlisted in the military in 1983. “I can’t think of any two more honorable careers than being a teacher or serving in the country,” Copas said. “How appropriate it is that we gather for a recognition of what these young men and women are about to do.” Read More…

  • Springfield teachers ratify new contract (ONN)

    • HOLLAND - On what would have been the day Springfield Local Schools teachers hit the picket lines, they ratified their new contract after almost a year of working without a contract and a year's worth of negotiations. A potential deal has been reached between Springfield teachers and the Board of Education. Now it's just up to both sides to approve it. There are 233 members of the Springfield Education Association, and while not every one of them approved of the new contract, majority rules. Read More…

Education News for 05-22-2012

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Statewide Stories of the Day

  • Ohio's Dropout Numbers Jump At Higher Rate; Columbus Sees Decrease (WBNS 10 CBS)

    • CINCINNATI - Ohio's dropout rate increased between 2002 and 2009 at a higher rate than all other states except Illinois. The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that Ohio's dropout rate jumped from 3.1 percent to 4.2 percent in 2008-09. Columbus City Schools saw a decrease between the 2006-07 school year and the 2008-09 school year, 10TV News reported. The dropout rate was 7.4 percent in 2006-07, 5.8 in 2007-08 and 2.2 in 2008-09. Ohio's dropout numbers for 2009 are just slightly higher than the national average. Read More…

  • Northeast Ohio public high schools among nation's best, Newsweek says (Plain Dealer)

    • Twelve Northeast Ohio high schools are on Newsweek magazine's list of the nation's top 1,000 public high schools. Chagrin Falls High School led the region at 93rd in the country and fourth among the 35 Ohio schools on the list, which was released this week. Wyoming High School, near Cincinnati, topped the Ohio list. Other Northeast Ohio high schools singled out by Newsweek for national ranking were: Orange (151), Solon (152). Read More…

  • Fewer students missing graduation because of OGT (Beacon Journal)

    • Only 10 high school seniors in Akron Public Schools out of more than 1,300 have come up short on the Ohio Graduation Test this year and will not graduate with their classes, even though they’ve earned the required academic credits. In 2007, the first year the OGT became a requirement for a diploma, 95 seniors missed graduation, prompting many frantic and angry phone calls to board members. “It’s extremely gratifying to see that number drop the way it has,” said board President Jason Haas. Read More…

  • Academic commission owes city taxpayers an explanation (Vindicator)

    • “In order to ensure a seamless transition, the new treasurer must have the same level of expertise and the same insight and foresight as the man who is leaving.” When we expressed that opinion last month about Youngstown City School District Treasurer William Johnson’s impending departure, we had every reason to believe he had performed his difficult job with a high level of professionalism. After all, there were no complaints about Johnson’s tenure from members of the board of education or from the state-mandated Academic Distress Commission. Read More…

Local Issues

  • Westerville schools to stay in black until ’17 (Dispatch)

    • Westerville schools will be able to stay off the ballot two years longer than expected, district officials announced last night, largely because of an unusually high number of teacher retirements. Administrators said this year that a five-year levy voters approved in March would keep the district’s budget in the black through fiscal year 2015. But the district now will be solvent through fiscal year 2017, Treasurer Bart Griffith said. The announcement was based on a five-year forecast that the Westerville Board of Education approved 3-0 last night. Read More…

  • Doubling up bus routes returns to budget talks at Zane Trace (Chillicothe Gazette)

    • KINGSTON - A plan to cut the number of Zane Trace bus drivers in half is back on the table. The plan initially was suggested as the district's board of education looks for ways to reduce its budget by $1.3 million over the next two years. This past week, a motion to approve staggered school hours for the upper and lower grades -- which would have allowed the district to double up on bus routes and use fewer drivers -- failed to reach a vote. Read More…

  • Boardman students to pay more for meals (Vindicator)

    • BOARDMAN - Boardman Local School District students will pay more for a school lunch in the fall. The board of education, at a meeting Monday, approved raising the price of a school lunch by 25 cents. Currently, the price of a lunch is $1.75 for elementary students, $2 for middle-school students and $2.25 for those in high school. The raise is a result of the federal government’s Equity in School Lunch Price Act. Read More…

  • School board OKs five-year forecast (Courier)

    • FOSTORIA - Fostoria school board approved a five-year financial forecast Monday which predicts declining revenues and increasing expenses. The district's projected cash balance declines from more than $4.1 million June 30 to a negative balance of more than $2.8 million by June 30, 2016. However, that figure does not include potential revenue from three replacement or renewal levies which are scheduled to expire during the five-year time period but could be put before voters for renewal. Read More…

  • Four fired Granville teachers reinstated (Newark Advocate)

    • GRANVILLE - Four of 21 staff positions cut through a Reduction In Force action in March were reinstated Monday by the Granville Board of Education. Thanks to the retirement of seven teachers, a bus driver, a librarian and the school nurse in addition to two resignations, the reinstatements became possible, Superintendent Jeff Brown said. "When we enacted this Reduction in Force in March, I said that it would change probably the next day. I was right," Brown said. Six of the retirements were approved at the April board meeting. Read More…

Editorial

  • Despite initial misgivings, charter school alliance supports the Cleveland Plan (Plain Dealer)

    • The Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools (OAPCS) supports the Cleveland Plan. We have long advocated for portfolio plans, like Cleveland's, that focus on improving low-performing schools and that provide parents with a range of choices that include district and charter schools. The only part of the plan that troubled us was the Transformation Alliance. As originally proposed, the Alliance would be comprised of a group of people selected by the mayor who would have veto authority on all new charter schools opening in Cleveland. Read More…

Education News for 05-21-2012

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Statewide Stories of the Day

  • Educators react differently to increase in public charter schools (News-Herald)

    • An increased interest in public charter schools has brought up different feelings among educators. While some districts might feel that the addition of these public schools, referred to as community schools in Ohio, provides another option for education, others have taken note of the difficulty they present when it comes to funding. Community schools in Ohio are nonprofit schools that operate independent of any school district under contract with an authorized sponsoring entity, according to the Ohio Department of Education. Read More…

  • Voluntary teacher departures spike (News-Sun)

    • Area school districts are seeing a spike in retirements and resignations, which many attribute to changes being made at the state level — including potential changes in public employee pension plans — the climate at local districts and the number of teachers eligible for retirement. “I’m as busy as I’ve ever been in a spring,” said Dan Tarpey, Centerville City Schools human resources director, whose district had an 86 percent increase in voluntary departures this year. Read More…

  • Dropout rate: Ohio slips as nation improves (Enquirer)

    • Ohio reported the second-biggest increase in its dropout rate between 2002 and 2009 even as millions of state and federal dollars were being spent on dropout initiatives. An Enquirer analysis of dropout data collected by the National Center for Education Statistics found that Ohio’s dropout rate rose from 3.1 percent in 2001-02 to 4.2 percent in 2008-09. Only Illinois’ rate increased more. The national average was 4.1 percent in 2009, the only year in which all states reported their data. Kentucky, Indiana and the nation as a whole improved during that time. Read More…

  • Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson would alter education reform bill to ease concerns of charter schools (Plain Dealer)

    • CLEVELAND — Looking to widen support in the Ohio General Assembly for his education reform legislation, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson has suggested changes to ease the worries of charter-school operators who fear the mayor's expanded power. State Sen. Nina Turner said that with the changes in place, she hoped the bipartisan bill will win approval this week. Turner, a Democrat from Cleveland, co-sponsored the Senate version of the bill. Read More…

  • Ohio to track classroom money, student performance (News-Herald)

    • COLUMBUS — The political fire still burns in Ohio to push more public money into classrooms, even after other states have backed off the idea amid evidence it does little to improve kids’ grades. The state’s latest strategy is to mandate that district spending be winnowed from the existing five spending categories to two by 2013: classroom or non-classroom. It’s part of a push by Republican Gov. John Kasich to reduce overhead and direct funds to classroom instruction. In-classroom spending percentages eventually would appear on state report cards, alongside student test scores. Read More…

Local Issues

  • Funding school budget forecasts: Tough road ahead (Journal-News)

    • Five-year forecasts for local schools show some districts will have to make tough choices if drastic changes are not made in their cash flow, a Hamilton JournalNews examination shows. All Ohio school districts are required by law to submit a five-year financial forecast to the state department of education. The forecasts are a primary tool in determining districts’ financial health. The JournalNews study examined the forecasts of the largest Butler County districts and found some have projected deficits by 2016 unless new tax levies are passed or state funding is increased. Read More…

  • Local districts cut librarians to help save costs (Blade)

    • When school ends in a few weeks, Maumee High School media specialist Cindy Bramson will retire and, like so many school librarians, will not be replaced. As public school districts across the country struggle to keep their budgets balanced, librarians are winding up on the chopping block -- a trend that some believe will hurt students and their ability to do the kind of research and writing expected in college. "The bottom line is I consider school media specialists part of the curriculum. We are academic," Mrs. Bramson said. Read More…

  • Valley View Schools to cut 20 staff positions (Dayton Daily News)

    • GERMANTOWN — The Valley View Local School District announced this week that it will reduce its staff by more than 20 positions. The reconfiguration, begun last year, is intended to generate $3 million for next school year, according to the district. The reductions include eliminating two full-time teaching positions, and allowing another three teaching positions to be reduced through retirements and resignations. Read More…

  • Schools tackle cyber bullying (News Journal)

    • Back in the good ol' days when a cellphone could only call and text, defining on- and off-school grounds was as simple as drawing a line. But now, in the age of smartphones and Facebook, school districts are struggling with how to address use of these technologies. This year, school districts are rewriting policies to comply with two new rules. The first is the Jessica Logan Act, signed into law in February, which requires school districts to address cyber-bullying. Read More…

  • Parents plead to preserve schools for developmentally disabled (Dispatch)

    • Parents upset about a plan to phase out much of the school-age program provided by the Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities say they doubt their local districts can provide comparable education and care. “It’s not their passion,” said Becky Swartz, whose 14-year-old daughter attends the board’s West Central School. The two county-run schools have top-notch adaptive equipment, experienced staff and a proven approach that leads to the best environment for children with the most-significant disabilities. Read More…

  • Springfield schools transfer requests rise (News-Sun)

    • SPRINGFIELD — Requests to attend a Springfield city school other than the one geographically assigned have increased by 30 percent for the 2012-13 school year, according to the district. Nearly 85 percent of the increase in requests comes from families affected by changes to elementary boundary lines redrawn this spring. “Some of it is attributable to the boundary changes,” said Superintendent David Estrop. “About (65) of the voluntary transfer requests are in areas affected by the boundary changes, so that clearly has had an impact.” Read More…

  • Niles BOE to consider layoffs for 34 workers (Vindicator)

    • NILES - In an effort to save $1.4 million next year, the Niles school board will be asked this week to lay off 15 teachers and 19 nonteaching staff. However, even with the layoffs, a sizable deficit would remain for fiscal year 2013, warns Superintendent Mark Robinson, who will propose the layoffs at the board’s meeting Wednesday. “Even with those cuts, we still have to eliminate an additional deficit of $289,000,” Robinson said. “I could have gone deeper [with layoffs], but we’ve been very conservative, and I’m hoping to find other options.” Read More…

Editorial

  • A law to save lives (Dispatch)

    • Some choices aren’t all that complicated, especially when a child’s life is in jeopardy. That’s why it would make sense for the Ohio legislature to allow, or even require, schools to stock epinephrine injectors, commonly called by the brand name EpiPen, for unexpected allergic reactions that can turn fatal. The debate is percolating because of tragedies in other states: In January, a first-grader in Virginia who had a peanut allergy died after her heart stopped in the school clinic. Read More…

  • Ohio officials differ on how to get help to third graders who need it (Plain Dealer)

    • Gov. John Kasich is miffed that fellow Republicans crafted an end run around his plans to hold back third graders who do poorly on statewide reading tests. But any big changes in education can be counterproductive without safeguards in place to make sure children aren't penalized as a result. Kasich wants to hold back third graders who score below proficient on statewide reading tests, starting in the 2013-2014 school year. (Most special-education and limited-English learners would be exempt.) Read More…

  • Education reform must address poverty (Dispatch)

    • We see stories from time to time reporting how poorly U.S. students do in international testing. For example, in the 2009 testing by the Program for International Assessment of Education conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the U.S ranked 14th out of 21 countries in reading. An analysis by the National Education Association described in a blog by Mel Riddile, associate director of the National Association of Secondary School Principals, presents a different perspective. Read More…

  • We've Had Reform but Not Progress (Wall Street Journal)

    • George P. Shultz and Eric A. Hanushek's "Education Is the Key to a Healthy Economy" (op-ed, May 1) is well stated. However, we've been doing school reform for over 50 years. Our national dropout rate hasn't improved much. Student proficiency has not improved as we'd like. In Ohio we increased funding, built hundreds of new schools wired and equipped with modern teaching and learning tools, expanded school options, opened science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) schools and even benchmarked ourselves against international standards. Read More…

  • Make it effective (Dispatch)

    • The Ohio House of Representatives has helped move education reform ahead in Ohio by restoring some of the juice that the Senate drained out of Gov. John Kasich’s proposals in Senate Bill 316. Applying a “third-grade reading guarantee” to all students who score below the “proficient” level on a state reading test at the end of third grade — instead of limiting it to those who score in the lowest of five categories — will give thousands more children the chance to bring their reading skills up to snuff before they’re advanced to fourth grade and harder subject material. Read More…

  • House and Senate busy tweaking Ohio's budget review (Plain Dealer)

    • The General Assembly should complete work the week of May 21 on a key bill to adjust the state's two-year budget. House Bill 487 is part of a four-bill "mid-biennium review" package. Differences between the Senate and House versions are not stark -- but some are significant. Among the more notable Senate tweaks is an overdue move to authorize the sale of $42 million in Clean Ohio bonds, mostly for conservation projects, with $6 million for farmland preservation. The House should concur in it. Read More…