School levies on the May 2013 Ballot

The following 141 school issues will appear on May 7th ballots.

County	Distrcit	Type
Allen	Apollo JVSD	Combo
Allen	Bluffton EVSD	Inc Tax
Allen	Elida LSD	Levy
Allen	Elida LSD	Levy
Allen	Lima CSD	Levy
Ashland	Hillsdale LSD	Levy
Ashland	Loudonville-Perrysville EVSD	Levy
Ashland	Loudonville-Perrysville EVSD	Levy
Ashtabula	Ashtabula CSD	Levy
Ashtabula	Jefferson LSD	Levy
Athens	Trimble LSD	Levy
Auglaize	St. Marys CSD	Combo
Auglaize	Waynesfield-Goshen LSD	Levy
Belmont	Bellaire LSD	Levy
Belmont	Bridgeport EVSD	Levy
Belmont	St. Clairsville-Richland CSD	Levy
Carroll	Brown LSD	Combo
Carroll	Carrollton EVSD	Levy
Champaign	Urbana CSD	Levy
Clark	Springfield CSD	Bond
Clark	Greenon LSD	Combo
Clark	Clark-Shawnee LSD	Levy
Clark	Tecumseh LSD	Levy
Clermont	Milford EVSD	Levy
Columbiana	Columbiana EVSD	Bond
Columbiana	Salem CSD	Levy
Columbiana	United LSD	Levy
Crawford	Galion CSD	Levy
Cuyahoga	Brooklyn CSD	Combo
Cuyahoga	Brecksville-Broadvw Hts CSD	Levy
Cuyahoga	Lakewood CSD	Levy
Cuyahoga	Westlake CSD	Levy
Darke	Mississinawa Valley LSD	Levy
Delaware	Delaware CSD	Bond
Erie	Edison LSD	Levy
Erie	Perkins LSD	Levy
Erie	Perkins LSD	Levy
Fairfield	Walnut Twp LSD	Inc Tax
Franklin	Groveport Madison LSD	Levy
Fulton	Swanton LSD	Combo
Geauga	Ledgemont LSD	Levy
Greene	Fairborn CSD	Levy
Hamilton	Forest Hills LSD	Bond
Hamilton	Oak Hills LSD	Levy
Hancock	Cory-Rawson LSD	Inc Tax
Hardin	Ada EVSD	Inc Tax
Hardin	Upper Scioto LSD	Levy
Hardin	Upper Scioto LSD	Levy
Henry	Napoleon Area CSD	Inc Tax
Holmes	West Holmes LSD	Levy
Huron	Monroeville LSD	Levy
Huron	Norwalk CSD	Levy
Huron	Willard CSD	Levy
Jefferson	Indian Creek LSD	Bond
Jefferson	Buckeye LSD	Levy
Jefferson	Jefferson Co JVSD	Levy
Knox	East Knox LSD	Combo
Knox	Mt. Vernon LSD	Levy
Lake	Kirtland LSD	Levy
Lake	Mentor EVSD	Levy
Lake	Mentor EVSD	Levy
Lake	Painesville CSD	Levy
Lake	Willoughby-Eastlake CSD	Levy
Licking	North Fork LSD	Inc Tax
Licking	Johnstown-Monroe LSD	Levy
Licking	Lakewood LSD	Levy
Licking	Licking Hts LSD	Levy
Logan	West Liberty Salem LSD	Inc Tax
Logan	Benjamin Logan LSD	Levy
Lorain	Amherst EVSD	Levy
Lorain	Amherst EVSD	Levy
Lorain	Avon Lake CSD	Levy
Lorain	Columbia LSD	Levy
Lorain	North Ridgeville CSD	Levy
Lucas	Oregon CSD	Levy
Madison	Madison-Plains LSD	Levy
Mahoning	Springfield LSD	Combo
Mahoning	Boardman LSD	Levy
Mahoning	Boardman LSD	Levy
Mahoning	Jackson-Milton LSD	Levy
Mahoning	Jackson-Milton LSD	Levy
Mahoning	Poland LSD	Levy
Medina	Black River LSD	Levy
Medina	Cloverleaf LSD	Levy
Medina	Medina CSD	Levy
Mercer	Celina CSD	Inc Tax
Mercer	Marion LSD	Levy
Miami	Covington EVSD	Combo
Miami	Milton-Union EVSD	Levy
Miami	Piqua CSD	Levy
Miami	Tipp City EVSD	Levy
Monroe	Switzerland of Ohio LSD	Levy
Montgomery	Jefferson Twp LSD	Combo
Montgomery	Brookville LSD	Levy
Montgomery	Brookville LSD	Levy
Montgomery	Centerville CSD	Levy
Montgomery	Huber Hts CSD	Levy
Montgomery	Valley View LSD	Levy
Montgomery	Vandalia-Butler CSD	Levy
Morrow	Cardington-Lincoln LSD	Inc Tax
Muskingum	East Muskingum LSD	Levy
Muskingum	West Muskingum LSD	Levy
Noble	Caldwell EVSD	Levy
Portage	Kent CSD	Levy
Preble	Twin Valley Community LSD	Inc Tax
Richland	Mansfield CSD	Levy
Ross	Chillicothe CSD	Levy
Sandusky	Gibsonburg EVSD	Inc Tax
Sandusky	Clyde-Green Springs EVSD	Levy
Seneca	Bettsville LSD	Inc Tax
Seneca	Fostoria CSD	Levy
Shelby	Fairlawn LSD	Levy
Stark	Canton LSD	Bond
Stark	Marlington LSD	Combo
Stark	Fairless LSD	Levy
Stark	Louisville CSD	Levy
Stark	North Canton CSD	Levy
Summit	Coventry LSD	Combo
Summit	Barberton CSD	Levy
Summit	Cuyahoga Falls CSD	Levy
Summit	Manchester LSD	Levy
Summit	Mogadore LSD	Levy
Trumbull	Brookfield LSD	Levy
Trumbull	Champion LSD	Levy
Trumbull	Girard CSD	Levy
Trumbull	Lakeview LSD	Levy
Trumbull	McDonald LSD	Levy
Trumbull	Maplewood LSD	Levy
Trumbull	Newton Falls EVSD	Levy
Trumbull	Niles CSD	Levy
Trumbull	Niles CSD	Levy
Union	Marysville EVSD	Levy
Van Wert	Van Wert CSD	Inc Tax
Warren	Carlisle LSD	Levy
Wayne	Orrville CSD	Levy
Williams	Millcreek West Unity LSD	Levy
Wood	Elmwood LSD	Inc Tax
Wood	Elmwood LSD	Inc Tax
Wood	Bowling Green CSD	Levy
Wood	North Baltimore LSD	Levy
Wyandot	Carey EVSD	Combo

Note that the county listed is the primary county, some districts cross multiple county boundaries.

November 2012 School Levy Results

It was a good night for a lot of school levies. Requests for new money were passed at rates 10% higher than last November's levies efforts, and renewals held steady at their normal 85% rate.

The biggest news, perhaps, was the passage of the Cleveland school levy 57-43. It's been a long time since Cleveland has produced such strong support for their schools, and that support now needs to be rewarded with a plan that delivers a quality education.

New renewal	Failed	Passed	Pass %
New	76	45	32.2%
Renewal	10	60	85.7%
Over all	87	105	54.7%

Here's the full list of results.

County	District	Result	N/R	For	Against
Allen	Apollo Career Center	Failed	New	46.0%	54.0%
Allen	Elida Local	Failed	Renewal	40.0%	60.0%
Allen	Lima City	Passed	New	55.0%	45.0%
Allen	Shawnee Local	Passed	Renewal	62.0%	38.0%
Allen	Spencerville Local	Passed	Renewal	57.7%	42.3%
Ashland	Ashland City	Passed	New	56.1%	43.9%
Ashland	Hillsdale Local	Failed	New	42.7%	57.3%
Ashland	West Holmes JVS	Passed	Renewal	59.6%	40.4%
Ashland	West Holmes JVS	Passed	Renewal	58.5%	41.5%
Ashtabula	Ashtabula Area City	Failed	New	42.7%	57.3%
Ashtabula	Grand Valley Local	Failed	New	43.2%	56.8%
Ashtabula	Jefferson Area Local	Failed	Renewal	49.5%	50.5%
Ashtabula	Jefferson Area Local	Failed	Renewal	46.2%	53.9%
Athens	Athens City	Passed	Renewal	65.3%	34.7%
Athens	Trimble Local	Failed	New	46.9%	53.1%
Belmont	Bellaire Local	Failed	New	42.7%	57.3%
Brown	Western Brown Local	Failed	New	43.0%	57.0%
Butler	Monroe Local	Passed	New	54.7%	45.3%
Carroll	Brown Local	Failed	New	48.5%	51.5%
Champaign	Urbana City	Failed	New	42.0%	58.0%
Clark	Clark-Shawnee Local	Passed	Renewal	56.3%	43.7%
Clark	Greenon Local	Failed	New	44.9%	55.2%
Clark	Northeastern Local	Failed	New	40.0%	60.1%
Clark	Tecumseh Local	Failed	New	43.8%	56.2%
Clermont	Batavia Local	Passed	New	50.4%	49.6%
Clermont	Milford EV	Failed	New	49.3%	50.7%
Clermont	West Clermont Local	Failed	New	39.7%	60.3%
Clinton	Blanchester Local	Passed	Renewal	69.6%	30.4%
Clinton	East Clinton Local	Failed		38.3%	61.7%
Coshocton	Coshocton City	Passed	Renewal	61.7%	38.3%
Crawford	Galion City	Failed	New	32.4%	67.6%
Cuyahoga	Bay Village City	Passed	New	60.4%	39.6%
Cuyahoga	Brooklyn City	Passed	Renewal	61.2%	38.9%
Cuyahoga	Cleveland Municipal	Passed	New	56.6%	43.5%
Cuyahoga	Euclid City	Passed	New	50.1%	50.0%
Cuyahoga	Fairview Park City	Passed	Renewal	65.6%	34.5%
Cuyahoga	Maple Heights City	Passed	Renewal	59.8%	40.2%
Cuyahoga	North Roylaton City	Failed	New	47.2%	52.8%
Cuyahoga	Richmond Heights	Passed	New	51.3%	48.7%
Cuyahoga	Rocky River City	Passed	New	55.0%	45.0%
Cuyahoga	South Euclid-Lyndhurst	Passed	New	53.8%	46.2%
Cuyahoga	Strongsville City	Passed	New	50.0%	50.0%
Erie	Edison Local	Failed	New	44.7%	55.3%
Erie	Sandusky City	Passed	New	57.2%	42.8%
Fairfield	Walnut Township Local	Failed	New	37.9%	62.1%
Franklin	Dublin City	Passed	New	54.4%	45.6%
Franklin	New Albany-Plain Local	Passed	New	50.2%	49.8%
Franklin	Upper Arlington City	Failed	New	45.1%	54.9%
Franklin	Worthington City	Passed	New	62.3%	37.7%
Franklin	Worthington City	Passed	New	53.4%	46.6%
Geauga	Cardinal Local	Passed	Renewal	57.8%	42.3%
Geauga	Chardon Local	Failed	New	48.3%	51.7%
Geauga	Ledgemont Local	Passed	New	50.1%	49.9%
Geauga	Newbury Local	Failed	New	43.4%	56.6%
Geauga	West Geauga Local	Passed	New	50.3%	49.8%
Greene	Beavercreek City	Failed	New	49.7%	50.3%
Greene	Cedar Cliff Local	Passed	New	61.8%	38.2%
Greene	Fairborn City	Failed	New	45.7%	54.3%
Greene	Xenia Community City	Failed	New	34.4%	65.6%
Greene	Yellow Springs EV	Passed	New	67.1%	32.9%
Guernsey	Cambridge City	Passed	Renewal	62.1%	37.9%
Hamilton	Cincinnati City	Passed	Renewal	67.2%	32.9%
Hamilton	Finneytown Local	Passed	New	56.0%	44.1%
Hamilton	Mt Healthy City	Failed	New	45.7%	54.3%
Hamilton	Northwest Local	Failed	New	45.5%	54.5%
Hamilton	Reading Community	Passed	Renewal	71.4%	28.7%
Harrison	Conotton Valley Union	Failed	New	43.1%	56.9%
Henry	Napoleon Area City	Failed	New	44.6%	55.4%
Holmes	West Holmes Local	Passed	Renewal	60.2%	39.8%
Huron	Monroeville Local	Passed	New	53.4%	46.6%
Huron	Norwalk City	Failed	New	45.3%	54.7%
Huron	Williard City	Failed	Renewal	42.3%	57.7%
Jefferson	Buckeye Local	Failed	New	38.0%	62.0%
Jefferson	Edison Local	Failed	New	44.5%	55.5%
Jefferson	Indian Creek Local	Failed	New	46.3%	53.7%
Jefferson	Jefferson County JVSD	Failed	New	49.6%	50.4%
Knox	Centerburg Local	Passed	Renewal	62.2%	37.8%
Knox	East Knox Local	Failed	New	39.8%	60.2%
Knox	Mount Vernon City	Failed	New	48.9%	51.1%
Lake	Kirtland City	Passed	New	50.1%	49.9%
Lake	Painesville City	Passed	New	50.3%	49.7%
Lake	Willoughby-Eastlake	Passed	Renewal	59.8%	40.2%
Licking	Johnstown-Monroe	Passed	Renewal	53.1%	46.9%
Licking	Licking Heights Local	Failed	New	37.9%	62.1%
Licking	North Fork Local	Failed	Renewal	42.2%	57.8%
Logan	Indian Lake Local	Failed	New	37.7%	62.3%
Logan	West Liberty-Salem	Passed	New	53.1%	46.9%
Lorain	Amherst EV	Passed	New	52.1%	47.9%
Lorain	Avon Lake City	Failed	New	47.2%	52.9%
Lorain	Avon Local	Passed	New	59.9%	40.1%
Lorain	Clearview Local	Passed	New	52.2%	47.8%
Lorain	Columbia Local	Passed	Renewal	54.6%	45.4%
Lorain	Columbia Local	Passed	Renewal	55.0%	45.0%
Lorain	Elyria City	Failed	New	46.6%	53.4%
Lorain	Lorain City	Passed	New	54.2%	45.8%
Lorain	Lorain County JVSD	Passed	Renewal	60.1%	40.0%
Lorain	Midview Local	Failed	New	38.7%	61.4%
Lorain	North Ridgeville City	Passed	New	56.6%	43.4%
Lorain	Oberlin City	Passed	Renewal	67.4%	32.6%
Lorain	Oberlin City	Passed	Renewal	69.2%	30.9%
Lorain	Wellington Exempted	Passed	New	59.1%	40.9%
Lucas	Anthony Wayne Local	Passed	Renewal	61.7%	38.3%
Lucas	Ottawa Hills Local	Passed	New	65.7%	34.3%
Lucas	Toledo City	Failed	New	47.6%	52.5%
Madison	Madison-Plains Local	Failed	New	45.8%	54.2%
Mahoning	Boardman Local	Passed	New	53.3%	46.7%
Mahoning	Jackson-Milton Local	Failed	New	32.8%	67.2%
Mahoning	Jackson-Milton Local	Failed	Renewal	49.4%	50.6%
Mahoning	Poland Local	Passed	New	55.0%	45.0%
Mahoning	South Range Local	Passed	Renewal	57.6%	42.4%
Mahoning	Springfield Local	Failed	New	47.7%	52.3%
Mahoning	Youngstown City	Passed	Renewal	60.2%	39.8%
Marion	River Valley Local	Passed	Renewal	54.5%	45.5%
Marion	Tri-Rivers JVSD	Failed	New	41.4%	58.6%
Medina	Black River Local	Failed	New	37.6%	62.4%
Medina	Black River Local	Failed	New	35.9%	64.1%
Medina	Cloverleaf Local	Failed	New	46.7%	53.3%
Medina	Medina City	Failed	New	47.8%	52.2%
Mercer	Celina City	Failed	New	32.5%	67.6%
Miami	Miami East Local	Passed	Renewal	52.7%	47.3%
Miami	Milton-Union EV	Failed	Renewal	49.9%	50.1%
Miami	Newton Local	Passed	Renewal	54.0%	46.0%
Monroe	Switzerland of Ohio	Failed	New	38.8%	61.2%
Montgomery	Centerville City	Failed	New	49.5%	50.5%
Montgomery	Huber Heights City	Failed	New	38.3%	61.7%
Montgomery	Jefferson Township	Failed	New	48.7%	51.3%
Montgomery	Miamisburg City	Passed	Renewal	57.2%	42.8%
Montgomery	New Lebanon Local	Passed	Renewal	57.7%	42.3%
Montgomery	New Lebanon Local	Passed	Renewal	59.2%	40.8%
Montgomery	Valley View Local	Failed	New	46.9%	53.1%
Montgomery	Vandalia-Butler City	Failed	New	45.5%	54.5%
Montgomery	West Carrollton City	Failed	New	48.4%	51.6%
Morrow	Cardington-Lincoln	Failed	New	34.7%	65.4%
Muskingum	West Muskingum Local	Failed	New	44.9%	55.1%
Ottawa	Port Clinton City	Passed	Renewal	55.8%	44.2%
Perry	New Lexington City	Passed	Renewal	55.5%	44.5%
Portage	Aurora City	Passed	New	51.2%	48.8%
Portage	Crestwood Local	Passed	New	53.9%	46.1%
Portage	Field Local	Failed	New	47.6%	52.4%
Portage	Rootstown Local	Passed	Renewal	59.7%	40.3%
Portage	Waterloo Local	Failed	New	43.0%	57.0%
Preble	Tri-County North Local	Passed	Renewal	66.0%	34.0%
Putnam	Ottawa-Glandorf Local	Passed	Renewal	65.1%	34.9%
Putnam	Pandora-Gilboa Local	Passed	Renewal	58.8%	41.2%
Richland	Mansfield City	Failed	Renewal	48.6%	51.4%
Richland	Shelby City	Failed	New	32.8%	67.2%
Ross	Zane Trace Local	Passed	Renewal	57.2%	42.8%
Sandusky	Bellevue City	Passed	Renewal	52.6%	47.4%
Sandusky	Clyde-Green Springs	Passed	Renewal	54.5%	45.6%
Sandusky	Fremont City	Passed	Renewal	56.4%	43.6%
Sandusky	Woodmore Local	Passed	Renewal	57.3%	42.7%
Scioto	Green Local	Passed	New	51.8%	48.2%
Seneca	Bettsville Local	Failed	Renewal	49.6%	50.4%
Seneca	Mohawk Local	Failed	New	38.8%	61.2%
Seneca	Tiffin City	Passed	Renewal	62.0%	38.0%
Shelby	Fairlawn Local	Failed	Renewal	48.8%	51.2%
Stark	Canton Local	Failed	New	48.3%	51.7%
Stark	Louisville City	Failed	New	48.9%	51.1%
Stark	Marlington Local	Failed	New	39.5%	60.5%
Stark	Marlington Local	Passed	Renewal	59.4%	40.6%
Stark	Massillon City	Passed	New	50.1%	49.9%
Stark	Minerva Local	Passed	Renewal	53.6%	46.4%
Stark	Tuslaw Local	Passed	Renewal	62.3%	37.7%
Summit	Akron City	Passed	New	59.5%	40.5%
Summit	Barberton City	Failed	New	45.4%	54.6%
Summit	Coventry Local	Passed	Renewal	60.5%	39.5%
Summit	Hudson City	Passed	Renewal	65.7%	34.4%
Summit	Nordonia Hills City	Failed	New	40.1%	60.0%
Summit	Norton City	Passed	New	53.4%	46.6%
Summit	Stow-Munroe Falls City	Passed	Renewal	57.6%	42.4%
Summit	Tallmadge City	Failed	New	38.8%	61.3%
Summit	Twinsburg City	Passed	New	53.9%	46.1%
Summit	Woodridge Local	Passed	New	55.5%	44.6%
Trumbull	Brookfield Local	Failed	New	39.4%	60.6%
Trumbull	Champion Local	Failed	New	48.6%	51.4%
Trumbull	Howland Local	Passed	Renewal	60.2%	39.9%
Trumbull	Joseph Badger Local	Passed	Renewal	51.9%	48.2%
Trumbull	Mathews Local	Passed	New	50.2%	49.8%
Tuscarawas	Buckeye JVSD	Passed	New	54.5%	45.5%
Tuscarawas	Dover City	Passed	Renewal	55.8%	44.2%
Tuscarawas	Dover City	Passed	Renewal	53.8%	46.2%
Tuscarawas	New Philadelphia City	Passed	Renewal	64.6%	35.4%
Tuscarawas	Strasburg-Franklin	Passed	Renewal	59.6%	40.4%
Tuscarawas	Tuscarawas Valley	Passed	Renewal	61.9%	38.1%
Union	Marysville EV	Failed	New	41.7%	58.3%
Van Wert	Vantage Career Center	Passed	Renewal	67.4%	32.6%
Warren	Carlisle Local	Failed	New	49.0%	51.0%
Washington	Warren Local	Failed	New	38.7%	61.3%
Wayne	Orrville City	Failed	New	38.1%	61.9%
Wayne	Triway Local	Passed	Renewal	59.5%	40.5%
Wood	Bowling Green City	Failed	New	47.7%	52.3%
Wood	Perrysburg EV	Passed	New	51.3%	48.8%

School Principals Swamped by Teacher Evaluations

"School Principals Swamped by Teacher Evaluations", that's the title of an article on an ABC News report this past weekend.

Sharon McNary believes in having tough teacher evaluations.

But these days, the Memphis principal finds herself rushing to cram in what amounts to 20 times the number of observations previously required for veteran teachers – including those she knows are excellent – sometimes to the detriment of her other duties.

"I don't think there's a principal that would say they don't agree we don't need a more rigorous evaluation system," says Ms. McNary, who is president of the Tennessee Principals Association as well as principal at Richland Elementary. "But now it seems that we've gone to [the opposite] extreme."
[...]
"There is no evidence that any of this works," says Carol Burris, a Long Island principal who co-authored an open letter of concern with more than 1,200 other principals in the state. "Our worry is that over time these practices are going to hurt kids and destroy the positive culture of our schools."
[...]
In Tennessee, the biggest complaint from many principals is simply the amount of time required from them for the new observation system. Veteran teachers, who in the past only needed to be evaluated every five years, now get four observations a year. Untenured teachers need six.

Each observation involves a complicated rubric and scoring system, discussions with the teacher before and afterward, and a written report – a total of perhaps two to four hours for each one, Ms. McNary estimates.

This last observation is one JTF talked about in one of our most popular articles.

Let's just think for a minute about these observations.

There must be 2 per year per teacher of at least 30 minutes each. 30 minutes + 30 minutes = 1 hour. 1 hour x 146,000 teachers = 146,000 hours of observation per year.

But these observers aren't just going to magically appear. They will need time to organize the observations, to get to the classes, to record their findings and to issue a report. Conservatively this adds another hour per year per teacher to the effort.

Now we are at 292,000 hours per year just for this provision alone.

If someone were to work 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year it would take them over 140 years to complete this task. Since these observations have to be completed annually that means we're going to need at least 140 more administrators just for this provision alone!

This dawning realization is also hitting home in Ohio now too,

Nordonia Hills is one of dozens of school districts across the state that are piloting the new evaluation program -- which state education officials have been working on for the past several years.

Superintendent Joe Clark said the district has been involved in the state's move to revamp the teacher evaluation process since he came on board in 2009 as assistant superintendent. Charged with performing human resource and personnel management for the district, Clark said he felt the teacher evaluation system needed a drastic upgrade.

This year, pilot evaluations are being conducted on six teachers -- three each at Nordonia High School and Ledgeview Elementary.

Nordonia hills has 236 teachers according to the Department of Education. It's taken them 3 years to get to the point of observing 6 of them.

Clark said many aspects of the program remain to be worked out. He said "student growth," one factor in the process, has yet to be specified, for example.

That student growth measure is 50% of the mandated evaluation. You can begin to see when we say Teacher evaluations are years away from completion, we're not exaggerating.

The Nordonia Hills superintendent did his own math

Clark said the process requires an evaluator -- typically the building principal or assistant principal -- to observe teachers in class twice for at least 30 minutes each time. The process also involves meetings prior to, and after each observation session.

Likewise, the new process is much more time consuming. Clark said evaluating 80 teachers at Nordonia High School would require 480 meetings.

"And that's not counting the time to write up the evaluations," Clark said, adding "How is that possible? There's only 180 school days in the year."

Teacher observations are an important and valuable tool for professional development and evaluation. Few would argue that. The problem becomes one of time and resources. HB153 was passed without any consideration to the mammoth amount of work needed to implement these corporate education reforms. Indeed, HB153, rather than add resources, cuts almost $2 billion dollars from public education.

It's going to be very convenient indeed for corporate education reformers to look upon this impending failure and blame everyone but themselves for not getting results. Why, it might even let them engage in more teacher and union bashing, and argue that their reforms failed because the status quo stood in the way.