Statewide Stories of the Day

Kasich signs legislation for schools, work force (Dispatch)

Gov. John Kasich signed wide-ranging education and work-force development legislation yesterday that will implement a third-grade reading guarantee, a tougher evaluation system for schools starting next year and a requirement that schools provide tutoring and other intervention to struggling readers. The new law also will change the way teachers are evaluated and tested. Kasich signed Senate Bill 316 on location at the Fifth Third Bank Madisonville Operations Center in Cincinnati, surrounded by business executives and lawmakers. Read more...

Gov. John Kasich signs third grade reading guarantee bill into law (Plain Dealer)

COLUMBUS - Gov. John Kasich on Monday signed a bill that steps up public education standards across Ohio and includes a requirement that some third-graders be held back if they cannot read at grade level. The third grade reading guarantee was the hot-button topic in Senate Bill 316, a multi-faceted education and workforce development bill that the Republican governor signed in Cincinnati. Kasich said he doesn't intend the new law to be a form of punishment for 8- and 9-year-old boys and girls who want to move on to the fourth grade. Read more...

Third-graders could be held back (Enquirer)

New education reforms Gov. John Kasich signed into law Monday prompted mixed emotions – excitement and apprehension – among Cincinnati-area parents and educators. Senate Bill 316 will, among other things, cause some third-graders to be held back if they cannot read on grade level. The bill also would encourage public schools to adopt more online classes, and cause teachers who have two negative evaluations to get more training and take subject-matter tests to keep their jobs. Read more...

Governor signs education bill (Blade)

MADISONVILLE - Gov. John Kasich has signed a sweeping education bill that seeks to strengthen ties between the state's employers and public schools and makes dozens of other policy changes. Mr. Kasich gave final approval to the bill Monday at Fifth Third Bank's operations center in Madisonville. Under the measure, Ohio third graders lagging in reading skills face the possibility of being held back for up to two school years as they get academic help. Read more...

Ohio Education Reforms Signed Into Law (ONN)

SPRINGFIELD - Gov. John Kasich signed an education bill on Monday that seeks to strengthen ties between the state's employers and public schools and makes dozens of other policy changes. Kasich said the centerpiece of Senate Bill 316 will focus on making sure elementary school kids read at a satisfactory level before they pass to the next grade level, reported ONN's Lot Tan. "The worst thing we can do is to have social advancement because you're stealing a kid's future," said Kasich. Read more...

Ohio agency heads told to plan for no growth or a cut in next state budget (Plain Dealer)

COLUMBUS - State agency heads will be lucky if they get to keep current funding levels when Gov. John Kasich rolls out the next state budget in the spring. That's the tone being set by a budget guidance document released Monday by Kasich's administration that asks state agencies to plan a pair of scenarios for the 2014-15 budget -- one where they see no growth in funding and a second in which agencies are hit with a 10 percent cut in general revenue funds. Read more...

Governor signs education portion of budget update, with his tougher reading (Ohio Public Radio)

Now that Gov. John Kasich has signed the idea into law, Ohio schools will be told not to let third graders move onto fourth grade, unless they’ve shown they can read. At a signing ceremony today in Cincinnati, the governor noted the law tells schools to spot non-readers earlier in elementary school and provide tutoring and other special help…to get them up to speed. The new law provides $13 million to local schools to help them pay for special reading programs, but some education activists contend that’s nowhere near enough money. Read more...

Local Issues

Rossford board OKs audit to seek ways to save (Blade)

Rossford Schools will have a performance audit done by the Ohio state auditor in an effort to find ways to save money. The board of education agreed to the audit last week after hearing a presentation by Derek Merrin, a performance analyst for the auditor's office. Mr. Merrin said the purpose of a performance audit was to find savings for local governments and school districts. Recommendations could be ignored or implemented any way the school board liked. Read more...

Granville considers pay-to-participate for school activities (Newark Advocate)

GRANVILLE - A pay-to-participate policy for Granville Schools this year might include an increase in the high school student activity fee, the addition of a middle-school activity fee and still another charge for each sport, club or activity. Serious discussion of such a policy, first brought up in March when the board approved a Reduction In Force resolution laying off several staff members, began at Monday night's board of education meeting. No action was taken. Read more...

Teachers upset over contract talks swarm Brecksville-Broadview Heights School Board meeting (WEWS 5 ABC)

BRECKSVILLE - Teachers wearing red shirts overwhelmed the Brecksville-Broadview Heights Board of Education meeting Monday night. Hundreds of teachers, unhappy with contract negotiations, tried to pack into the board room with a capacity for only 50. They came to show solidarity for their union and to hear the board's financial report. The board was reluctant to move or postpone the meeting, so the fire marshal was called to clear out the standing room only crowd. Read more...

Budget situation better for Mansfield City Schools (News-Journal)

MANSFIELD - Mansfield City Schools officials hope the district will soon be off the state's financial concern watch list. They believe the district has turned the corner and could be off the list by September. The district was declared in a state of fiscal watch in 2006, meaning financial problems could threaten the school's ability to operate. The designation is the middle marker between caution and fiscal emergency. Read more...

Lakota approves open enrollment (Enquirer)

The Lakota Board of Education approved at its regularly scheduled meeting Monday the hiring of a new assistant superintendent and a new open enrollment policy, which allows children of Lakota employees who don’t live in the school district to attend Lakota schools. Lakota Superintendent Karen Mantia recommended Robb Vogelmann, who was named principal at Liberty Junior School three years ago, for the district’s open assistant superintendent position. Read more...

'Project Love' sees girl graduation success (WKYC 3 NBC)

CLEVELAND - Some would have given up on them but not Project Love. Five years ago, then-Collinwood High School Principal Deborah Moore identified the eighth grade girls entering the school at greatest risk for dropping out in the next year. According to the Ohio Department of Education, Collinwood High School had a graduation rate of 52.7 percent in 2009-2010, lower than the overall Cleveland Metropolitan School District average of 62.8 percent. Read more...