Education News for 11-07-2012

State Education News

• Cleveland school levy sails to apparent victory (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

The Cleveland school levy was passing Tuesday night, winning support from about 55 percent of voters with almost all of the ballots counted…Read more...

• Collins wins seat in State Board of Education central district (Columbus Dispatch)

Michael Collins won re-election to the State Board of Education in a three-way race for a seat representing Franklin, Delaware and Knox counties…Read more...

• Jacobs re-elected to state school board (Findlay Courier)

Northwestern Ohio voters picked Ann E. Jacobs to continue as representative on the state school board on Tuesday…Read more...

Local Education News

• Most school levies defeated in Stark County (Canton Repository)

Tax issues for area school districts were failing for the most part early Wednesday with Canton Local, Marlington, Massillon…Read more...

• Central Ohio school ballot issues (Columbus Dispatch)

What happened: Voters approved a combined 6.94-mill operating levy and $15.8 million bond issue that will raise $1.3 million a year for the district…Read more...

• Parents get look at new math courses (Hamilton Journal-News)

A group of parents previewing Fairfield City Schools’ new math curriculum said Monday the courses added up to a more promising future for their children…Read more...

• School levy left off Butler County electronic ballots (Hamilton Journal-News)

Voters in a small section of Butler County are voting with paper ballots after a glitch left the Northwest School District levy off the electronic ballot, according to election officials…Read more...

• Lorain schools get first new money in 20 years (Lorain Morning Journal)

“We won,” yelled Lorain City School Superintendent Tom Tucker to a roar of cheers at the school’s watch party at the Elks…Read more...

• Only 1 local school issue approved (Springfield News-Sun)

Of the six local school districts on Tuesday’s ballot in Clark and Champaign counties, only one issue was approved by voters, according to final unofficial results…Read more...

Editorial

• Chris Smith’s gift was bringing people together (Canton Repository)

He invited dialogue, consensus with his easy smile and low-key demeanor. The last time we mentioned Canton City Schools Superintendent Chris Smith…Read more...

• Bravo, Cleveland, for a wise vote for the city's future (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

By agreeing to a large increase in property taxes to support public education, Cleveland voters have made a major investment in their children and their city…Read more...

Where the polls stand - Post Debate

Almost a week after the first debate, while the race has narrowed marginally, the national and statewide polling continues to show President Obama in a strong position.

In the Electoral College, Real Clear Politics calculates that the President has a lead of 251 (down from 265) votes to Mitt Romney's 181 (down from 191), with 106 in toss-up status.

The NYT polling analyst, 538, shows President Obama projected to win the Electoral College 307.6 - 230.4

In Ohio, the Presidents polling average lead is down from 5.6% to a still healthy 3.0%

This slight softening of polling in Ohio, has President Obama still projected to have a 79.1% chance of prevailing.

With early votiung underway, Boards of Elections are seeing high turnout

COLUMBUS DISPATCH // New Early-Voting Site Has Critics, Fans on First Day

Many people interviewed at Franklin County’s in-person absentee-voting center on opening day yesterday said that uncertainty surrounding the voting hours leading up to Nov. 6 and the change in the early-voting location have disenfranchised voters…

Yesterday, 1,396 people voted. In 2008, the previous presidential election year, 725 showed up on the first day of in-person voting.

TOLEDO BLADE // Turnout For the First Day of Early Voting Nearly Double of that of 2008

The first day of early voting in Lucas County is over, and the turnout was nearly twice that of the first day of early voting in 2008. It was an overwhelmingly Democratic day. Of the 928 voters, 696 were Democrats, 40 were Republicans, and the rest, 192, were members of other parties or were not affiliated with a party. There was a similar balance in favor of Democrats on the first day of early voting in 2008, when President Obama won in Lucas County and Ohio.

DAYTON DAILY NEWS // Voters Turn Up to Cast Ballots Early

Montgomery County had 695 voters while Champaign County had just 88. In Butler County 540 voters cast ballots. Clark County, which has been a battleground for Republicans and Democrats, had a higher first-day voter turnout - 380 - than larger counties like Warren and Greene, which had 282 and 354 respectively.

“I was just surprised; we didn’t have this (turnout) in 2008 that I recall,” said BOE Deputy Director Sally Pickarski. “It’s been fairly steady all day.”

AKRON BEACON JOURNAL // Early Voting Draws Crowd In Summit County

By the end of the day Tuesday, 1,035 people had voted early in Summit County, more than twice the 458 people who cast absentee ballots on the first day of early voting in 2008, the previous presidential election year. About 75 voters had to stand in the rain outside the board Tuesday, waiting their turns.

IndeOnline (Massilon) // Early Voting Doubles in Stark from Four Years Ago

“It’s been busy all morning,” said Mullane, as voters created a buzz outside her office. “In comparison to 2008, in-person early voting has more than doubled.”

CINCINNATI ENQUIRER // Early Voters ‘Making A Statement’

Within the first hour, nearly 100 people voted at the elections board’s Downtown office. By the time the office closed at 5 p.m., the total had risen to 816, about 27 percent higher than 2008’s 644, according to elections board director Amy Searcy.

Is election tampering of SB5 coming to Ohio

Yesterday we read an article detailing some very troubling activity by Americans for Prosperity, the Koch brothers funded astroturf organization

Americans for Prosperity is sending absentee ballots to Democrats in at least two Wisconsin state Senate recall districts with instructions to return the paperwork after the election date.

The fliers, obtained by POLITICO, ask solidly Democratic voters to return ballots for the Aug. 9 election to the city clerk "before Aug. 11."

Those Wisconsin recall elections are central to the fight against SB5 like measures implemented by Republican Governor Scott Walker. Meanwhile, back in Ohio the Cincinnatti inquirer has a report

Americans for Prosperity-Ohio kicks off a statewide series of Taxpayer Town Halls on August 16th in the Greater Cincinnati Area. AFP-Ohio is partnering with Tea Parties, 9-12 Groups, and other liberty organizations to host these town halls, which will focus on the financial crises many local governments across Ohio are facing, how those crises could affect citizens, jobs and our economy, what local governments can do to address their financial challenges, and how Senate Bill 5 can help.

If anyone attempts to tamper with Ohio elections they should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.