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Education News for 03-01-2013

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State Education News

  • Cleveland schools will fall under state oversight by academic distress commission (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

    • The state will begin overseeing the Cleveland school district now that its report card rating of Academic Emergency is official, according to the Ohio Department of Education…Read more...

  • ACLU wants new limits on seclusion expanded (Columbus Dispatch)

    • New rules limiting how schools can seclude and restrain students in Ohio should be expanded to include charter schools, the American Civil Liberties Union told state education officials…Read more...

  • Magistrate raps Columbus school board on open meetings (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Simply having an attorney in the room does not allow the Columbus Board of Education to close meetings about its ongoing student-data scandal, a Franklin County magistrate ruled yesterday…Read more...

  • Charter schools criticize audit that claims state is owed $860,000 (Dayton Daily News)

    • The Ohio auditor’s office on Thursday again issued findings for recovery involving Dayton’s Richard Allen Academy charter schools, saying their management company, Institute of Management and Resources Inc., owes taxpayers nearly $860,00…Read more...

  • What would you do if an armed intruder came to your school? (Youngstown Vindicator)

    • If an armed intruder were to come to your school or business, what would you do? That question has taken on added urgency for many people since the Dec. 14, 2012, mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown…Read more...

Local Education News

  • APS STEM MIDDLE SCHOOL HAS AN APP FOR THAT (Akron Schools)

    • Students from the Akron Public Schools STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Middle School have won the Verizon App Challenge and were voted best in state…Read more...

  • Hilliard picks new education chief (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Hilliard school-board members opted for a new face yesterday when they chose the district’s next superintendent…Read more...

  • School district among first in area to offer smartphone app (Hamilton Journal-News)

    • Anyone who has a smartphone can now carry Fairfield City Schools in their pocket…Read more...

  • Fairless has two 'Schools of Promise' (New Philadelphia Times-Reporter)

    • Teachers – really doggone good teachers – make all the difference. Just ask Fairless Local. “I tell (the teachers) this often, and I truly mean it,” Fairless Elementary Principal Julie Weyandt said. “I would never trade any of them. I love this…Read more...

  • Cut 15 jobs, Niles schools audit urges (Youngstown Vindicator)

    • A report issued by State Auditor Dave Yost Thursday recommends that Niles City Schools cut 15 full-time positions and increase health care premiums paid by employees to 15 percent of costs to help the district save $1.3 million…Read more...

Editorial

  • Making the grade (Akron Beacon Journal)

    • The release this week of the state school report cards for 2011-12 concludes an experiment in Ohio’s search for an accurate way to convey how well its public schools perform their mission…Read more...

Turgid mandates

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Gov Brown of California just issued a veto of a state bill that would have expanded testing even further than an already prescriptive system. We're not sure what our favorite line is, because there are so many good ones, but if pressed, "Lost in the bill's turgid mandates is any recognition that quality is findamentaly different from quantity." would be a contender.

Here's the entire veto letter.

SB 547 Veto Message

On SB5, full repeal or no deal

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In a surprise move that could only have been prompted by terrible internal poll results, Governor Kasich (R), Speaker Batchelder (R) and Senate President Niehaus (R) sent a letter (below) to the We Are Ohio campaign asking for compromise on SB5. The letter, as you can see is rife with condesension and mistruths. Worse than the letter however was the revisionist press conference that followed shortly afterwards.

The We Are Ohio campaign issued a press release almost immediately and held a press conference of their own

Today We Are Ohio once again stood firmly with the 1.3 million Ohioans who signed petitions to repeal SB 5 by telling the extreme politicians who passed it, to repeal it. Following a press conference held by Governor Kasich, Speaker Batchelder and Senate President Niehaus, We Are Ohio issued the following statement:

“We’re glad that Governor Kasich and the other politicians who passed SB 5 are finally admitting this is a flawed bill,” said Melissa Fazekas, spokeswoman for We Are Ohio. “Just like the bill was flawed this approach to a compromise is flawed as well. Our message is clear. These same politicians who passed this law could repeal it and not thwart the will of the people. They should either repeal the entire bill or support our efforts and encourage a no vote on Issue 2.”

We Are Ohio is a citizen-driven, community-based, bipartisan coalition that has come together to repeal SB 5, the unfair attack on employee rights and worker safety. We Are Ohio includes public and private sector workers and employees, police officers, firefighters, teachers, nurses, pastors, small business owners, Republicans and Democrats, local elected officials and business leaders, students, Moms, Dads, family members, and your neighbors.

Senate Minority leader Cafaro (D) also issued a statement

"Governor Kasich and Republicans in the General Assembly have finally admitted that Senate Bill 5 went too far. If they thought they could destroy collective bargaining in Ohio and get away with it, they have been proven wrong. More than one million Ohioans have already sent a strong message that Senate Bill 5 should be repealed.

"The time to negotiate was during the legislative process, not 197 days after Senate Bill 5 was first introduced in the Ohio Senate. Unfortunately, it has taken too long for the Governor and GOP leaders to acknowledge they overreached."

Our sources indicate that no one from the We Are Ohio campaign intends to aquience to these political games and attend a Friday meeting. The message has been made clear by 1.3 million supporters of repeal. A message the Governor's desperate ploy highlights.

Without repeal there is no deal.

Letter to We Are Ohio