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The People's Road Trip

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People’s Road Trip to Kick Off from Cincinnati, Events to Encourage Ohioans to Vote NO on Issue 2 to Stop Senate Bill 5

Tomorrow, We Are Ohio will launch the People’s Road Trip in Cincinnati, with trip stops planned all across Ohio. Workers who will vote NO on Issue 2 to stop SB 5 will speak at each stop to encourage Ohioans to vote early. Doug Stern, the Ohio firefighter featured in the first television ad for We Are Ohio will join the People’s Road Trip and will speak at all the stops.

“Issue 2 will affect the safety of not just fire fighters, but our communities as well,” said Doug Stern, Cincinnati firefighter. “The heart of this bill takes away firefighters' professional voices. Issue 2 supporters keep putting forth pension and health care provisions. But the reality is those are nothing more than the magician’s pretty assistant, designed to distract voters from the real issue. The truth is Issue 2 will strip public employees like me from having any real input on safe working conditions and proper staffing levels."

People’s Road Trip Schedule:

Tuesday, October 4

10:50 AM: Hamilton County Board of Elections, 824 Broadway, Cincinnati

1:00 PM: Dayton Cultural Center, 40 S Edwin C Moses Blvd, Dayton

3:00 PM- (TENTATIVE) Regional Proud Ohio Worker press conference

5:00 PM: Lima We Are Ohio Office, 43 Town Square (near Main and Market)

Wednesday, October 5

10:00 AM: (Near) Lucas County Board of Elections, 12th Street (near the corner of 12th and Washington), Toledo

NOON- (TENTATIVE) Regional Proud Ohio Worker Press Conference

3:15 PM: AFL-CIO, 3250 Euclid Ave., Cleveland

6PM-8PM: Community Forum- Bethany Christian Church, 3940 Martin Luther King Drive, Cleveland

Thursday, October 6

10:15 AM: Mahoning County Board of Elections, Oakhill Renaissance Place, 345 Oak Hill Ave Youngstown

2:20 PM: Steubenville Fire Department, 115 South Third Street, Steubenville

2:45 PM: March to the Jefferson County Board of Elections, 117 North Third Street, Steubenville

4:30 PM: (TENTATIVE) Regional Proud Ohio Worker Press Conference

Friday, October 7

10:00 AM: Washington County Board of Elections, 205 Putnam Street, Marietta

12:30 PM: (TENTATIVE) Regional Proud Ohio Worker Press Conference

4:00 PM: Franklin County Board of Elections, 280 East Broad St., Columbus

Are radical school funding changes ahead?

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We will have to wait to see the actual details, but if this report from NPR StateImpact is any guide, the Governor's proposed school funding formula is going to look a lot more like a public school defunding effort.

A new school-funding model being developed by Governor John Kasich’s administration could allow local property tax dollars to follow students to charter schools or be used to fund vouchers for private-school tuition. Right now, only state tax money can do that.
[...]
other key changes under serious consideration:

  • Changing how the state calculates the amount of money local school districts must raise. Currently, this calculation is based on property values. The new funding model could take into account student poverty levels, local income levels and other factors;
  • Creating financial incentives for school districts to shift some instruction online; and
  • Simplifying the way that school districts collect taxes to make it more understandable to taxpayers.

Other possible changes include providing increased funding to districts with high-performing schools and structuring funding to encourage regional collaboration in areas like transportation, Mattei Smith said. While a separate study of school district consolidation is underway, consolidation is not part of discussions on a new school funding model, Mattei Smith said.

The Board of Education has expressed a strong desire for significant public input, which is to be applauded, because these proposals, albeit with limited detail, appear quite radical.

Lots of SB5 news from around the state

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Yesterday, police from all around the state held mass efforts to protest SB5. It garnered a lot of local press coverage. Here's a sampler of some of those stories;

In related SB5 news, businesses seem to want to either back away form supporting the collective bargaining busting measure, or wholly support its repeal

We should start seeing some petition signature counts in the next week or so. Don't forget to return your petition books once you are done, so the signatures you have collected can be verified and counted. There's only about 50 days left until the June 30th deadline!