* With a predicted deficit in the state budget and Republican Gov. Kasich's plans to provide more tax cuts for the rich, the funding for public education is a target for budget cuts.
ZanesvilleTimesRecorder:
More than 20 positions will be eliminated within Crooksville Exempted Village School District by the 2011-12 school year to make up for a $1 million loss in funding....
...The district has a $10 million operating budget, of which 82 percent is funded by the state....
...An educational realignment includes the restructuring of grades at each building, Newton said to protect educational programming and will meet legal and contractual needs. The change includes the inclusion of the eighth grade in the high school. Eighth-graders will be taught by high school teachers. The middle school will be converted from sixth through eighth grades to an intermediate school, which will include fourth through seventh grades. The elementary school will change from a kindergarten through fifth grade building to a primary school, which will house preschool through third-grade students....
Is this an indication of things to come in Ohio? Will the education of our children be sacrificed to give tax cuts to Kasich's rich friends?
How is Gov. Kasich going about redefining education in our state? Here is a hint from EducationWeek:
...Robert Sommers was named this week by Kasich as the "Director of the Governor's Office of 21st Century Education." While it's not a cabinet-level position, and doesn't require legislative approval, he will serve as a senior member of the governor's policy team.
The governor's office says that Sommers' role does not include overseeing the Ohio Department of Education, an independent agency, or the state superintendent of schools, Deborah S. Delisle, who has served in the post since 2008. But Sommers will coordinate with the agency and the state board of education, the governor's office told me.
Kasich's adviser, who will make $110,000 a year, formerly worked as the chief executive officer of Butler Tech, a career and technical education program in Hamilton, Ohio, and also served most recently as CEO of Cornerstone Charter Schools, in Detroit.
Parents and teachers cannot afford to let Kasich and his appointees redesign education in the state. When parents put their children in charter schools, state money goes to that charter where teachers and principals are not as qualified as their counterparts in public schools.
Charter school teachers are provided little equipment/supplies and paid slightly above the minimum wage. Classes are often held in converted stores, offices, and basements of buildings. This kind of atmosphere does not enhance education and, in many cases, the locations/buildings may pose a danger to the children. Often times, the only person gaining something from charter schools is the owner who is raking in a massive amount of money with a minimum amount of state oversight. The Republicans who designed the charter school system in Ohio have made sure that their political contributors who run charter schools are well-compensated and happy.