OEA Urges US Department Of Education To Reconsider Its Charter School Grant

By Julie Rine, Minerva Local Education Association

The education news in Ohio recently is so utterly unbelievable it reminds me of the old Saturday Night Live Weekend Update segment “Really?” with Seth Myers and Amy Poehler. Governor Kasich wants to abolish teachers’ “lounges”. Really? David Hansen intentionally excluded online charter school failure rates in order to make them look more successful. Really? Superintendent Ross circumnavigated the State Board of Education to override the Youngstown improvement plan to create a new one. The state legislature pushed through the legislation allowing that move in one day, giving no time for debate. Really?

We are facing an educational perfect storm, a storm that could damage if not destroy public education in Ohio.

Let’s start with the actions of State Superintendent Richard Ross, who did not tell the State School Board members that he was working to create a new plan for Youngstown schools, a plan that in part puts a CEO in charge, promotes more charter schools, takes power away from the locally elected school board, and could “possibly override parts of union contracts”.^[1] His decision shows a lack of respect for the process in place, for the teachers and community of Youngstown, and for the Board itself, since several of its members traveled to Youngstown to discuss what was working and what needed improved upon in the (then) current plan, oblivious to the fact that their boss had another plan in the works. This matters to all of us, even if we don’t teach in Youngstown, because the people who backed the CEO plan in Youngstown are the same people who can change the way schools are rated, and any one of our public schools could be deemed a failing school very easily.

Governor Kasich supports this new plan. The governor even went so far as to say of the Youngstown school board, “What do they want to do? They want kids to continue to fail? People ought to be outraged when kids are trapped in failing schools. It’s a disgrace.”^[2] Really? If he cares so much about kids attending failing schools, why has he been silent on the disgraceful state of charter schools in Ohio? Why has Kasich made no public comment about the Focus on Collective Integrity charter school in Columbus that closed at the end of August with little to no notice to parents, forcing them to scramble to enroll their children in Columbus Public Schools after the school year there had already begun? Have those students’ records been made available to their parents and new schools yet? Has the $383,000 Columbus Public Schools were forced to hand over to FCI been returned to that district?^[3] If a traditional public school had posted a sign on the door saying it was simply not opening, made it difficult to access student records, and taken money from the state only weeks before closing, I am certain our governor would have lambasted its irresponsible and damaging actions. But somehow, charter schools escape his criticism. Really?

Kasich has shown steadfast support for Superintendent Ross, despite the fact that some members of the state board of education have called for an independent investigation to look into Ross’ participation in or knowledge of the charter school evaluations debacle and the secretive Youngstown Plan,^[4] and several lawmakers have called for the Board to dismiss Ross as state superintendent^[5]. I find it very hard to believe that Ross was not involved or at least in the know about David Hansen’s actions regarding charter school rankings. Recently released records of emails and texts show that at least a half dozen ODE employees knew about Hansen’s efforts to scrub the low rankings,^[6] so Ross was either completely oblivious (and therefore not paying enough attention to what his employees were doing) or he was complicit in the coverup and has allowed David Hansen to take the fall. Since Kasich appointed the majority of the state school board, and the board appointed the state superintendent, one has to wonder not only if Ross knew about Hansen’s scheme, but if Kasich knew about it as well. And let’s not forget in the “truth is stranger than fiction” category, Hansen’s wife is Governor Kasich’s presidential campaign manager. Really?

So our cast of characters includes a governor who supports failing charter schools and a plan to put a CEO in charge of a struggling school district, a state superintendent who left the state school board in the dark about his participation in creating the takeover plan, a high-ranking Department of Education employee who intentionally scrubbed low rankings of charter schools, and a presidential campaign manager with close ties to all three. Unfortunately, this isn’t fiction; for teachers, students, and parents in Ohio, these aren’t characters, but real-life people who have a lot of power. If this were a “based on a true story” movie, the happy ending would include the corrupt leaders of our state’s education system getting ousted and a new era beginning with pro-public education leaders in place. The music would swell and the audience would leave feeling uplifted because the “good guys” had saved the day and the state of education in Ohio.

We have to be the good guys.

We have to wage the war; we have to stand up for what’s right and call out those in charge who are inept at best and corrupt at worst. We can’t sit idly by as if we are mindlessly eating popcorn while watching a movie, because this is our reality; our profession and our kids are under attack. And both are worth fighting for. Really.

^[1] “State Supt. Ross kept Youngstown plan under cover – even …” 2015. 7 Sep. 2015 <http://cleveland.suntimes.com/cle-politics-government/7/91/254430/state-supt-ross-kept-youngstown-plan-under-cover-even-as-state-board-took-trip-there>

^[2] “Kasich addresses controversy over the Youngstown City Schools CEO plan.” 2015. 7 Sep. 2015 <http://www.wfmj.com/story/29964853/kasich-addresses-controversy-over-the-youngstown-city-schools-ceo-plan>

^[3] “Columbus Charter School Shutters Doors … – Cincinnati.” 2015. 8 Sep. 2015 <http://cincinnati.suntimes.com/cin-politics-government/7/102/274789/columbus-charter-school-shutters-doors-where-are-student-records-where-is-395000-in-funding>

^[4] “Ohio school board members call for charter probe.” 2015. 8 Sep. 2015 <http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2015/08/04/ohio-school-board-members-call-charter-probe/31123513/>

^[5] “Top Democratic Lawmakers Call On State Board Of …” 2015. 8 Sep. 2015 <http://www.ohiohouse.gov/democrats/press/top-democratic-lawmakers-call-on-state-board-of-education-to-remove-superintendent>

^[6] “Ohio charter-school snafu: Workers – not John Kasich …” 2015. 8 Sep. 2015 <http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/elections/2015/09/03/john-kasich-charter-school-records-presidential-significance/71641600/>

By Julie Rine, Minerva Local Education Association

This year was the 20th time I have joined my local association. Honestly, the first time I did it, I was young and naive and so used to signing papers that I think I just filled out the form that was given to me and didn’t think much about it. I don’t remember anyone asking me to join or explaining the benefits of joining; it just seemed like something other teachers were doing, and so I followed the crowd and signed on the dotted line.

It is, of course, an option. One doesn’t have to join the union. Those who don’t usually have two reasons: the money and the politics. It may seem that you are saving money by not joining, but if you use the many benefits the union provides, you get a lot of that money back in savings. It may seem that you are supporting one political party over another when you join, and it’s true that the OEA and NEA does endorse political candidates (although no dues dollars are used for political campaigns), but that doesn’t mean you have to vote for those candidates. An endorsement simply means that the union believes that one candidate’s views on public education are more in line with our beliefs than the other candidate’s; if a member has other issues that weigh greater in her decision-making than education, no one is forcing her to vote for the OEA-endorsed candidate.

Over the years, as I have grown as a teacher, I have learned much more about what belonging to the union means. It’s more than just a form to sign on Convocation Day or one more deduction from my paycheck. As a member of my local association and the OEA, Being part of the screening process of local candidates, getting to talk to candidates face-to-face and discuss with other union members whether or not we should endorse them, has really changed the way I view elections. I have been a delegate to the representative assemblies and have seen first-hand how important decisions for the entire OEA are made based on the input and debate of individual members. I have written letters to my legislators — because the union has kept me updated on issues in the legislature that affect public education. Locally, I have been a part of a negotiations committee that analyzed the funding cuts from the state and how those cuts would impact our staff’s insurance contributions and salaries, who tried to find a balance between being responsible to the community while being supportive of our teachers, and who advocated for fair benefits for our staff and improved conditions for our classrooms and students. I have signed petitions against SB 5 and gone door-to-door in my town asking for more signatures. I have attended legal update meetings and learned about court cases in the state of Ohio that affect teachers. I have used my membership to get discounts on cars, movie tickets, magazine subscriptions, and cell phone plans. And perhaps most personally, I have used the benefit of the Attorney Referral Program to get two free legal sessions with an attorney who helped me create a will after my husband died.

Teaching can be an isolating job; we spend most of our time at work in a classroom alone with our students. Being a part of the association gives us that sense of belonging to a greater entity, the feeling that we are not alone. And that is even more important now than it was 20 years ago when I first joined the union, because now more than ever teachers are being disrespected, blamed, and threatened by those in power (I’m talking to you, Mr. Christie). We must stick together, and the best way to do that is not only to join the union, but to get involved in the union. So this year when I went back to school, I didn’t just blindly sign the form like I did 20 years ago. I signed it knowing very well what it means to me and how being an active member impacts my professional and personal life. I’ll also take a minute to fill in the new, young teachers about the benefits of joining the union. Because public education has some big fights ahead; and frankly, we’re going to need their energy.