By Brad Sims, social studies teacher, Nashport
Collective bargaining becomes collective begging if one of the parties involved has the legal power to decide the final outcome with no legal recourse for the other party. Senate Bill 5, which is now Issue 2 on the ballot, does not revisit collective bargaining—it destroys it. It is similar to going to a dentist and he pulls all the teeth because in his professional opinion a few were bad.
The legislature had the opportunity to put a few reasonable items in place, but proceeded to add several punitive items. Issue 2 forces local school districts to base at least 50 percent of teachers’ compensation on student test scores, a method that is rejected by education experts and parents alike because it’s inaccurate.
As an educator and a Republican, I am puzzled by the commercial that claims Issue 2 would reward the best teachers. I have read SB 5, and that allegation is quite a stretch. For educators across Ohio, Issue 2 is not about performance. The buzz words being is used by those attacking teachers are intended to distract us from their real aim of Issue 2—to silence the voices of teachers and all public school employees by gutting their collective bargaining rights.
I believe that the passage of Issue 2 will discourage the best and brightest from considering teaching as a profession. It will send younger teachers looking for other options. The effect may not be felt immediately, but in a decade or two it will have a negative impact on public education. Do not be fooled by the commercials touting what will happen if Issue 2 is defeated or any bombshells the supporters of Issue 2 “create” during the days before the election.
Regardless of political affiliation, Ohioans see through Issue 2 and its real motives. Republicans, Democrats and Independents have come together to defeat Issue 2 because it hurts us all.