On April 3 the  Chagrin Gateway Dems were treated to an evening that was at once both inspiring and thought-provoking.  Three engaging speakers enlightened us about the true cost of the changes in education funding and policy. First, Dr. Christine Collins of Honesty for Ohio Education helped us see why we cannot allow the words DEI to be demonized.  Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are the definition of good teaching because kids are different and should learn in welcoming environments. But SB 1 ends DEI, and curtails tenure protections and collective bargaining in higher education—and while that may be a done deal pending court intervention, SB113 and HB 155 are current attempts to strip DEI out of K through 12.  Collins encouraged us to advise our schools officials to: not “discriminate in advance” out of fear of coming legislation; to consult with civil rights attorneys; to focus on what is best for kids

Dan Heintz, school board member in Cleveland Hts./University Hts., and a history teacher in Chardon, spoke about why private school vouchers are not only unconstitutional, they are harmful to Ohioans because they undermine public schools. While the state pays public schools  $600-900/year per student;  the state is paying families with vouchers $8408  per student /year. That money is coming out of school budgets. The schools that receive the money are going to have little or no oversight and many of the students receiving the voucher money were not in public schools before receiving the money. He encouraged us to make our voices heard; to run for school boards and support judicial candidates that will uphold the constitution. 

Finally, former Chagrin Falls school board member Kathryn Garvey spoke to us about the Fair School Funding Plan. This was a plan that was created by a bipartisan group of lawmakers along with education experts to create a constitutionally fair and financially appropriate allocation of state and local dollars to fund Ohio education. It was to be implemented over 6 years, but after 4 years, the Ohio Assembly decided not to cover the State’s share of the true cost—opting instead to give a only 2% increase. This leaves property owners to make up the difference—except that due to a complex sub-bill, communities with greater cash reserves would have to rebate taxpayers. That also means they would never have the cash reserves to qualify for AAA bonds needed to be used to renovate schools. Catch 22?  It cannot be that the state general assembly wants public schools to fail, can it? The Fair School Funding Plan was a good idea when it was implemented and it needs to be followed. Garvey encouraged us to tell Governor DeWine and our state representatives that.   

We ended the evening feeling both frustrated and hopeful.  Thank you to Dr. Christine Collins, Dan Heinz, and Kathryn Garvey.

– Lyn Newman