Terry Ryan's Columbus Dispatch op-ed concerning Governor Strickland, Ohio school superintendent Susan Tave Zelman, and Fordham's Fund the Child report, sparked comment, including this e-mail from Kris Christenson:
What Governor Strickland really needs to concern himself with is the ebb and flow of monies to the state tax coffers that are being lost, no longer paying in to support the school system. Rich doctors and wealthy others glean their wealth from Ohio's people, then declare their residences in no-tax states. Industry continues to close down. The governor needs to work on these issues instead of jumping on the old bandwagon of negative criticism of public school educators, professing he alone has the omnipotence and time...to manage how the education money will be spent to most effectively...educate Ohio's masses. The truth is the governor doesn't have the training and experience to have a plan or the people to put it in place.
Nothing in classrooms will get any better than it already is under him. He needs to just let the people who know how to do the job do it and get on with being a unifying force with Superintendent Zelman as his criticism does nothing but lower morale. Many already don't see the point in continuing to dedicate their lives to a profession where their efforts are unappreciated. Young people no longer choose the field because the pay, working conditions, and pensions are poor.... The governor doesn't have the answers he says he has to improve a system that isn't failing at all. He should be supporting the people who cheerfully and tirelessly urge our children to learn and accord them the dignity they richly deserve so that educators can move forward effectively. What he needs to be doing...is getting money flowing back into Ohio. If he can do this, everything in Ohio will improve.
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