- The end of the legislative session in Ohio included a couple of surprises, one of which was a bill from Rep. Andrew Brenner proposing a fairly radical overhaul of school funding in the state. (Columbus Dispatch, 12/15/16) Stakeholders are starting to react to the proposal and comments are, at least at first, nuanced and non-dogmatic. The details will be key going forward, but as Brenner notes in the Dispatch piece and this Gongwer piece, he is mainly aiming to “start a conversation” around the issue of tackling school funding. Mission accomplished, it seems. (Gongwer Ohio, 12/15/16)
- Fascinating commentary from an English teacher in Shaker Heights schools in suburban Cleveland. It’s a district with a distinct group of high-flyers and kids with distinct disadvantages. Teacher Cotton defines from firsthand what the terms “achievement gap” and “opportunity gap” mean to him and rejects them both as means by which to measure/rate the success of his district. His beef seems to be mainly with the Ohio Department of Education and one or more of the ratings given to the district by ODE, but it also seems to me that his argument is missing some important nuance in that regard. It also seems to me to be toeing a very thin line when he turns to the difference between his high-flyers and his disadvantaged kids. Read it yourself and see what you think. (Huffington Post, 12/15/16)
- Surprisingly, citizen anger around the topic of interdistrict open enrollment did not torpedo the employment prospects of Austintown Schools’ superintendent. The board voted this week to renew his contract for another three years. Neither the citizen anger nor the real fiscal issues around open enrollment in the district have abated. (Youngstown Vindicator, 12/15/16)
- The courtroom portion of the anti-beauty contest also known as the ongoing kerfuffle between Ohio’s largest online school and the state board of education (over its most recent attendance audit) went against the school yesterday. For the nth time. An appeal is on the horizon, as is the parallel administrative-hearing portion of the contest which may actually take place Christmas week. (Columbus Dispatch, 12/15/16)
- The cost to the Louisville school district of the recent teachers strike there has been initially estimated at $308,000. This fascinating piece spells out where that money went in some excruciating detail. That is not a final figure, of course, because there are ongoing costs to cover the classrooms of the 10 teachers still suspended for (alleged) computer shenanigans perpetrated just prior to the start of the strike. Oh, and teachers are still without a contract. (Canton Repository, 12/16/16)
