This week's Ohio Education Gadfly launches off with a timely call from Terry to educate children ?within our means.? Regardless of whether your mother once issued such advice, this phrase should hit home if you're increasingly worried about mounting budget deficits or have noticed the barrage of announcements about sweeping layoffs in education. In the Buckeye State, hundreds of teachers in the state's largest two districts are still reeling from freshly written pink slips. Terry points out layoffs are inevitable given that salaries and benefits constitute the single greatest expense in education. But it's not all doom and gloom. Ohio (and any other state serious about student achievement) should reconsider the flow of dollars from districts to schools, as well as teacher evaluations and the way teachers are retained/dismissed. In other words, throwing our hands up in the air and letting districts bleed away their most talented teachers isn't something we can't change.
Mike Lafferty brings some more mixed news ? Ohio is in the worst shape of any state when state revenues are projected against pension obligations. Buckeye taxpayers could end up paying billions of dollars to cover pension expenses for government retirees in the next several years. Hopefully such dire predictions will spur some much-needed changes to Ohio's State Teachers Retirement System.
On a much happier note, Eric shares the latest video highlighting Louisa May Alcott in Cleveland, one of the eight high-performing, high-need schools to be featured in an upcoming Fordham report. Alcott accomplishes extraordinary levels of student achievement despite the fact that 34 percent of its students have disabilities.
Theda and Tim highlight the innovative Win-Win Academy, a proposed charter school that would serve incarcerated young adults still eligible for a free public education. Also on tap ? Jamie and Emmy offer some interesting reviews and analysis; Eric reviews the latest from Center for American Progress, and Ohio Gadfly concludes with a smattering of interesting happenings via Editor's Extras and announcements.
-OhioFlypaper