A Bitter Pill to Swallow

This election season yielded few surprises--Republicans cleaned the clocks of Democrats all across the nation as predicted. And school levies all across Ohio were defeated.

Despite the fact that the school funding system in Ohio has been declared unconstitutional, little has been done in the way of fixing the system. So schools, big and small, urban, rural, and suburban must continually go begging their communities, hat in hand, for money to keep the school doors open and buses running. It is a messed up system and Columbus continues to ignore the problem. With an $8 billion budget gap to fill in Ohio, a long term fix is nowhere on the horizon.

I was being interviewed for NPR last week about the elections and happened to mention a school levy I worked on in my community which failed--a bitter pill for me personally to swallow. They asked me to write a post for their blog. You can read it here.

So, When Will I See My Kids?

So, when will I see my kids? That's the question that immediately popped into my brain as I read Ohio Governor Ted Strickland's 6 point education plan which was unveiled as part of his State of the State Address today in Columbus. Besides the fact that the plan was short on specifics on how he would fix the school funding problem in Ohio, Strickland proposed that Ohio begin: "Phasing in 20 additional days to the school calendar each year over a 10-year period, bringing the state's school year up to the international average of 200 days and lengthening the school day with additional activities, such as community service, tutoring and health and wellness programs."

So let me see now, besides the fact that most schools are having a really tough time passing their levies and keep their school budgets in the black, schools should now stay open an additional month and for longer hours each day. Well, I'm no accountant but that sounds like an extra financial burden on schools that can barely keep up now. Will Ohio really have the cash to back this all up or will this be an unfunded mandate?

The extra month in school and extra hours in the school day would also be a burden on many families. You see, call us strange, but my wife and I cherish the time we have with our young children. I really don't want the state mandating that they be stuck an additional month in school and for more hours in the day. Most parents keep their children busy with after school extra-curricular activities as is. Kids also need their summer break to re-energize and to...be a kid. Families often use the time in the summer to go on vacation and do things as a family. An extra month in school? Kids will be in school until after the Fourth of July? Heck, why stop there? Why not keep kids in school all year round? Having a one month summer break is about the same thing.

A state-funded, voluntary summer school, especially for those kids that are struggling, would be great. State-funded, voluntary extra-curricular activities for kids, especially for those latch-key kids that need a place to go until a parent gets home from work, would be great. But mandating any of this is a mistake in my opinion.