An Emotional Week.

So, this is the kind of week that could drive a person into the warm embrace of medication.

The degree to which, on a national level, the Supreme Court has the United States appearing to be something of a reasonable and rational nation is nothing short of miraculous. If I were a betting man, there is no way that I would have put money on either of those decisions, but here we are living in a nation that appears to be moving toward enlightenment, or at least a less frightening place.

In the state of Ohio, I have heard positive reports regarding the Senate's adaptation of HB 2, the bill to increase regulation of charter schools. I guess here in Ohio that means that we would begin to regulate charter schools. Don't worry, I'm not getting ahead of myself. The bill as it exists has yet to pass the House, and many of our Reps love charters like they love their mothers, their god, and their capitalism.

The Budget Bill isn't nearly as frightening as I had anticipated either. Once again, I haven't seen all of what is hidden in the bill, and the Governor has yet to bust out the line item veto, but as it stands public schools are still being funded (albeit in a manner that assures a significant measure of dollars to their local charters (see above)), and the bill also seeks to begin to remedy our overwhelming mess of assessments and evaluations.

However, despite all of this good feeling, I cannot escape the utter horror of the Youngstown Amendment. Submitted and passed in the space of a day, it clearly opens the door to the increasing control over, and eventual privatization of a major urban public school district. This sets a dangerous precedent for the future take-over and privatization of other major (or not so-major) districts in the state.

In her outrage over this issue, my wife compiled the lists below which delineate the Yeas, Nays, and those who abstained from the vote on HB 70 in both the House and Senate. Our plan is to praise those who defended public education with their Nay vote, and to shame those who have attacked public ed and the spirit of democracy with their Yea vote. We'll also contact Governor Kasich, who believes that this legislation is something of a gift to the children of Youngstown. I'd hate to see what he gives for birthdays.

The lists below include names, phone numbers, email addresses, and Twitter handles. So, lets get busy. I'm going to start with Representative Andy Brenner who yelled at me on the phone last fall because he, in his pomposity, assumed I knew very little about education. "Dearest Rep Brenner, thank you for violating the trust of the citizens of Ohio, for turning your back on the spirit of democracy, for taking part in railroading a shady piece of legislation to law, and for doing an utter disservice to the children of your state, especially those kids in impoverished urban areas. Thanks for voting for HB70, which is to say thanks for nothing."

Here's the links to the lists. Have your say...

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3Yf9uckDsmfUkFEUXJWZ2FBUVE/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3Yf9uckDsmfWWpub29VWmphWmM/view?usp=sharing