Dave Speas on the political realities of funding our health care

From Dave Speas

May 14, 2006

Hello,

ORTA is in full ahead mode working on this. We are meeting with legislators, working with STRS, OEA, and all other healthcare advocate parties. We are talking to our reps and senators in our local areas as retired local organizations until we are asked to do so state wide.

A presentation was done by Terri and the OEA rep at all of our four district meetings. ORTA is working on this every day and we are doing so locally too as some of us have talked to our state legislators as they leave church, shop, and go about their daily lives in our community. Sometimes it is more fruitful to let the locals do some of the work.

As a school board member, we are going to ask Terri to come and talk to us at our local. We are inviting the other county board members to come if they wish. We want to find out if there is a win - win we can find to sell this to our communities.

I taught in the community I serve since 1966 and have served it for 41 years as a teacher, coach, and board member. As board members, we must be able to tell our local citizens why, after we used up a million dollars in carry over, cut 450,000 dollars from our budget this year, will have a ballot issue in 07 to renew a five year one, and have gotten only a slight, less than one percent, raise from the state, why the money they vote us will have 5% not go to their students.

We have to have the answer because I have already been asked by some of my former students who attend our meetings how I can justify giving that amount to retired teachers and not to their kids over the five years and into the future with no end.

We must have answers that will satisfy them, like boards will have to negotiate with teachers for healthcare for teachers after they retire, etc. If not, there will be a backlash here in our community as Springfield City district is under state supervision and the surrounding communities are aware of the financial crises brought on by healthcare, charter schools, larger personal tax bills, and cost of fuel to run buses and heat buildings.

Our district paid $750,000 for our share of the 14% in 1995-96 and 1,400,000 dollars in 04-05. Our residents are aware of these numbers and remind us that local board members are to take care of the tax payers money in a way that is positive for the citizens of our community. As a sworn member of our board, it is my duty to do so.

As a board, we have not come out either way but we must be swayed by a win win other than attracting the best teachers as we already have the highest salary base in our vicinity as do so. It must be a long reaching and strong point or points that we can sell our voters as they carry more and more of the tax burden. If this cannot be done, legislators will be hearing from the citizens of the local areas across the state of Ohio and there are a lot more of them than there are retired teachers.

Dave