RHJones: Publish names of Ohio politicians bent on cutting education

From RHJones

May 16, 2006

To all:

All active/retired teachers need to ask their respective unions to list the names of all politicians that oppose funding of our public schools and to publish these names in their newsletters by this coming October. It has been noted by election boards that many absentee voters MAILED their ballots in weeks before this last primary election. Many were thrown out due to improper postage. We can not wait until the last minute to get this info out to the members. This November election is extremely important to all who value children and their teachers. Actives and retirees will never be able to have adequate HC in retirement without defeating these shortsighted politicians.

Sadly, where I went to school during the worst of times in the Great Depression, Akron is having to cut programs that I enjoyed during those terrible years. An increase in local property taxes was defeated by a small margin of voters. Corrupt politicians who back funding of Charter Schools, while cutting state funding to the public schools, have got to be replaced -- our public schools have kept us free! And, unfounded attacks on public education are driving off business from our beloved State of Ohio, weakening it.

A Colorado Republican State Rep., Mark Larson, wrote a letter to the editor of today's Beacon May, 16, 2006 mentioning the short sighted fiscal policy of TEL and TABOR (Taxpayer Bill of Rights) as "---just being wrong". As Ohio's Republican Candidate for Governor, Ken Blackwell, backs the unworkable TEL, Colorado's Mark Larson writes, "Putting TABOR in Colorado's constitution, knowing how harmful it is, and how expensive it is to fix, is an even worse idea."

My friends of children, it is not only important to keep governors unfriendly to education out of office, we need to keep their back-up state reps and state/local board of education reps out of office, as well.

As one dues paid-up Life Member of OEA/OFT, OEA-R, ORTA, CORE, I ask you to do the right thing, and do it now: PUBLISH THE NAMES OF THESE ANTI-PUBLIC SCHOOL POLITICAL CANDIDATES.

Thank you for your consideration of this.

RHJones, Retired STRS Ohio Member