Kathie Bracy's Blog: December 31, 2006

Saturday, January 06, 2007

A clarification from Mary Ellen

From Mary Ellen Angeletti, January 4, 2007

Subject: CORE ALERT #2

There have been some questions concerning the upcoming CORE meeting for Thursday, January 18th.

Gary Allen, President of OEA, contacted CORE with a request to speak to the CORE membership. No one at CORE contacted Mr. Allen. He shared that he has been reading the CORE blog (Kathie Bracy's blog) and felt that OEA and CORE have more common goals than differences. He will be speaking to the CORE membership at noon in the small cafeteria room behind the Sublett Room on the second floor of the STRS building at 275 East Broad Street.

We hope that this meeting is well attended and that the membership come with many questions prepared to be asked of the speaker. We also have encouraged membership to attend the regular STRS meeting which begins at 9 a.m. on the same day (Thursday, January 18th) but in the meeting room on the 6th floor. CORE folks can leave the STRS meeting around 11:30 to get their lunches in the cafeteria and be ready for the CORE meeting to begin at 11:45.

There is a probability that due to Mr. Allen's visit, we may have to conclude our CORE meeting later in the afternoon. I hope this email clarifies any misunderstandings.

Mary Ellen Angeletti, CORE

Editorial comment

January 6, 2007

As many readers have no doubt figured out by now, the main purpose of this blog is to inform, as well as to promote CORE's agenda; nothing more, nothing less.

Some words of wisdom from one of our own

I agree with the statement, "I may disagree with what you have to say but will fight to my death for your right to say it." ~ Dave Speas, January 5, 2007

Paul Boyer: Comments on others' comments re: double dipping

Paul Boyer to John Curry, January 6, 2007

Subject: Fw: Canton Rep. readers' comments re: educator retire/rehire

John, and others: I have read these letters a couple times and I would like to make a few comments and answer some of the questions that have been posed. I assume that all of these letters have been written either by current or retired teachers.

[View readers' comments here]

One asked for someone to please tell her how this is saving money for school boards. Most of these retiree/rehires (which I shall designate as R&R in the rest of my comments) go on the STRS Health Care program which saves the board a large amount of money each year. Also many school boards have adopted various rules whereby the R&R must also take a salary that is a few thousand dollars less than their last salary, again saving upwards of a few thousand dollars each year. Furthermore, many superintendents feel that they are so busy that if they can rehire a teacher or administrator who has been in the system long enough that he can rehire that teacher without reading resumes and interviewing strangers, he is going to do it. Shame, that is pure laziness.

I agree with others who feel this makes it very difficult for a new teacher to be hired because someone else already has the job. As time goes on, schools will lose the steady flow of teachers coming up through the ranks to hold the higher positions and they will run out of qualified administrators.

Shame on the one who asked if no one ever reads the facts before they make stupid comments. Maybe that R&R should read the facts. Yes, the R&R pays the same amount into STRS but most of it goes into a fund for that person to collect when he/she finally retires. Haven't you heard the outcry from those R&R's when STRS recently decided to hold another one or two percent of that money when the person retires the second time? I believe also that that money earns interest for them while they are teaching as an R&R.

Then there are those who feel it is not double dipping. Well, first of all, most take the STRS HC which makes them valuable to the hiring system. I say that no R&R, while teaching at their original pay or close to it, should be able to be eligible for the STRS HC. They are still earning a full or almost full salary plus their retirement benefit. The STRS Board realizes this also because hey have passed a motion that the HC will no longer be available to R&R's in a few years.

I do not agree with those who may feel that a R&R should forfeit their retirement pay while they continue to teach. They have earned that benefit which the state says every teacher is entitled to. HC is not mandated but is allowed, so the Board can make rules concerning it.

Finally, there is one who would like to know the breakdown of how many R&R's are former administrators or teachers. I would conjecture that it may be about even. I know of one teacher who retired a couple years ago and was rehired right back into his same job. As I was told, his combined salary and retiree benefit was around $90,000.00 plus HC. On the other hand, I know an excellent teacher who taught for 40 years and then retired. He could have taken retirement and continued to teach those extra years as a rehire but he was so dedicated that he waited until 40 years to retire.

That's it, John and friends. I hope this answers some of your questions and comments that were given in the previous letter.

Paul L. Boyer

Retired since 1985

Life member OEA/OEA-R,

NEA, ORTA, CORE

Proud to be named

"Core" of CORE by

Dr. Dennis Leone

More Kudos to Paul Kostyu

From John Curry, January 6, 2007
....Yet another proud moment for an investigative reporter who kept retirees, active teachers, and the public abreast of STRS events over the last several years and who wasn't afraid of asking questions so as to inform the public of what really transpired! Congratulations, Paul Kostyu, your search for the truth has not gone unappreciated.
John Curry - A Proud CORE member

Canton Repository, January 6, 2007

Copley bureau chief heads Statehouse press corps

COLUMBUS The Columbus bureau chief of Copley Ohio Newspapers has been elected president of the Statehouse press corps.

Paul E. Kostyu, who joined Copley in September 2000, was elected Tuesday to a two-year term as president of the Ohio Legislative Correspondents Association. His term began Tuesday.

Kostyu, who has won state and national awards for his coverage of Ohio government, has been vice president, treasurer and secretary of the association.

The association credentials journalists who cover the Legislature. Its governing board is a liaison between the press corps and legislative leaders, the governor and his administration, other statewide office holders, the Ohio Supreme Court and the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board.

Kostyu graduated from Heidelberg College and has master's and doctoral degrees from Bowling Green State University. He has worked at papers in Ohio, Michigan and North Carolina and at National Geographic magazine.
Before joining Copley, he spent 10 years as a professor at Ohio Wesleyan University, where he continues to teach part time. He has also taught at Ohio State University.

Other officers elected were Julie Carr Smyth of The Associated Press as vice president, Jim Siegel of the Columbus Dispatch as treasurer, and Laura Bischoff of the Dayton Daily News as secretary.

More Kudos to Kostyu

Canton Repository, January 6, 2007

Copley bureau chief heads Statehouse press corps

COLUMBUS The Columbus bureau chief of Copley Ohio Newspapers has been elected president of the Statehouse press corps.

Paul E. Kostyu, who joined Copley in September 2000, was elected Tuesday to a two-year term as president of the Ohio Legislative Correspondents Association. His term began Tuesday.

Kostyu, who has won state and national awards for his coverage of Ohio government, has been vice president, treasurer and secretary of the association.

Other officers elected were Julie Carr Smyth of The Associated Press as vice president, Jim Siegel of the Columbus Dispatch as treasurer, and Laura Bischoff of the Dayton Daily News as secretary.

Friday, January 05, 2007

How about a nice 2007 calendar from your friendly HC provider?

From Sondra Stratton, January 5, 2007
Subject: Have ya'll received you calendar????

In yesterday's mail, I received what I thought would be the MMOH book about our insurance for 2007 but to my surprise, it was a big CALENDAR. What a waste of our money!!! I have a bunch of calendars here for 2007 that I have been given by businesses, and received from organizations I don't need another calendar and I do not need MMOH to remind me to do things MMOH wants me to do. I would prefer that money for the calendars be used to diffuse our premiums!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAS ALL COMMON SENSE TAKEN LEAVE ????????
Sondra

John Curry and RH Jones on school boards paying part of an educator's retirement contribution

John Curry to RH Jones, January 5, 2007

Subject: Re: Bds. paying additonal retirement money for some

Bob,

The employer "pick-up" has been used in my county and surrounding counties for over a decade. In my particular district, the superintendent's STRS contribution is "picked-up" at 100%, i.e., he/she pays nothing to STRS out of his pocket toward his/her retirement. In this same district, the principals' salaries are picked up at a 50% rate -- no pick-up exists for classroom teachers. I am of the understanding that in many of the suburban districts around Cleveland that classroom teachers also have some or a portion of their salaries picked up. I am like you, I am not sure of the impact on STRS by this practice.

John
---

From RH Jones, January 5, 2007

Subject: Bds. paying additonal retirement money for some To all: (FYI)

Having been in education since 1957, I have never heard of school boards, in lieu of pay raises, "picking up" a percent of an educator's retirement contribution. I am wondering if, in any way, this may hurt our STRS? Some school districts are doing this.

Dr. Damon Asbury, the STRS Exec.Director, has kindly taken his valuable time to answer some of my questions about the "pick-up on pick-up" plan used by some school systems to avoid raising base pays, especially of administrators. I thank him for responding. In short, he informed me that employer "pick-up" plans may classify employees into 3-groups: (1) superintendent; (2) administrators; (3) teachers. And, this has not changed since 1980. Further, in response to a question of mine, he wrote that state colleges and universities may do this as well. And, he wrote: "Some may pay all or part of a member contribution in addition to salaries."

However, the inclusion of this "pick-up" into the final average salary (As Asbury states that the majority of the cases are doing) raises a question to me: Does not this hurt the STRS unfunded liability -- if and when certain educators get their final averages inflated in the above manner? I think so. It seems to me: That giving it at the time of the final years of employment is just another school district ploy to reward some at the expense of all STRS members. Should it be stopped? Higher authorities than this retired teacher will have to decide. The STRS has been looking into activities that artificially raises an educator's final average. Perhaps this is one of them?

Robert Hudson Jones, a STRS retired teacher member and union lifer

Marc Dann to "break out the brooms" and clean house!

Posted on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2007

Akron Beacon Journal

Thousands of Ohio workers vie to keep jobs under new governor

Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Thousands of state workers are waiting to hear if they still have jobs when Gov.-elect Ted Strickland and four other new state officeholders are sworn in next week.

Attorney general-elect Marc Dann, a Democrat taking over from Republican Jim Petro, told employees in early December that they should submit resumes if they intend to keep their jobs.

"This is a complete change of administration," said Dann's spokesman, Leo Jennings III. "Marc has a different philosophy, a different set of principles in office."

Strickland takes office Monday and will be become the state's first Democratic governor since Richard Celeste left office in 1991. Democrats also will take charge of the secretary of state's office and treasurer's office.

Jon Allen, spokesman for the Department of Job and Family Services, is among the 3,400 people who have submitted a resume to Strickland's transition team.

"I'll keep coming until somebody tells me not to," said Allen, who has worked under seven directors during 10 years at the department.

While most state employees are classified and have civil service job protection, the unclassified employees serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority - the governor, the attorney general, secretary of state and others.

Strickland is notifying all unclassified agency employees that if they want to remain, they will need to send resumes to their agency's personnel office.

In a draft of a letter to be sent Friday, Strickland Chief of Staff John Haseley, said all unclassified positions would be reviewed. If an employee fails to submit a resume, the agency will assume the employee is leaving the position. Those staying on will be asked to remain on an acting basis until a final employment decision is made, the letter says.

About 4,700 unclassified employees with salaries totaling $228 million annually are appointed by the governor.
Another 3,000 with a payroll of $177 million are controlled by other statewide officeholders, the judiciary and the legislature.

Strickland already has appointed eight cabinet positions. Only one, Major Gen. Gregory Wayt, Ohio's adjutant general in charge of overseeing the National Guard, is a carry over from the outgoing administration of Republican Gov. Bob Taft.

Other high-ranking state officials are awaiting their fates.

"I knew this day was coming. I took this job 7 1/2 years ago, knowing that there would eventually be an end to it,"
said Scott Zody, a deputy director at the Department of Natural Resources. He also has submitted a resume to Strickland's transition team and hopes to keep his job.

"Can (not knowing) be tough on you emotionally? At times it can be. I've had more melancholy days in the last month than I've had in the last seven years, but you work through it."

Auditor-elect Mary Taylor, the only Republican to win a nonjudicial statewide office, is also expected to announce key appointments when she takes office Monday.

The Wal-Mart $4 Generic Drug Plan: Could it Work for You?

June Hughes to Molly Janczyk, January 4, 2007

Subject: Re: Interesting prescription possibilities!
Part of this is not true. You cannot get a 90 day prescription for the 30 day cost. It would be $4 x 3 = $12 for the 3 months or 90 days. I was told this at WalMart and Target.
---
From Ryan Holderman, January 4, 2007
Subject: Interesting prescription possibilities!
Dear One & All:

Though this article is written about Wal-Mart's Drug program, the information should be applicable to other programs as well. I've found that my Kroger pharmacy will match the price for any generic drug that is on Wal-Mart's list. You have to request the match but they do it very readily.

Later, Ryan

The Wal-Mart $4 Generic Drug Plan: Could it Work for You?

Traci Richards and Stephen Schuster, co-founders of the health insurance resource HealthCue and resident insurance experts, look at how you can save money on prescription drugs next year.
Are you willing to change pharmacies to save money on prescription drugs? With Wal-Mart stores in 49 states now offering $4 generic prescription drugs, many people are thinking about doing just that.
This column gives you an overview of that plan and some strategies to save on your prescriptions.

The Wal-Mart plan has spurred other retailers to create programs of their own. Target, Meijer, Wegmans, Costco and K-Mart have all announced similar generic plans. The giant pharmacy benefit manager Medco Health Solutions started the Generics First program for small business.

Why are these plans worth investigating? Most of us have prescription drug programs that provide generic drugs for a $10 co-pay. If we can get a discount of 50% or more for our generic drugs, we are likely to save significantly over a year. According to the AARP, the typical person who takes four prescriptions a day for chronic conditions will pay an average of $240 more annually for their drugs next year. What if you could save that potential increase? Or even pay less for your prescriptions next year? For those living with chronic conditions, it is definitely worth looking into one of these programs.

Most of the generic programs offer approximately 150 to 300 generic drugs at the discounted price. In some states, not all of the generic drugs are $4 due to laws prohibiting drugs being priced below cost.
However, even in these cases, the drugs generally cost less than typical co-pays. The generic drugs offered cover most diseases and most chronic conditions such as arthritis, heart disease, high blood pressure, depression and diabetes.

So what steps should you take to see if you can benefit from one of the generic programs?

• Get a list of the generic drugs offered by the retail store you are thinking about using and is convenient for you to shop at. For example, you can find Wal-Mart's list of discounted generic prescription drugs online. There are over 10,000 outlets nationwide from just the stores mentioned above.

• Take the list to your physician and see which of the generic drugs listed would be acceptable substitutes for what you are taking now.
For instance, if you now take Pravachol for cholesterol control, the generic version called pravastatin is probably available for the deeply discounted price. The most popular cholesterol drug, Lipitor, is also one of the most expensive brand name drugs, often costing upwards of $60 for a 30-day prescription.

• Try to purchase your chronic condition drugs on a 90-day prescription. Most mail order pharmacies fill prescriptions on a
90-day basis and discount the price. Why? Well, the cost for actually filling a 90-day prescription is the same as filling a 30-day prescription, so you get the savings for buying the extra two months in advance. Most retailers are now passing this same kind of discount on to you, so you may only need to travel to your new retail pharmacy once every 90 days.

• Consider pill-splitting. Ask your physician about prescribing twice the dosage you need daily, and splitting the pill in half. This way, you can extend a 90-day prescription to 6 months. Most
40-milligram dosages cost the same as 20-milligram. dosages. Most pharmacies sell a little pill splitter tool for less than $10 so you can do this both accurately and safely.

• Ask your physician for samples. Over $15 billion of samples are distributed annually by the drug industry to physicians. This works-recently HealthCue asked a physician for a 3-month trial of a prescription drug used to treat a chronic condition. The physician merely went to a closet in his office and supplied the request. This represented a retail savings of $270.

Even if you are not considering taking advantage of one of these retail generic drug plans, these tips can save you out-of-pocket expenses with your current health insurance program. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, most of us with medical expenses spend 45% of our out-of-pocket costs on prescription drugs. This means that our prescription costs dominate our out-of-pocket medical spending. And since most health insurance policies are increasing co-pays for drugs significantly, we all can benefit by considering one or more of the steps above.

Even if the generic substitute for one of your prescription drugs is not on one of the $4 lists, generic drugs are often 80% less expensive than brand name drugs, so switching to a generic will have a large impact on your pocketbook whether you switch pharmacies or not. To see if you would benefit from a switch to a generic drug, do some comparison shopping. One of the better places to do this is at www.crbestbuydrugs.org, a Consumer Reports site.

If you have an insurance plan for your prescription drugs, check that plan again. Most insurance companies are detailing how you can obtain low cost substitutes for brand name prescription drugs, and are giving out valuable information that will make you a more informed health care consumer. At the very least you will be armed with more intelligent data before you talk with your doctor.

The Wal-Mart program has alerted the general consumer to the fact that generic substitutes are valuable money savers. Prices for generic drugs will not necessarily go down. These drugs were already very inexpensive. Now they are available at retail without regard to health insurance, and that will help all of us maintain our health more cost effectively whether we have insurance or not.

Ryan Holderman: Proposed constitutional amendment

From Ryan Holderman, January 5, 2007
Re: Proposed Constitutional Amendment

There is an amendment to the CORE Constitution up for consideration:

PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
ARTICLE IX - POINT 4

Article IX, Dissolution of the Organization, point 4 which currently reads:

4. All remaining monies held by CORE, after expenses have been met, will be dispersed by the Board of Trustees to retired teachers with health care needs.

Shall be amended to read:

4. All remaining monies held by CORE, after expenses have been met, will be donated to the Ohio State Teachers Retirement System’s Health Care Assistance Program which has been established to provide financial aide to those retirees whose pension income meets the requirements established by STRS.

Notice of that agenda item should probably have gone out with the CORE Alert we received today.

According to the CORE Constitution:

"...amendments will be placed on the agenda for the next regular meeting of CORE and notification of the consideration of the amendment will be sent to members via the CORE E-mail Alert system.

Voting to ratify the proposed amendment shall take place at the second regular meeting after it has been presented to the Board of Trustees."

That would take place at CORE's February meeting.

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Contact Information: STRS Board, January 2007 (plus later additions, changes)

Updated: 6/8/07
Constance Ramser, Chair

Contributing Member
5615 West Blvd., NW

Canton, OH 44718
330-499-1326

ramserc@strsoh.org

Jeff Chapman, Vice Chair

Retired Member
275 East Broad Street

Columbus, OH 43215
TwoTeach@aol.com

chapmaje@strsoh.org

Mary Ann Flannagan Cervantes

Contributing Member
275 East Broad Street

Columbus, OH 43215
mflannagan@bex.net

cervantm@strsoh.org

Thomas W. Johnson
Appointed Member
275 East Broad Street

Columbus, OH 43215
johnson.3154@osu.edu

Taiyia Hayden

Contributing Member
4443 Landmark Road

Groveport, OH 43125-8924
614-830-0277

haydent@strsoh.org

John Lazares

Contributing Member
275 East Broad Street

Columbus, OH 43215
513-967-8786 (or)
513-703-1197
jklazares@fuse.net

Dr. Dennis Leone

Retired Member
45 Timberlane Drive

Chillicothe, OH 45601
740-779-1398

dennisleone@roadrunner.com

Mark Meuser

Contributing Member
804 Cherry Bottom Rd.

Gahanna, OH 43230

meuserm@strsoh.org
mmeuser@hotmail.com

Dr. Steven Puckett

Superintendent Representative for Dr. Susan Tave Zellman

Ohio Departments Bldg.
25 S. Front St.

Columbus, OH 43215

Steven.Puckett@ode.state.oh.us
Susan Zellman: susan.zelman@ODE.state.oh.us

Craig C. Brooks
Appointed by the State Treasurer
440-349-4931
craig_brooks@sbcglobal.net

House & Senate Appointment Appointed Member - TBA

More STRS contact information here

Find your state legislators here

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

RH Jones: Enforcing the one-subject legislative rule in a House Bill

From RH Jones, January 3, 2007

Subject: To force the one-subject legislative rule in a HB

To all:

Through a wonderful legislative aide, I have just found out that: There is a one-subject rule in the house that protects a bill from "crazy" unrelated items being attached to it. But, a house majority can overrule it! And to do it at the last second a mid-night is very wrong as well. Both are unethical and needs to change. No good can come from this practice. The public has no chance for input. Perhaps an Ohio Constitutional Amendment would force the majority to follow this one-subject rule. To my knowledge, a change can not be done legislatively; it must be done, should be done, with a Constitutional Amendment.

All educator unions need to get behind this and get it done. Legislators have got to follow the rules. And the only way to insure that they do is to make it illegal to break the one-subject rule of a House Bill and to stop the practice of adding unrelated items at the last second.

Robert Hudson Jones, retired teacher member of the STRS & a union lifer.

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Dayton Daily News on HB 707

From State Teachers Retirement System: Young, old teachers willing to help pay

January 02, 2007

The following is an edited excerpt from the State Teachers Retirement System in support of House Bill 707:
This member-driven initiative calls for increasing public teachers' contributions to the State Teachers Retirement System in Ohio by 2.5 percent and their employers' contributions by 2.5 percent of teacher payroll to create an ongoing, dedicated revenue stream for the pension system's Ohio Health Care Program.

These increases would be phased in over a five-year period, in 0.5 percent increments. Legislative action is needed because both member and employer contributions are already at the maximum levels allowed by law — 10 percent and 14 percent, respectively.

This legislation:

• Has the majority support of Ohio's public educators — even among those who are 15 years or more away from retirement.

• Is endorsed by the Health Care Advocates for the pension system — a coalition of management, professional and retiree organizations representing Ohio's public K–12 and higher education teachers.

• Provides an ongoing, dedicated revenue stream for the pension system's Ohio Health Care Program, which currently serves more than 114,000 retired educators and their family members.

• Continues to provide health-care coverage for disabled teachers and retirees with pre-existing conditions who would otherwise be uninsured.

• Pre-funds the Health Care Program, ensuring its long-term solvency on a 30-year funding basis.

• Helps employers recruit and retain quality educators.

• Proactively involves employers in managing their workforce and accompanying payroll and health-care costs. Without affordable health care in retirement, teachers will work longer. This translates into higher medical costs and higher wages — increased costs that will have to be paid by their employers, public schools, colleges and universities.

• Provides for a gradual phase-in that will generate approximately $94 million in the first year and about $500 million for the health-care fund at the end of five years on an annual, ongoing basis.

• Provides a member-driven solution at the statewide level for a national problem — the ever increasing number of uninsured Americans.

Dayton Daily News Editorial: Our View: Ohio teachers need to give in order to get

By Dayton Daily News

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

The Ohio State Teachers Retirement System wants help from local school districts in paying for health-care benefits for its retirees.

Active and retired teachers have a tough sales job. Many communities already are stretched to the limit when it comes to their property taxes — with many taxpayers struggling to find ways to pay for their own retirements and health benefits. What's more, subsidizing benefits for one group of civil servants can have implications for other public employees.

But that's not to say that teachers have no chance. Support for stable retiree health-care benefits may be attainable — but the best strategy would be for teachers to put the full array of pay and benefits on the table and see if there is a better way to restructure the whole package.

Their pension system has offered health insurance coverage since 1971, but it has never had a dedicated source of funding to pay for the coverage. Rather, costs are met by premiums paid by members, and that money is supplemented by subsidies from the pension fund.

A bill was introduced in the Ohio House of Representatives earlier this month that would require teachers to contribute as much as 2.5 percent of their salaries each year toward a special health care fund. But the bill also would require employers — meaning local school districts and colleges and universities whose faculty participate in the system — to also contribute an amount equal to an additional 2.5 percent of teachers' pay.

That's in addition to the 10 percent and the 14 percent of teachers' pay that employees and employers, respectively, now contribute to the pension system.

The retirement system doesn't have to provide health-care benefits to retirees, but it must keep pension payments flowing. In addition to their monthly benefits, retirees are guaranteed 3 percent annual cost-of-living adjustments and partial reimbursement of members' Medicare Part B premiums.

With the approval of its members, the retirement system has been devoting part of employers' pension contributions to support health care. At the same time, it has been scaling back generous subsidies and benefits, raising premiums, eliminating subsidies for family coverage and increasing the length of service a retiree needs to be eligible for benefits.

But without a major cash infusion, the retirement system can't continue funding health benefits for retirees indefinitely.

All but the most affluent communities are sure to look at the proposal as financially impossible. School district budgets and collective-bargaining agreements are pushing local districts to — and, in some cases, past — the financial breaking point.

The Ohio's State Teachers Retirement System and its members need to be more specific. What are they willing to give up in exchange for help on the health care front? Until that question is answered, this legislation shouldn't move forward.

RH Jones on Brian Williams' letter to the editor re: HB 79

RH Jones to Lyn Falk, January 2, 2007

Subject: Re: Copy - Letter to the Editor H.B. 79 from Rep. Brian G. Williams

Lyn,

If a majority can "suspend the Rules" legislation is needed that makes it unlawful to do so. Minority rights must be repected in a democracy.

RHJones

---

Lyn Falk to RH Jones, January 2, 2007

Subject: RE: Copy - Letter to the Editor H.B. 79 from Rep. Brian G. Williams

Amen

Procedure is under what is called “House Rules” – sort of the Standard Operating Manual for OHR.

They keep doing what is called “suspending the rules,” and we can’t stop them unless we are in the Majority

It is really unbelievable but I will cc Brian on this email

Lyn Falk, Legislative Aide

to BRIAN G. WILLIAMS, State Representative

Ohio House District 41 (Akron & NW Summit County)

614-644-5085
----

RH Jones to Lyn Falk, January 2, 2007

Subject: Re: Copy - Letter to the Editor H.B. 79 from Rep. Brian G. Williams

Rep. Brian Williams Rep. Bob Otterman and to all :

Re: A need for a HB to limit altering bills with amendments that are unrelated to the primary intent of the bill. And a 2nd HB is needed to guarantee time for public debate.

When I first read the Beacon 12/21/06 article by Reporter Warsmith, I was dismayed that Reps Williams & Otterman -- both Democrats -- had voted for it; however, after finding out why, I probably would have done the same thing. Had I been a Rep., I would have had to vote for it too. They had no choice! It would be political suicide to have voted against a bill that protects children, even if strong laws are already on the books. Williams and Otterman were put "between a rock and a hard place", "the devil and the deep blue sea" and "over a barrel". They had to vote to "save their necks".

This is explained in the attachment from Williams. And Otterman explained to the SummitCRTA Chair, Dr. Fluke, that had they not voted for bill, it would have opened up even more money for vouchers. They explained that HB 79 was two separate issues.

My opinion is: Dual-issue bills should be unlawful. No more separate issues in one numbered HB, PERIOD! A law to stop this unethical practice has to be passed. No representative Democrat, Republican, or Independent, should have to put up with this; and, neither should the public. Citizen debate time is essential to democracy.

Midnight House Bills must not be allowed. It is unreasonable to expect a representative to thoughtfully read a bill and to vote intelligently at that late hour.

Finally, contrary to Rep. Brian Williams, this retired teacher does not support vouchers and charter schools under ANY circumstances. Vouchers have shown to take public funds away from our democratic public school system and has funneled it into the pockets of greedy entrepreneurs and their cronies. Because of it, both education in Ohio and the STRS has suffered negatively. Public funding of vouchers/charters and home schooling have shown to be a failed experiment.

Robert Hudson Jones, a retired STRS member

---

From Lyn Falk, January 2, 2007

Subject: Copy - Letter to the Editor H.B. 79 from Rep. Brian G. Williams

STATE REPRESENTATIVE-Ohio House District 41

Brian G. Williams
1725 Brookwood Dr. Akron, Ohio 44313
330-864-8477

December 29, 2006

To The Editor:

I wish to add clarification to my vote on House Bill 79 which was reported on by Stephanie Warsmith in the Beacon Journal on December 21, 2006. I supported HB 79 when it passed out of the House in May of 2005 and was sent to the Senate where it sat until earlier this month when it was amended in a Conference Committee and sent back to the House for concurrence. There were several amendments that had to do with Charter Schools, some of which were good in that they make them more accountable. One of the amendments increased the number of students eligible to receive vouchers…though it DID NOT increase the number of vouchers available. I continue to oppose vouchers and charter schools as educational experiments until/unless the State follows the DeRolph Supreme Court Decision and provides a constitutional school- funding program that results in reducing over-reliance on local property taxes and assumes this responsibility at the state level.

Now for the rest of the story: I voted for HB79, notwithstanding my opposition to the voucher amendment, because it is –in my opinion—generally a good bill and should go far toward removing teachers who violate their “caregiver” role and take advantage of innocent children under their control and supervision. Since the State Department of Education controls teaching certificates and licenses, HB 79 increases the State Department’s involvement in instances where a teacher or other license/certificate holder may be involved in child abuse (physical or sexual). The bill increases the instances where teachers must undergo criminal background checks; requires local school boards to report teacher criminal convictions to the state; requires Children Services Boards to report evidence of child abuse against school staff to the State Department of Education; and most importantly, requires local school officials to share information of possible teacher child abuse/child sexual abuse with the State Superintendent of Schools. These requirements of HB 79 (and others), should reduce the practice of passing problem teachers from one school district to another and will heighten the involvement the State in determining if a certificate/license should be revoked.

It is regrettable that the majority party in this latest “lame duck” session chose—once again—to alter a good bill (HB 79) with unrelated voucher amendments…and did so in the dead of night at the very end of the 126th General Assembly, when little if any public testimony/debate could take place!! However, on balance, I believe I did the right thing in supporting a bill that should reduce the instance where children may be taken advantage of by unscrupulous teachers or others in the school setting.

Thank you.

Brian G. Williams

State Representative

41st House District

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Lyn Falk, Legislative Aide

Ohio House District 41

Brian G. Williams, State Representative

Serving parts of Akron, Bath, Boston Hgts., Copley, Cuyahoga Falls, Fairlawn, Macedonia, Northfield, Norton, Peninsula, Richfield, Reminderville, Sagamore Hills and Twinsburg

Fax: 614-719-6941

Man of the Year?

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Bah! Humbug!
SCROOGE THEM RETAR'D SUCKERS!!

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