RH Jones: Businesses and young teachers leaving Ohio

From RH Jones, November 26, 2007

To all:

Re: businesses and young teachers are leaving Ohio

Not being able to “see the forest for the trees” is the Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA) and the Ohio Association of Business Officials (OABO). Together they are inducing, with their shortsightedness, future businesses and young educators to leave Ohio. In reality, obviously, they do not understand that inflation has been raging in the intervening 30 years, or so; and, during those years, that the traditional school board employers have not had any increase in their contribution rate - the educators have.

Furthermore, college students majoring in business and in education are intelligent enough to know that successful businesses need an educated population to compete in the highly technical world market. And, since public education provides trained and trainable citizens, along with an active teacher competitive pay scale and health care package, educators need to be assured of health care (HC) in retirement. Common sense dictates that retiree HC is a natural part of any attractive package for those seeking, or staying employed, in the field of education.

Seeking cheaper alternatives just will not provide the quality in education that is demanded by today’s Ohio’s population. Lame excuses and procrastination will not solve the problem either. The leadership of Ohio needs to move forward and get the House Bill 315 out of the FIRES Committee, and to work for it’s passage into Ohio law. After the last ten or more years without a growing economy, HB 315 is part of getting Ohio moving once again!

Most certainly, astute business people not only want an educated work force, they want the best for their children and their children’s teachers. They, the active and retired educators, will be closely watching the Ohio legislators on this modest request for a public school employer increase made available in the HB 315. Also, those elected school board members, who may lack the foresight to understand the dynamics in the relationship of education to business, will be taken to task for their opposition of this necessary change in the HC funding law that will benefit all Ohioans.

Without the forward movement mentioned above, the State of Ohio can expect to pay out more taxes on local jails and state prisons. For without support of a good public education the criminal element will grow even more expensive and larger.

Respectfully submitted, and the personal opinion of:

Robert Hudson Jones, a retired STRS member