Representative Matt Huffman goes to confession

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Curryism by John

Testimony in opposition to HB136: Statewide Voucher Program

From John Curry, September 22, 2011

http://www.plunderbund.com/2011/09/22/testimony-in-opposition-to-hb136-statewide-voucher-program/

Testimony in opposition to HB136: Statewide Voucher Program

By Greg On September 22, 2011

Last night I had the opportunity to directly participate in the legislative process when I provided testimony in front of the House Education Committee. I was privileged to listen to numerous amazing individuals from all over Ohio speak about the adverse effects of this legislation on their schools and community. Sadly, too many Republicans on the committee ignored cold, hard facts and passed the bill, 12-10, moving it to a floor vote. In the end, two Republican committee members went against their party, Representatives Anielski and Baker.

Printed below is the written testimony I submitted to the committee for their consideration. While my original intent was to read the testimony, I went off script after patiently waiting 4 hours in the freezing committee room for my turn to speak. After introducing myself I said,

Four hours ago I was nervous about speaking, but now I’m just cold and hungry. As such, I’m going to cut to the chase and start talking numbers. Because there is nothing better than listening to statistics after 9:00 at night, right?

I can’t express how at ease I felt from that point forward, and I jumped right to the charts you’ll see below and began explaining the numbers – straight from ODE’s funding reports. I urge you to take your time in digesting the numbers and understanding the implications both to districts and the legislators who voted this through. I tried to provide some brief explanations with each chart, but feel like there is nothing as good as explaining these numbers face-to-face with the elected officials who represent these districts. I specifically chose the districts in my testimony because they are home districts of committee members. Rest assured, that fact was noticed by all. The experience was nerve-wracking and invigorating. Enjoy!

Written Testimony

Ohio House of Representatives House Education Committee, Gerald L. Stebelton, Chair Gregory P. Mild, Educator, Columbus Education Association

Chair Stebelton and members of the committee,

I am not going to spend my time in an effort to sway your view on the ideology of this legislation. I honestly can’t envision a scenario where a guest speaker to this committee could legitimately have an impact on your deep-seated beliefs any more than I can envision a scenario where the committee could alter mine.

Likewise, I am not an attorney and will not be discussing the probable court cases that will address the illegalities of House Bill 136, questioning the constitutionality of the state’s decision to redirect additional public tax dollars toward private enterprises. I’ll let some lawyers get their income stimulated through that process.

Instead, I want to submit some numbers that have me questioning the intent of this legislation. The figures that House Bill 136 proposes are not only clearly inequitable and grossly inflated; they will also cause many taxpayers to scratch their heads and further question the logic of this elected body. I am fairly certain that you are well aware that the school funding model in Ohio has been under tremendous scrutiny for years and none of the recent legislation that has reached the Governor’s desk has done anything to correct the issue of state funding. This legislation, instead of leading Ohio down the path to school funding utopia, burdens us with further inequities that my generation will be tasked with trying to clean up.

The problem I find in the numbers is this – through this voucher model, the state will be shifting money into private schools at a much greater rate than what the public school is receiving. Additionally, because state funding is unequally distributed on a per pupil basis (for many reasons, of course), the vouchers are subsequently not available to all students in the same way, discounting the notion and alleged need for this legislation in the first place. The charts below include some of the most egregious offenses of the application of the bill on school districts.

I have updated the figures to reflect the changes to the bill from Monday, September 19. The school funding figures are from the Ohio Department of Education for 2011-2012 and the median federal AGI amounts are from the Ohio Department of Taxation for the tax year 2009, the most recent figures available.

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Ohio will pay a private school over four times the amount per pupil than is paid to Centerville City for their public school students. 24% of the students could control 100% of the state funding through the use of vouchers.
Ohio will pay a private school over three times the amount per pupil than is paid to Sylvania City for their public school students. 30% of the students could control 100% of the state funding through the use of vouchers.

Unlike the previous two examples, the Hudson City School District in Summit County has the 5th highest median income in Ohio, yet will receive greater voucher support by way of 60% of the student population having access and the amount only being slightly more than 1.5 times their per pupil funding amount.
The median income in the Salem City School District is less than half of Hudson City, is $13,000 below the base qualifying amount for 100% of the voucher funding, and only 40% of those students would be able to have access to the vouchers before zeroing out the account.

Elida Local School District is in Allen County and is similar to Salem City in median income and total enrollment, and the numbers involving the vouchers are comparable.

Elsewhere in Allen County is the Shawnee Local School District with a median income level that comes in right under the base amount for 100% voucher funding, 25% higher than Elida Local. However, with less per pupil funding allocated for Shawnee, the vouchers represent an amount six times greater than the public school student share. With only 404 vouchers available until the state funding for Shawnee reaches $0, it represents a situation where only 16% of the students have control over the entire allocation of Shawnee Local’s state funding.

Westlake City School District in Cuyahoga County represents one of the many districts with numbers that are severely out of alignment. With such a small amount of state funding, Westlake will lose over nine times their per pupil amount to each voucher that is awarded, meaning that only 10% of the students could actually receive the vouchers before the amount of state funding to Westlake is completely expended. When this occurs, Westlake will have over 3,500 students receiving a total of $0 in state education funding.

Copley-Fairlawn City Schools are an example of one of the most extreme disparities in funding via this voucher proposal. A scant 6% of students would be able to get vouchers at over 17 times the per pupil amount, using every last state dollar entering the district, and leaving 94% of students and their parents with absolutely no funding support from the state.

Closer to central Ohiois the fastest growing school district in the state and currently the 8th largest. Olentangy Local also has the distinction of having the highest median income for all school districts inOhio. While this status means that most Olentangy students will qualify for a lesser voucher amount because of this income, the voucher amount is still over 10 times the amount an Olentangy Local student is allocated by the state. And if only 9% opt for the vouchers, since that would be the limit, then the remaining 91% of students are left with no state funding.

And finally, Lancaster City School District with median income of under $30,000 and where the state is valuing the private school tuition at twice the value of the public schools and less than half of the residents will have access to this program.

If this legislation passes, I wonder how you, the elected representatives for the public, will be able to explain to parents why you have chosen to pay a private school 2 times, 3 times, or greater than 10 times the amount that are paying for their child’s school.

The shifting of public money to private entities is not going to fix educational funding in Ohio and the premise that the competition will cause improvement is misguided when the financial odds are stacked in the favor of one side over the other.

I respectfully request that you table this legislation so that you may focus your efforts on meaningful endeavors that will serve to strengthen Ohio’s public education system so that each and every child can learn something new every single day.

At the end, I told the committee that I provided this particular testimony because I knew that some of them needed to have a reason to be able to vote “no” that was not based on opinion or ideology and that this information gave them the excuse they needed. They could take these facts to their constituents and explain why they could not support such an inequitable funding system. Two of them might have taken that handout, and I have strong reason to believe that the Democrats on the committee intend to put the heat on the others.

I intend to add fuel to the fire.

A message from CORE president Dave Parshall

September 22, 2011

Dear CORE members and supporters,

As you know, many of us circulated petitions to get SB 5 on the November ballot. Encourage everyone you know to vote “no” on Issue 2.

Besides Issue 2, House Bill 194 will affect many of our older retirees on several fronts. It limits the number of days for absentee voting and makes it difficult for older, younger and the poor to vote. It also makes it unlawful for a poll worker to redirect you to your correct voting location should you be new to an area and go to the wrong voting location.

This legislation is an attempt to suppress votes. You can draw your own conclusion as to why. There have been only two convictions for voter fraud in Ohio in recent history, so, this legislation is not needed at a time when we should be encouraging more people to take part in our democracy...or what is left of it.

We had a very small voter turnout in 2010, and I think we can all see the results. The right to vote is basically a non-partisan issue; to find out who has a petition to sign you may need to call your county or local Democratic party for a petition to sign. These petitions have to be signed by the 29th of September of this year so that this issue can be voted on (as a referendum) in November of 2012 election. All Americans should have an equal opportunity to vote.

Dave Parshall, CORE

CORE member's letter to editor is published in the Aurora Advocate

From John Curry, September 22, 2011

Thank you, CORE member Debbie Rudy-Lack!

http://www.auroraadvocate.com/news/article/5091755

September 7, 2011

The Advocate's article headlined "Unions ignore invitation to discuss Senate Bill 5" should have read "Why didn't the governor want to discuss SB5 in February?" What an interesting turn of events. The governor and some GOP leaders now want to "talk" about SB5!

Where was the governor when Sens. Bill Seitz (R) and Tim Grendell (R) spoke out against SB5 and the fact that it was an "overreach" and could cause potential litigation down the road?

Where was he when, in early August, editorials appeared in the Plain Dealer and Columbus Dispatch highlighting the fact that SB5 went too far and faces likely defeat in November.

When asked by radio talk show host Bill Cunningham in February, "Why won't you just listen to them?," the governor responded, "I've listened, I've heard, I've made a decision." Kasich even admitted on that show that he had never spoken with union leadership, rather "his people" had.

This was a publicity stunt, nothing more. The day prior to the scheduled meeting, union leaders informed Kasich they had no intention of meeting with him, yet he chose to run with this charade.

Placards with the names of four unions were placed on a table, but obviously missing from union leadership were police and firefighters. Why was that? The members of both of those organizations will be impacted by SB5.

Only after 1.3 million Ohioans signed the referendum petition did Kasich and GOP leadership decide that it was time to "talk." Brent Larkin of the Plain Dealer recently wrote, "nevertheless, some astute Republicans here privately concede that their odds of prevailing are diminishing." The lastest Quinnipac poll shows a 24-point lead in opposition to SB5.

Clearly, Kasich has shown many of us who he really is.

Debbie Rudy-Lack, Aurora

Ohio teachers retiring in record numbers

From John Curry, September 21, 2011

This year, a record-setting number of over 6,500 teachers are expected to tap into the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, an increase of 63 percent over the 2009 levels, according to Mary Ann Cervantes, a health and retirement consultant for the Ohio Federation of Teachers.

Senate Bill 5 not only restricts public sector employees' rights to bargain for wages and benefits, but for teachers, it will also take away their power to negotiate for smaller classrooms, better supplies and professional development days, among other things, all issues that impact students’ ability to learn.

http://americanindependent.com/195125/ohio-teachers-see-wide-ranging-negative-impact-on-k-12-learning-from-anti-collective-bargaining-law
(Click image to enlarge.)

Ohio teachers see wide-ranging negative impact on K-12 learning from anti-collective bargaining law

By Dustin Ensinger, 9/21/11

The battle in Ohio over Senate Bill 5 is largely deemed as a debate about fiscal responsibility and the role of unions in the public sector, though the true impact of the legislation that curtails collective bargaining rights for teachers and other public employees may be felt most acutely in K-12 classrooms across the state.

If the legislation remains on the books after a Nov. 8 statewide referendum, Ohio public school students may have a tougher time attaining academic success.

Senate Bill 5 not only restricts public sector employee’s rights to bargain for wages and benefits, but for teachers, it will also take away their power to negotiate for smaller classrooms, better supplies and professional development days, among other things, all issues that impact students’ ability to learn.

“Of course the student’s education is going to suffer. There’s no doubt about that,” said Sue Taylor, president of the Ohio Federation of Teachers. “The state as a whole will be hurt. Students, of course, will be at a disadvantage. There will be more students in classrooms. There will be fewer resources that we can try to protect that our students need for their education.”

By one measure of academic standards -– SAT scores –- Ohio is ranked in the middle of the pack nationally. Students from the Buckeye State posted the 22nd-highest combined SAT scores across the country in 2010, according to data compiled by College Board.

The five states that ban collective bargaining — Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia –- ranked 48th, 38th, 49th, 45th and 34th by the same measure.

Ohio, being a Rust Belt state trying to reinvent its economy, can hardly afford to fall behind other state in educationally. Because of Senate Bill 5, that is all too real of a possibility, Taylor said.

“There are new teachers who are coming out of college already that are going to states that don’t have the kinds of conditions that we have here in Ohio,” said Taylor. “What teachers want is to have a degree of respect to be able to provide the best professional input and be able to have that factored in. If you have teachers who feel as though they are being treated as second- and third-class citizens in schools, the morale will suffer.”

Taylor believes the state is not only losing some of its best and brightest young people that could be shaping even younger minds, but some of the more seasoned educators in the state, too.

A combination of the poor economy and the provisions in Senate Bill 5 have led to more teachers retiring, she said.

This year, a record-setting number of over 6,500 teachers are expected to tap into the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, an increase of 63 percent over the 2009 levels, according to Mary Ann Cervantes, a health and retirement consultant for the Ohio Federation of Teachers.

“I think that there are people that are fearful of the future and fearful of safeguarding their retirement and are tired of fighting,” Cervantes said. “It’s taken the joy out of teaching for some teachers.”

In Wisconsin, where similar legislation was recently passed, teacher retirement jumped to 4,935 in 2011 from just 2,527 in 2010, according to an Associated Press report.

Losing experienced teachers in Ohio could have a devastating impact on K-12 education in the state. Oftentimes, as with most other jobs, it is the seasoned veterans that groom the young rookies.

“Who saved my life was that experienced history teacher that would sit down with me after school a couple of days a week and go over materials and ideas with me,” Taylor said of her days starting out as a teacher. “If we have a rush to the door of experienced teachers, the mentoring they provide -– both officially and casually -– new teachers are going to really lose the benefits of those kinds of situations.”

Despite the fact that Ohio ranks third in the nation in standards, assessments and accountability of teachers, according to Education Week, SB5 will also institute a merit-based pay system for teachers.

That could lead to more standardized testing in schools, which doesn’t prepare students for the real world, according to Maureen Reedy, a teacher in the Upper Arlington School District in Central Ohio.

“We are in a global economy where people who hire students out of high school or college are looking for 21st century skills –- the ability to problem solve, the ability to work together as part of a team and collaborate, find creative solutions to problems,” said Reedy, who was the Ohio Teacher of the Year in 2002. “They’re not looking for someone that knows all 50 states and their capitols or every battle of the Civil War.”

For Reedy and her colleagues in Ohio, SB5 is about much more than the right to bargain collectively for pay and benefits.

“We negotiate for professional development days, for time as a staff to collaborate and hone our craft and learn new approaches. You take away our voice, and you take away the voice of the children. We are there also to advocate for our students and what they need,” she said.

“It’s like taking a doctor away from having input on surgical equipment to perform a heart bypass.”

THE letter.....written by Southeast Schools (Wayne and Holmes Counties) Superintendent, Dr. Mike Schreffler

.....followed by the communication Dr. Shreffler sent to me earlier in the day re. this same letter.

John

From John Curry, September 20, 2011

http://www.plunderbund.com/2011/09/19/kasich-on-public-employees-we-are-at-war-with-these-people/

Kasich on public employees: "we are at war with these people"

By Joseph On September 19, 2011

About a week ago I was forwarded an email written by Dr. Mike Shreffler, the Superintendent of Southeast Local Schools. In the letter Dr. Shreffler recounts a invitation-only event he attended with Governor Kasich and the many false and often downright nasty statements made by the Governor regarding public employees in Ohio.

I was forwarded the letter again and again over the past week from good friends, casual acquaintances, family members and people I’ve never met. This letter has made the rounds and I’d be surprised if most of our regular readers haven’t already read it.

I spoke with Mike this afternoon to verify that he did, in fact, write the letter. Supposedly, there may be multiple, slightly different versions of the letter floating around, but the one I’ve included below is the original.

It looks like Laura Bischoff at the DDN also got the letter. Her piece was published this afternoon and includes a couple of quotes from Kasich spokesman Rob Nichols who, not surprisingly, denies everything and claims Shreffler is just a “big time Democrat” spouting “Ohio Education Association talking points.”

While Shreffler has voted for Democrats, Bischoff corrects Nichols statement. According to Laura, Shreffler “votes a split ticket and used to be a Republican.” I think that hardly qualifies him as “big time Democrat.”

Bischoff also addresses Nichols’ other claim about OEA talking points: Shreffler “has never belonged to the OEA or any other teacher union.” And if you go through the letter below, I’ll think you’ll find yourself hard pressed to match any of the important points to anything the OEA is putting out.

So two of Nichols’ three claims are shown to be false or at least inaccurate, which makes his third claim, that Schreffler’s story is “not true”, highly suspect.

This is not the first time Kasich has been caught getting a little too honest with a crowd he thought on his side. And this is not the first time Nichols has had to clean up Kasich’s mess.

Right now we don’t have video to back up Dr. Shreffler’s story and we don’t have another invitee to corroborate it. But knowing Kasich, and having heard many similar stories over the past few months, I’m going to take the word of this local school superintendent with nothing to gain by writing this letter over the word of the Governor’s highly paid spokesman whose job it is to cover up the Governor’s gaffs.

Right now we don’t have absolute proof that Kasich said “we are at war with these people (i.e. public employees)” or that he promised to bring back parts of SB5 after it’s defeated, or that he promised to use the legislature to “ram it through”, but these statements are consistent with things Kasich has said in the past and it seems highly likely that Kasich would say something like this again, especially in a room full of people he thought were friendly to his agenda.

Right now I’m siding with Dr. Shreffler, and after you read his letter, I think you will too…

September 9, 2011

Dear Staff,

I wanted to send this email to you for a week now. It has taken me the better part of this week to make sure I form my words correctly and present to you absolute facts. I am trying to do this below. I feel very passionate that it is my duty as the superintendent of a legitimate public school district to fill you in on an occurrence I had last Thursday.

I was invited to hear Governor Kasich speak at a private “invitation” only event. At first, I declined, but after more consideration, I accepted and attended the event. Ohio House Speaker Bill Batchelder spoke for about 5 minutes and then the Governor spoke for about 20. The majority of people in the room were affiliated with the Republican Party.

When Batchelder spoke, he told this group point blank that Ohio is in the financial shape it is in because public employees have been bilking the state out of money for years. I promised myself that I would not become outraged to the point where I had to leave, so I stayed.

The Governor spoke for about 5 of the 20 minutes on Senate Bill 5. I thought you might be interested in some of the things he said. He told the audience that public employees do not pay a dime into their pension fund and that they do not pay a dime for their healthcare insurance. As you know, this is a bold face lie. The public pension systems of Ohio have noted that 98% of public employees DO pay 10% of their salary to the retirement system. I hope you know that you do as well. Ten percent of your salary goes to STRS and the school district does pay an additional 14% for you. This is no different from an employee who has a pension from his or her company or a matched 401 (k). Nearly every professional employee of any company that is worth its salt has one or both of these benefits. Additionally, many public employees pay a percentage of their health care cost. You pay 20%.

The Governor said that we are at war with these people. He also said that he wishes they would just accept Senate Bill 5 because he is going to spend millions in tax payer money to defend it in the campaign. He said if it goes down, he and the legislature are going to “ram it through” in other legislation. He commented that his polls are showing that as many as 70% of Republicans are going to vote the bill down and he doesn’t understand why.

He also tried to tell the people that he tried to sit down with union leadership and they declined. I guess he forgot that the union leadership approached him before Senate Bill 5 passed and he had the doors of the State House LOCKED for the first time ever in history. He locked us out of our building and said he was not discussing anything. His actions made that clear.

Although many people in the room clapped when he said other things, no one clapped during this Senate Bill 5 piece. He entertained about 10 questions. No one asked anything about Senate Bill 5. They all asked about why he is selling the turnpike to a foreign nation and why he is “selling jails” to private companies which may be foreign nations when the major religions have deemed this immoral, unethical and unjust. They also asked about tax abatements, Obama Care and Medicare in Ohio. After every single question, he turned the tables around and made a comment that public employees have caused Ohio to be in financial ruin and that is why he was doing all of these things.

I could tell you more.

I understand that Ohio is in bad financial shape. I really do. I understand that we need reform. You cannot “ram through” reform and you cannot blame the state of the economy on the hard working people of Ohio. The absolute thing that bothered me the most about the whole ordeal was that he lied to the people in that room. He spread a bold face lie as propaganda in order to make his bill look valid. It made me sick.

This Governor is a bully and the legislature is his posse. We have to stand up to this bully AND to his posse. We need to make sure that our family members, our friends, our neighbors—anyone who will listen—know the truth and know that these lies are coming from Columbus. If you don’t stand up for yourself now, this will only be the beginning of a downward turn from which we will never recover.

Additional information:

As we speak, HB 136 is moving rapidly through the Ohio house. If passed into law, this bill allows ANY student in ANY public school to take their daily funding, which is now nearly $6,000 per student, and go to the private school of their choice if the family income is less than $95,000 per year. This money is deducted from the public school of residence. There is no regard for separation of church and state. I believe federal funds would follow the student as well. The private school is free to take or turn away any student they choose for any reason. They are free to kick them out whenever they wish. They do are not accountable in any way shape or form as you are as a public school. If this bill passes, MANY of you will lose your job. First of all, we will deal with two different consequences of this bill. #1. Most private schools cost more than $6,000. So who will benefit? Upper middle class students and or the cream of the crop that are given scholarships by the private schools. #2. If the private school costs less than $6,000 per year, the parent gets to bank the extra money. So that means if the parochial schools in our area choose to accept this, they could charge $4,000 per student and the parent would get a check for $2,000 for each kid. The lawmakers in Columbus keep trying to crush public education and we are hanging on by a thread. This and senate bill 5 will be the final nails in the coffin.

If there ever was a time to speak up and be active in government, it is now.

Hang in there,

Dr. Mike

Dr. Mike Shreffler
Superintendent, Southeast Local Schools
9048 Dover Road
Apple Creek, OH 44606
330-698-3001

-----

From: "Michael Shreffler" soea_shreffl@tccsa.net
To: "'John Curry'" curryjo@watchtv.net
Sent: Monday, September 19, 2011 5:33 AM
Subject: RE: Mike, a queston

John, Thank you for your kind words. Right now, I am neither confirming or denying the letter. I did write a letter to my staff but at lest 2 different versions are floating around. I am asking people to give me a chance to talk with my board tonight (Monday, Sept 19) and we will go from there. I am asking people to not forward anything at this time. Thanks again and thank you for your service to public education and your willingness to preserve it! MIKE

Dr. Mike Shreffler
Superintendent, Southeast Local Schools
9048 Dover Road
Apple Creek, OH 44606
330-698-3001

An Ohio Super with intestinal fortitude to call Issue 2 as he sees it!

From John Curry, September 19, 2011

Note from John...in a personal correspondence with Southeast Local Schools Superintendent earlier this morning Dr. Shreffler advised me that he could not "confirm nor deny" the "letter" but that he was going to discuss this matter with his board this evening. He also advised that there were at least two versions of "the letter" being circulated. I will attempt to retrieve the (real) 5-page letter and distribute it when (and if) I can get a copy of it. This is very damning to Kasich and should be! What goes around comes around doesn't it, Governor Kasich!

http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/ohiopolitics/entries/2011/09/19/school_superintendent_blasts_k.html?cxtype=feedbot

School superintendent blasts Kasich in letter

Dayton Daily News, September 19, 2011
By Laura Bischoff

In a letter to 240 district employees, Southeast Local Schools Superintendent Mike Shreffler criticized Gov. John Kasich for saying public employees get free pensions and free health care coverage.

Shreffler said he attended a private meeting with Kasich and House Speaker William Batchelder, R-Medina, on Sept. 1 at a factory in northeast Ohio with about 200 mostly Republican supporters.

Shreffler said he got irritated when he heard the governor allege that Ohio’s public employees don’t pay anything toward their pensions and health care coverage.

Kasich press secretary Rob Nichols said Shreffler’s recap of the governor’s remarks is inaccurate and reflects Ohio Education Association talking points.

“What he claims to have happened didn’t happen. It’s not true,” Nichols said. The governor often says that in some instances, some public employees do not pay toward their retirement or health care, Nichols said.

State law mandates that public workers pay 10 percent of their wages toward their pension while their employers pay between 14 percent and 26 percent. However, about 6.6 percent of public employees have union and individual contracts that call for the employer to pick up all or part of the workers’ share as well, according to the state’s five public pension systems.

Pension contribution rates, eligibility and benefits are prescribed in state law, not union contracts.

A 2011 survey by the State Employment Relations Board of public sector health care costs shows that public workers pay on average 9.5 percent of the premium costs for a single plan and 10.7 percent for a family plan. Township and city employees pay the lowest percentage — 4.9 percent and 7.7 percent, respectively — while county and state employees pay more than 15 percent. The employee share crept up faster last year than the employer share, the SERB report said.

Nonethless, public sector workers, in general, are paying less toward their health care coverage than their private sector counterparts.

The U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in March that private sector employers paid on average $2.12 an hour toward employee health care coverage compared with $4.72 an hour state and local government employers paid toward worker health insurance.

Shreffler, a registered Democrat who votes a split ticket and used to be a Republican, said his letter “has gone viral” within the education community and he has received emails from educators across the state.

Shreffler said he sees good and bad reforms in Senate Bill 5 and he likes some of the policies advanced by Kasich but disagrees with him on many of his education reforms.

“There are policies he is pushing that I like. There are some things that he has got some real common sense on and he is right. But I’m an educator. That is my profession. And I feel like I’m seeing public education disappear before my eyes,” Shreffler said.

In the five page letter, Shreffler referred to the governor as a bully and the legislature as his posse.

Shreffler disputed Nichols’ characterization of him as a “big time Democrat” who is spouting union talking points. Shreffler said he has never belonged to the OEA or any other teacher union.