Education: The Strategic and Tactical Opportunity for the ORP

The Anti-Positivist sounds off after uncovering that his school district is ranked 91^st in the state, yet the Olentangy School Board rewarded the Superintendent with a bonus. And right there masking the failings and protecting the “government education syndicate” is the local newspaper (what a surprise). Jim concludes that with all of the compensation being doled out Olentangy schools are still substandard.

(Jim provides a link to the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) website to access the data in your community.)

Comment: Folks across the state our schools are slowing sinking, yet millions of dollars are being doled out every year and our students are failing at the most basic skills. So here is another opportunity for the Ohio republicans to set themselves apart from Strickland and the new age socialists in Columbus, by putting the light of day on the ODE. But this is difficult for a number of reasons, mostly because Ohio republicans have been in collusion with the ODE and the unionist in the Ohio Education Association (OEA) for the last two decades having allowed under their watch for this situation to manifest.

So the question is what should be done? First and foremost, the republicans in General Assembly must extricate themselves from this battlefield and regroup. They need to close ranks, break ties with the OEA, and lock out those in the party that continue to receive support from the OEA. The bottom-line is that republicans have to stop associating with failure, and those that lead our state to failure.

Second, Ohio Republican Party has to put forward a new education plan for Ohio and it has to be one that is centered on alternatives. We have to have alternatives to the government education syndicate.

Third, the General Assembly must reward and illuminate those school systems that are fiscally sound, and hammer those that are not. And nowhere in Ohio are school systems so bloated and wasteful than in our urban areas.

Forth, Ohio republicans have to get behind charter schools. They have to communicate the success stories and provide the other side to Dann’s attacks.

Fifth, if Strickland is going too use “Elliott Spitzer” tactics against the charter schools, then the General Assembly needs to demand Dann investigate the ODE. Undoubtedly there needs to be more accountability, but without leadership from the Republicans this will not happen (ding-ding, note the key word “leadership” Mr. Bennett). The General Assembly and the ORP must put Ohio education in the public spotlight as often as they can and take the issue away from the democrats.

Finally, but certainly not last, we have to help those failing school systems get off the addictive drug called “federal aid.” This is huge problem for a number of reasons:

a. nothing the federal government has ever done, be it republican or democrat administrations, has ever had one positive effect on our education system. We need to realize the U.S. Department of Education is a significant failure of the “Great Society” (and is growing exponentially faster than the Department of Defense, also has no constitutional basis for its existence).

b. for every dollar received from the federal government means the diverting of teaching and administrative time and resources away from our children because federal mandated accountability practices that go with the money have to be met first. They give you the money, but not the staff to manage it; that staff comes out of the school districts hide. This means money is being diverted from our children. Think about it, in order to get money you have to spend money; this is plain stupidity.

Nevertheless, this means we have to have sound alternatives and support from Ohio that is more desirable than the “crack cocaine” being peddled by the U.S. Department of Education.

The Ohio republicans screwed up in some very significant areas during the last 20 years, but that doesn’t mean they should throw in the towel and join the other side (to some it might look like they did that years ago). However, if new key objectives are identified, education being one of them, and then matching sound planning that incorporates non-statist and free-market solutions, Ohio republicans can regain the high ground lost during the last election. But this can only come through visionary leadership that guides us back to the right, and communicates the same with the citizens of Ohio. I guarantee if this is done not only will the ORP be back on track and leading the state, but our education system will be greatly improved.