The Letters to Lawmakers Series
Letters to Lawmakers Part 1
Letters to Lawmakers Part 2
Letters to Lawmakers Part 3
Letters to Lawmakers Part 4
Letters to Lawmakers, Part 1
Were you ever taught by a teacher when you were a youth in school that you should take advantage of your freedoms by voting? I was. I remember that my teachers further taught me that I should be a responsible voter by educating myself on the issues at hand. The advice given by my teachers was essentially not to be apathetic. I remember also being taught that in this great country, the individual is important. And if you do not like what you see around you, you should get involved and make your voice heard; "write letters to your lawmakers" my teachers taught me, "and they will respond".
Well I have taken the advice from my school teachers as I have written my lawmakers about concerns I have that charter schools are being targeted. You see, my children attend a charter school in Cleveland. Cleveland has a broken school system; broken now for several generations. I can tell you from personal experience that some lawmakers are apathetic as well.
To make sure the lawmakers got my letters, I sent them both by email and the postal service. To date I have received very few replies from the lawmakers.
I had asked questions in my letters and from the replies I received, the lawmakers chose conveniently not to answer my questions, but rather gave me their political line and many times used skewed statistics if they disagreed with me. I then followed up with every lawmaker who responded and have received no more replies.
So what does it take to capture the attention of these elected officials? I am open for suggestions on this one.
In my next few blogs I will post some of my letters and the replies I received.
To start, here are my letters to Governor Strickland and his responses:
Dear Governor Strickland,
Have you ever been held captive to a broken school system?
Have you ever felt helpless when those appointed to run your municipal school system wastes your good tax dollars?
Do you know what it is like to have to live in a city where the graduation rate is less than 35%?
Have you ever stood by helpless and watched as an appointed school board spends thousands of dollars renovating old schools only to have them torn down a few years later with all the new windows and other renovations going to the landfill?
Have you ever stood by helpless as your municipal school system has been broken for over 25 years and can do nothing because the Mayor appoints the school board?
Have you ever felt helpless when those who do not pay property taxes vote to raise your taxes, in essence taxation without representation?
Do you know what its like to have to live in the poorest city in the country?
Do you live in a city with one of the highest crime rates in the country?
This is the plight of those who have to live in Cleveland.
Through all of this bedlam, the charter schools came into existence in Cleveland.
My children’s charter schools have received an effective rating from the State of Ohio. They are
excellent schools. The Cleveland Municipal School system is not.
Now you want to stop the funding to these successful charter schools while continuing to fund the failing Cleveland Municipal School system.
If you are going to believe the argument that charter schools are not successful, then by that same argument, I as a taxpayer demand that the state stop funding the broken municipal schools systems, especially when the funding has been ruled unconstitutional by our Ohio supreme court several times. The Cleveland Municipal School system has failed for many years all at the expense of the Cleveland taxpayer. Why should a charter school be held to higher standards? Why is Cleveland allowed to function below any standards?
I extend to you Mr. Strickland, and all lawmakers of Ohio who have a hand in education an open invitation to come and visit our charter school in Cleveland. See for yourself one of the few good things in education that is happening in Cleveland.
If you discontinue funding to the successful charter schools when the municipal school system remains in shambles, then you will be taking away from my children’s inalienable rights to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. My children are growing and do not have the time to wait as the Cleveland Municipal School system continues to fail. It is not right to have to send my children to such a failure of a school system. It is not right that the state lawmakers continue to fund the failed Cleveland school system with my or any other state taxpayers’ monies.
Please come and visit us before you consider stopping the funds, (my tax dollars), to my children’s successful charter schools.
Charter schools do work, the Cleveland Municipal School system does not.
Sincerely,
Mr. RickCFD
Governor Strickland’s response:
Dear Mr. RickCFD:
Thank you for your recent letter concerning charter schools. I deeply value the insight and thoughts you’ve offered.
In my executive budget, I proposed a moratorium on the creation of all new charter schools because I’m concerned that Ohio’s current charter schools are not being held to acceptable academic and financial standards. Sadly, many of these schools have been plagued by mismanagement, fiscal and educational failure.
That being said, I believe that properly managed charter schools can make a positive contribution to Ohio’s effort to reform public education. My proposed moratorium is only a temporary measure while we craft standards to ensure that charter schools are held accountable. Every Ohio child deserves the best possible educational experience, regardless of whether he or she attends a traditional or charter school.
I greatly appreciate you taking the time to contact me on this matter. Please feel free to contact my office in the future if we can be of assistance.
Sincerely,
Ted Strickland
Governor
My reply back to Governor Strickland:
Dear Governor Strickland,
Thank you for your prompt reply to my concerns about charter schools.
As a concerned parent of three school age children, I have several questions that I need answered.
Considering the continued poor performance of the Cleveland Municipal School system, are you proposing any moratoriums for the creation of new public school systems?
Do you believe that the Cleveland Municipal School system is being held to acceptable academic and financial standards? If so, which ones? Looking at the large numbers of students failing of the state proficiency tests and the persistent low graduation rate, the Cleveland Municipal School system has not met any state standards that I am aware of for many years and yet it is allowed to continue operations. Are there any moratoriums planned on this issue? Will there be newly crafted standards to ensure that municipal school systems are held accountable as they also receive state funding?
Sadly, there is no question that the Cleveland Municipal School system has been plagued by mismanagement, fiscal and educational failure. Many generations of Cleveland children have had no other choice but to attend this failed public school system. How many more generations of children will have to attend this dismal school system? How many more politicians need to be elected until accountability for the state funds being used in failed public school systems is restored? There has never been a need for charter schools and vouchers when public school systems were held accountable for their state funding.
What plans are there in the works to properly fund the Cleveland Municipal School system? The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that the current methods of tax levies are unconstitutional. Why then are levies allowed to continue? Is this not in contempt of the Supreme Court’s ruling? Our charter school manages to have an excellent and effective state rating without the help of municipal tax dollars. It appears my children’s charter school can do more with less, a measurable savings to the Cleveland taxpayer. Perhaps the state legislators can learn from the management of my children’s successful charter school.
You spoke of standards. Is it your plan to hold charter schools to a higher standard than the current state standards in order to hold them even more accountable while allowing the Cleveland Municipal School system to continue its failed operations under the current state standards with no visible fiscal or academic accountability?
In quoting your statement that every Ohio child deserves the best possible educational experience, regardless of whether he or she attends a traditional or charter school;
If some current charter schools (including my children’s) are already considered excellent and effective by the current State standards are allowed to be closed while the municipal school system which by no measure can be considered effective academically or fiscally is allowed to operate in its current state, there will be no way my children will be able get their best possible educational experience they deserve. I am holding you personally accountable to keep your word concerning the best educational experience with my vote.
As for traditional, my children’s charter school is very much a traditional school giving a time tested traditional education that has been proven to work. That is evident by the State of Ohio plaques hanging on the wall in the school proclaiming that our school meets current state standards.
Again, I offer you the invitation to see and experience for yourself my children’s charter schools before any decisions are carried out to further doom the city of Cleveland by taking away one of the excellent and effective (by current state standards) privately managed public schools in the City of Cleveland. Come with an open mind. We have met the standards.
You visited Cleveland when a large LeBron James sign on the side of a building was being threatened with removal. You made the local news showing your support of Cleveland and its hot basketball team. I hope that you find this issue as important if not more so than a mere sports icon. I am looking forward to seeing you in Cleveland again this fall when you come to visit our charter school.
I look forward to your reply.
Sincerely,
Mr. RickCFD
P.S. I am a graduate of Cleveland’s Aviation High School which incidentally was closed permanently in 1996 due to the failed management of the Cleveland Municipal School district, only 15 years after it became a certified high school. You can still see Aviation High school while driving on the shore way. It stands as a memento of better times before education became a hot political issue. Any visitor passing through Cleveland would believe it is still a school as it still bears the name on the front of the building. Unfortunately this is nothing more than a facade. The building is now being used as a homeless shelter. It is my understanding that it is still owned by the Cleveland Municipal School system, funded by the taxpayers of Cleveland.
To date, the Governor has not replied back.
Were you ever taught by a teacher when you were a youth in school that you should take advantage of your freedoms by voting? I was. I remember that my teachers further taught me that I should be a responsible voter by educating myself on the issues at hand. The advice given by my teachers was essentially not to be apathetic. I remember also being taught that in this great country, the individual is important. And if you do not like what you see around you, you should get involved and make your voice heard; "write letters to your lawmakers" my teachers taught me, "and they will respond".
Well I have taken the advice from my school teachers as I have written my lawmakers about concerns I have that charter schools are being targeted. You see, my children attend a charter school in Cleveland. Cleveland has a broken school system; broken now for several generations. I can tell you from personal experience that some lawmakers are apathetic as well.
To make sure the lawmakers got my letters, I sent them both by email and the postal service. To date I have received very few replies from the lawmakers.
I had asked questions in my letters and from the replies I received, the lawmakers chose conveniently not to answer my questions, but rather gave me their political line and many times used skewed statistics if they disagreed with me. I then followed up with every lawmaker who responded and have received no more replies.
So what does it take to capture the attention of these elected officials? I am open for suggestions on this one.
In my next few blogs I will post some of my letters and the replies I received.
To start, here are my letters to Governor Strickland and his responses:
Dear Governor Strickland,
Have you ever been held captive to a broken school system?
Have you ever felt helpless when those appointed to run your municipal school system wastes your good tax dollars?
Do you know what it is like to have to live in a city where the graduation rate is less than 35%?
Have you ever stood by helpless and watched as an appointed school board spends thousands of dollars renovating old schools only to have them torn down a few years later with all the new windows and other renovations going to the landfill?
Have you ever stood by helpless as your municipal school system has been broken for over 25 years and can do nothing because the Mayor appoints the school board?
Have you ever felt helpless when those who do not pay property taxes vote to raise your taxes, in essence taxation without representation?
Do you know what its like to have to live in the poorest city in the country?
Do you live in a city with one of the highest crime rates in the country?
This is the plight of those who have to live in Cleveland.
Through all of this bedlam, the charter schools came into existence in Cleveland.
My children’s charter schools have received an effective rating from the State of Ohio. They are
excellent schools. The Cleveland Municipal School system is not.
Now you want to stop the funding to these successful charter schools while continuing to fund the failing Cleveland Municipal School system.
If you are going to believe the argument that charter schools are not successful, then by that same argument, I as a taxpayer demand that the state stop funding the broken municipal schools systems, especially when the funding has been ruled unconstitutional by our Ohio supreme court several times. The Cleveland Municipal School system has failed for many years all at the expense of the Cleveland taxpayer. Why should a charter school be held to higher standards? Why is Cleveland allowed to function below any standards?
I extend to you Mr. Strickland, and all lawmakers of Ohio who have a hand in education an open invitation to come and visit our charter school in Cleveland. See for yourself one of the few good things in education that is happening in Cleveland.
If you discontinue funding to the successful charter schools when the municipal school system remains in shambles, then you will be taking away from my children’s inalienable rights to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. My children are growing and do not have the time to wait as the Cleveland Municipal School system continues to fail. It is not right to have to send my children to such a failure of a school system. It is not right that the state lawmakers continue to fund the failed Cleveland school system with my or any other state taxpayers’ monies.
Please come and visit us before you consider stopping the funds, (my tax dollars), to my children’s successful charter schools.
Charter schools do work, the Cleveland Municipal School system does not.
Sincerely,
Mr. RickCFD
Governor Strickland’s response:
Dear Mr. RickCFD:
Thank you for your recent letter concerning charter schools. I deeply value the insight and thoughts you’ve offered.
In my executive budget, I proposed a moratorium on the creation of all new charter schools because I’m concerned that Ohio’s current charter schools are not being held to acceptable academic and financial standards. Sadly, many of these schools have been plagued by mismanagement, fiscal and educational failure.
That being said, I believe that properly managed charter schools can make a positive contribution to Ohio’s effort to reform public education. My proposed moratorium is only a temporary measure while we craft standards to ensure that charter schools are held accountable. Every Ohio child deserves the best possible educational experience, regardless of whether he or she attends a traditional or charter school.
I greatly appreciate you taking the time to contact me on this matter. Please feel free to contact my office in the future if we can be of assistance.
Sincerely,
Ted Strickland
Governor
My reply back to Governor Strickland:
Dear Governor Strickland,
Thank you for your prompt reply to my concerns about charter schools.
As a concerned parent of three school age children, I have several questions that I need answered.
Considering the continued poor performance of the Cleveland Municipal School system, are you proposing any moratoriums for the creation of new public school systems?
Do you believe that the Cleveland Municipal School system is being held to acceptable academic and financial standards? If so, which ones? Looking at the large numbers of students failing of the state proficiency tests and the persistent low graduation rate, the Cleveland Municipal School system has not met any state standards that I am aware of for many years and yet it is allowed to continue operations. Are there any moratoriums planned on this issue? Will there be newly crafted standards to ensure that municipal school systems are held accountable as they also receive state funding?
Sadly, there is no question that the Cleveland Municipal School system has been plagued by mismanagement, fiscal and educational failure. Many generations of Cleveland children have had no other choice but to attend this failed public school system. How many more generations of children will have to attend this dismal school system? How many more politicians need to be elected until accountability for the state funds being used in failed public school systems is restored? There has never been a need for charter schools and vouchers when public school systems were held accountable for their state funding.
What plans are there in the works to properly fund the Cleveland Municipal School system? The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that the current methods of tax levies are unconstitutional. Why then are levies allowed to continue? Is this not in contempt of the Supreme Court’s ruling? Our charter school manages to have an excellent and effective state rating without the help of municipal tax dollars. It appears my children’s charter school can do more with less, a measurable savings to the Cleveland taxpayer. Perhaps the state legislators can learn from the management of my children’s successful charter school.
You spoke of standards. Is it your plan to hold charter schools to a higher standard than the current state standards in order to hold them even more accountable while allowing the Cleveland Municipal School system to continue its failed operations under the current state standards with no visible fiscal or academic accountability?
In quoting your statement that every Ohio child deserves the best possible educational experience, regardless of whether he or she attends a traditional or charter school;
If some current charter schools (including my children’s) are already considered excellent and effective by the current State standards are allowed to be closed while the municipal school system which by no measure can be considered effective academically or fiscally is allowed to operate in its current state, there will be no way my children will be able get their best possible educational experience they deserve. I am holding you personally accountable to keep your word concerning the best educational experience with my vote.
As for traditional, my children’s charter school is very much a traditional school giving a time tested traditional education that has been proven to work. That is evident by the State of Ohio plaques hanging on the wall in the school proclaiming that our school meets current state standards.
Again, I offer you the invitation to see and experience for yourself my children’s charter schools before any decisions are carried out to further doom the city of Cleveland by taking away one of the excellent and effective (by current state standards) privately managed public schools in the City of Cleveland. Come with an open mind. We have met the standards.
You visited Cleveland when a large LeBron James sign on the side of a building was being threatened with removal. You made the local news showing your support of Cleveland and its hot basketball team. I hope that you find this issue as important if not more so than a mere sports icon. I am looking forward to seeing you in Cleveland again this fall when you come to visit our charter school.
I look forward to your reply.
Sincerely,
Mr. RickCFD
P.S. I am a graduate of Cleveland’s Aviation High School which incidentally was closed permanently in 1996 due to the failed management of the Cleveland Municipal School district, only 15 years after it became a certified high school. You can still see Aviation High school while driving on the shore way. It stands as a memento of better times before education became a hot political issue. Any visitor passing through Cleveland would believe it is still a school as it still bears the name on the front of the building. Unfortunately this is nothing more than a facade. The building is now being used as a homeless shelter. It is my understanding that it is still owned by the Cleveland Municipal School system, funded by the taxpayers of Cleveland.
To date, the Governor has not replied back.
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