Municipal School Violence, It’s all the Charter Schools Fault

"It's not that we don't know what the problems are. We've known them for years. It's not that we don't know what the solutions are. We've known those for years. The problem is we haven't done anything about it."

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson


One argument by municipal school teachers on why charter schools can do better than municipal schools is that "a charter school can deal with troublesome students by simply getting rid of them". The argument concludes with "by law, the municipal school must then accept the troublesome student that was released by the charter school". Because of this, the charter schools are to be blamed for the poor behavior of the municipal school students.

During conversations I have had with Cleveland school teachers, I have questioned why the CMSD school administration puts up with unacceptable and even criminal student behavior. The explanation given is that the municipal schools are forced to by law. Municipal schools must accept all students, even those who cause trouble. But not the charter schools. They are exempt from those laws and can simply dismiss any students who cause trouble.

After researching the Cleveland school teachers’ claims, I have found that the municipal school districts have many tools at their disposal, backed by Ohio law, for dealing with bad student behavior. But unfortunately, the CMSD chooses not to exercise them. Instead, proverbial slaps on the wrist are administered in large quantities.

Now according to the CMSD CEO, Dr. Eugene Sanders, the CMSD supposedly has a zero tolerance policy for violence. Yet it has not been made public (at least I cannot find it anywhere). And also, supposedly the CMSD school teacher's union has in their contract that there is a zero tolerance policy against students who physically harm a teacher.

The Cleveland Metropolitan School District has a written student code of conduct. You can access it here directly. There are indeed written consequences a student may face (and I do mean may) if that student breaks the rules. Unfortunately the code of conduct is really quite lame with the administering of its consequences.

How can there be “zero tolerance” if a student does not always have to face consequences for breaking the rules? Zero tolerance means a student will be suspended or expelled not may be suspended or expelled.

There are laws in Ohio that allow public school districts to enforce discipline.

With all of these policies and laws in place, why does the CMSD have such problems with discipline? Why are not the violent students who hurt and maim students and teachers not being expelled let alone arrested?

There have been recent stories in the news about Cleveland students involved in physical altercations where they have critically injured school staff members. And the stories have indicated that the students involved were let off lightly. Instead of expulsion, the students were given simple 10 day suspensions. That was the punishment these students received for breaking the necks, arms and legs of their teachers and principals.

Are you appalled? Do you think this is ludicrous? Did the punishment fit the crimes?

Mayor Frank Jackson and school CEO Eugene Sanders keep telling the citizens of Cleveland that they are going to get tough on school discipline.

When? How? With more 10 day suspensions?

Actually they have indicated that they are going to spend more money for metal detectors and X-ray machines in schools. More security guards will be hired.

Perhaps the mayor and CEO should concentrate their efforts on holding the students (and their parents) accountable for their misbehavior by dishing out appropriate punishments. The consequences should be made to fit the offense.

It’s time to get tough by putting some bite into the consequences that are allowed under the Ohio Revised Code.

But instead, it’s so much easier to blame the charter schools.

Here are the laws (Ohio Revised Code) that give municipal schools the power to remove bad students. Students can in fact be expelled from school, no matter what their age. And if a student is 16 years of age or older and breaks the law, he/she can be permanently expelled from any Ohio public school. Now those are some no nonsense consequences.

Here is a link for the site of the Ohio Bar which answers some questions about student suspensions and expulsions.

Q.: What is the difference between a suspension and an expulsion?
A.: A principal or superintendent may prohibit a student from attending school for a period of up to ten days; this is considered a suspension. The removal of a student from school for more than ten days is an expulsion. Students are generally expelled for more serious offenses, such as bringing weapons or drugs to school.

Q.: What is the maximum length of an expulsion?
A.: Generally, a superintendent may expel a student for up to 80 days, or the number of school days remaining in the semester in which the incident in question takes place, whichever is greater. If there are less than 80 days remaining in the school year, the expulsion may be extended into the following school year.

For students who bring firearms onto school property, both state and federal laws require a one-year expulsion. The superintendent may modify this requirement on a case-by-case basis. In addition, the board of education may enact a policy permitting the superintendent to expel for one year a student who brings a knife to school, makes a bomb threat or commits certain acts on school property that would be considered a crime if committed by an adult. A superintendent also may expel a student for up to one year if the student brings a firearm or knife to an interscholastic competition, an extracurricular event, or any other school program or activity.

Q.: May a student be permanently expelled?
A.: Yes, but only in limited circumstances and only for the most serious offenses. If a student, aged 16 or older, is convicted of offenses such as murder or manslaughter of a school employee, selling drugs or possessing a deadly weapon on school grounds, the board of education may request that the state superintendent of public instruction permanently exclude the student from attendance at any public school in Ohio.

Q.: If a student is suspended or expelled from District A, can he or she just transfer to District B? A.: Not necessarily. First, there are certain rules that govern where a student attends school, such as the residence of the parents or payment of tuition. Second, the law allows the receiving/new district (District B) to temporarily deny admission to a student who has been suspended or expelled from another district until the time period of the suspension or expulsion has expired.

LEGAL REFS: ORC 3313.20; 3313.66; 3313.661; 3313.662; OAC 3301-35-03


Permanent Expulsion in more detail:

A student may be permanently excluded from attending any Ohio public school if the student is convicted of, or adjudicated a delinquent child, for committing, when 16 years of age or older, one of the following criminal offenses:

a. Illegal conveyance or possession of deadly weapons or dangerous ordnance on school premises, in violation of ORC 2923.122.

b. Carrying or being in possession of concealed weapons on school property or at a school activity in violation of ORC 2923.12.

c. Selling or offering to sell or possessing a controlled substance in violation of ORC
2925.03 (A) (1), (4), (5), (6), (7), (9), or (10) on school property or at a school activity; and, possessing a controlled substance in violation of ORC 2925.11, other than a violation that would be a minor drug possession offense.

d. Committing one of the following on school property or at a school function: aggravated murder in violation of ORC 2903.01, murder in violation of ORC
2903.02, voluntary manslaughter in violation of ORC 2903.03, involuntary manslaughter in violation of ORC 2903.04, felonious assault in violation of ORC
2903.11, aggravated assault in violation of ORC 2903.12, felonious sexual penetration in violation of former ORC 2907.12, rape in violation of ORC 2907.02, or gross sexual imposition in violation of ORC 2907.05; and

e. Complicity in any of the above-described violations regardless of whether the act of complicity was committed on school property or at a school activity. Complicity is defined as soliciting or procuring another to commit an offense; aiding, abetting or encouraging another to commit an offense; conspiring or agreeing with another to commit an offense; or causing an innocent or irresponsible person to commit an offense.

f. Any other acts for which a student may be subject to permanent exclusion.



Some Direct Links to the Ohio Revised Code:

3313.534 Policy of zero tolerance for violent, disruptive or inappropriate behavior.

3313.66 Suspension, expulsion or permanent exclusion - removal from curricular or extracurricular activities.

3313.661 Policy regarding suspension, expulsion, removal, and permanent exclusion.

3313.662 Adjudication order permanently excluding pupil from public schools.

Fudging the Numbers

Fudging the Numbers

Occasionally I run into teachers from the Cleveland schools, and if conversation begins concerning charter schools, the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) numbers are usually brought up by the teacher as a matter of fact way of showing me how poor the charter schools are compared to the municipal schools. They will use the ODE statistics to show how the charter schools compare to all of the public schools in the state. Unfortunately many cities do not have or allow charter schools. Charter schools are usually only found in the same communities where the public school system has failed. They offer a choice.

I can show using the same ODE data that in most cases where there is a poor charter school, there is an equally poor public school in the same neighborhood. I find it interesting that as far as the Cleveland teachers are concerned, that does not matter; the poor ODE numbers only apply to charter schools. When I show them equally poor numbers of the public schools, I usually get a response listing all kinds of excuses and reasons why the numbers are so low.

13th District State Senator Sue Morano used ODE statistics to put down charter schools in a reply to a letter I sent to her . She actually lumped the charter schools in with all public schools across the state. By doing this, the effective municipal schools from cities where charter schools are not allowed were added to the mix effectively minimizing the poor numbers of the failed municipal school systems in cities that allow charter schools. The statistics would have been far different if charter schools were only compared to the municipal schools systems in those cities they both resided in. But alas, this would be closer to the truth and in politics its OK to fudge the numbers a bit for leverage and grandstanding. Here is an excerpt of her letter:

While [your children’s charter] school’s Effective rating in the recent Department of Education Report Card is encouraging, it is also the exception in this state. 57% of all charter schools are considered failing compared to 8.5% in traditional public schools. With such an alarmingly high number of charter schools failing, Governor Strickland has proposed a moratorium on all new charter schools. Charter schools in Ohio need to be held accountable to Ohio’s academic standards and to the $500 million they will collect in tax money this year.

A Cleveland teacher who posts on the Cleveland.com education forum tries to explain why the ODE numbers really don't apply to the municipal schools when they are unfavorable:

“It’s funny, a lot of you people go on about which schools are good and which aren't and you don't even really know how you're measuring the schools. If you're using the state report card, you should consider that the majority of the indicators are based on standardized test scores. Furthermore, you need to consider that standardized test scores correlate most directly with disability status and socio-economic factors.

So, in conclusion, as long as you are going to use that as your measure for "excellence", I can save you some trouble. Send your kid to a school in the wealthiest neighborhood you can afford and you will have your "excellence". Of course, if your kid is disabled, comes from a broken home, or is poor, he might not be welcomed, because he is typically the type of student that lowers test scores. That’s not my measure, it's the states. If you want to buy into it, that's your business”.

Another Cleveland school teacher wrote this defending the Cleveland school’s poor graduation rate also citing all kinds of reasons and excuses why it is so low, including students who die!
Are there really that many high school seniors passing away in Cleveland to effect graduation numbers? Now folks, I live in Cleveland and I can tell you that there are not sizable piles of dead students laying around; enough to hurt the attendance numbers.

It amazes me how far some people will go to defend their public schools stating how misleading and grossly inaccurate the ODE numbers are when measuring the public schools yet they have no problem using the same ODE data to put down the charter schools. She wrote:

“As far as the "dismal graduation rate" is concerned, I think I have made the same point about that extremely misleading statistic. In a district like CMSD, or Cincinnati, or Columbus, the transience of the student population--which directly corresponds with the poverty level of the district's families--will have greatly adverse effect on the graduation rate. Students who transfer frequently are lost track of; those who graduate after summer school in the six weeks following their graduation date are counted as "not graduating;" and kids who die during their school careers subtract from the graduation rate. It's grossly inaccurate. Still, even with the ones who are supposed to graduate, it's pretty low”.

The Attorney General, some Ohio politicians, the Ohio Education Association and some public school teachers will use the ODE data in order to try and quash the charter schools. Our Attorney General, Mr. Dann, has actually stated: “by any measure, the charter schools are utter failures”. Yet there are plenty of public schools that have ranked lower than the charter schools. But they have been neatly hidden away in a politician's example of good statistics when pertaining to the municipal schools.

Am I to understand that poor state Report Card grades and poor ODE statistics apply only to the Charter schools and should be ignored when public schools are concerned? And these people demand accountability? It sounds like nothing more than propaganda to me.

Remember the Wizard of Oz? The enemies of the charter schools play the part of the Wizard. "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain! Just believe what we tell you."

Let your voices be heard folks. Educate yourself. The politicians and enemies of charter schools don't like it when you expose their fudging.

Let Your Voices Be Heard!

Let Your Voices Be Heard!

The Charter Schools are under attack by some Ohio lawmakers. They want to cut state funding to the Charter Schools which would effectively shut them down. These lawmakers want to take away a choice for your children's education. From the responses I have received from some lawmakers, it is apparent that Charter Schools must go; even those that are effective.

Charter Schools only exist in certain cities; usually the cities where the municipal school system has failed the taxpayers. Yet the lawmakers have allowed the failed municipal school systems to continue operations without any worry of consequences. Yet some Charter Schools have been closed by the attorney general, and more are in his sights.

If your children attend a successful charter school; a school that meets your needs and expectations, then you should be concerned that it may be closed by lawmakers who are against allowing you to choose which school you would like your state tax dollars to support.

So, what can you do?

You contact the lawmakers. You get other parents from your charter schools to contact the lawmakers as well.

Rally your support at your charter schools and get the word out.

If your charter school has a booster club, get them involved.

Fill the lawmakers' mailboxes with your concerns that if your children’s charter school closes, you will be left with no other choice but to send your children to the poor performing municipal school in the neighborhood. Tell the lawmakers that this is unacceptable.

Ask these lawmakers why the municipal schools are exempt from any consequences and are still allowed to operate when they are rated unsatisfactory by the Ohio Department of Education. You deserve an explanation.

Let the lawmakers know that you will hold them accountable with your vote.

Here is a list of the Education Committee members from both Ohio House and Senate.

Let them know who you are. Let the lawmakers know you are paying attention to the attacks on charter schools. Tell them about your successful charter schools.

Email them. Take the time, pay for a stamp and send them letters by regular mail as well.

Ohio House Education Committee

Representative Jon Peterson

Representative Gerald Stebelton

Representative Jennifer Brady

Representative Tom Patton

Representative Ted Celeste

Representative Tracy Heard

Representative Arlene Setzer Charter School Supporter

Representative Clayton Luckie

Representative Brian Williams

Representative John Widowfield

Representative Stephen Dyer

Representative Vernon Sykes

Representative Shawn Webster

Representative Matt Lundy

Representative Ronald Gerberry

Representative Mark Okey

Representative John Adams

Representative Jeff Wagner

Representative Steve Reinhard

Representative John Schlichter

Representative Clyde Evans

Representative Thom Collier

Representative Jennifer Garrison

Representative Fred Strahorn
(House Finance Committee - Primary and Secondary Education)

Representative Bill Coley
(House Finance Committee - Primary and Secondary Education)


Ohio Senate Education Committee

Senator Joy Padgett Charter School Supporter

Senator Gary Cates

Senator John Carey

Senator Randy Gardner

Senator Jeff Jacobson

Senator Larry Mumper

Senator Tom Roberts

Senator Sue Morano

Senator Tom Sawyer

Senator Eric Kearney
(Senate Finance Committee)

Senator Steve Austria
(Senate Finance Committee)

Senator Keith Faber
(Senate Finance Committee)

Senator Tom Niehaus
(Senate Finance Committee)

Senator Ray Miller
(Senate Finance Committee)

Senator Steve Stivers
(Senate Finance Committee)

Senator Ron Amstutz
(Senate Finance Committee)

Senator Dale Miller
(Senate Finance Committee)

Letters to Lawmakers, Part 4

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 4

Joy Padgett is the Chair of the Senate Education Committee. She supports charter schools. Here is her response:

Dear Mr. RickCFD

Thank you for your e-mail regarding charter schools. I always appreciate hearing the comments and concerns of my constituents.

I do believe that Ohio’s children should be afforded the chance to attend charter schools if they and their parents choose. Ohio has many quality charter schools within its borders. By the same token, the issue of charter school accountability is very important to me. I believe that it is absolutely necessary to hold charter schools to high educational standards and to make those schools accountable for what happens in their classrooms. We have made progress on accountability in previous general assemblies and we continue to work on this issue.

This General Assembly, I introduced Senate Bill 141, which works to make charter schools more accountable. Several of Senate Bill 141’s issues were addressed in our state budget, but I will return to the legislature in a few short weeks to continue to work on charter school accountability. I encourage you to log on to

http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/

where you may track the status of Senate Bill 141 and all other pending legislation.

It is very important for me to offer excellent constituent service. When I can be of assistance to you with other state issues, do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,
Joy Padgett
State Senator


Arlene Setzer is the Chairman of the House Education Committee. She is a supporter of Charter Schools. Here is her response:

Dear Mr. RickCFD:

Representative Setzer asked me to let you know that she has read your letters and hopes that you know that she is a supporter of charter schools.

She would also like applaud your effort to make sure the best education possible is available to your child and your work in helping not only your children, but the children of the community.

Jenna Karr
Senior Legislative Aide

Representative Arlene Setzer, District 36

Finally - positive responses from both senate and house lawmakers.

Letters to Lawmakers, Part 3

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 3

This is the response I received from State Senator Sue Morano:

Dear Mr. RickCFD,

I recently received your e-mail concerning the funding of private schools in the Cleveland area. Thank you for taking the time to write me on this issue.

Your children’s charter schools effective rating in the recent Department of Education Report Card is encouraging; it is also the exception in this state. 57% of all charter schools are considered failing compared to 8.5% in traditional public schools. With such an alarmingly high number of charter schools failing, Governor Strickland has proposed a moratorium on all new charter schools. Charter schools in Ohio need to be held accountable to Ohio’s academic standards and to the $500 million they will collect in tax money this year.

Once again, thank you for your letter. If you have any further concerns or comments please do not hesitate to contact my office.

Sincerely,

Sue Morano
State Senator
13th District

And my reply back to State Senator Sue Morano:

Senator Morano:

I find your response disappointing. You chose not to answer the questions and concerns I had; instead you sent me some unfairly curtailed statistics comparing charter schools to all of the public schools in the state.

It always troubles me when politicians who have seemingly made up their minds on one side of an issue choose to avoid questions and concerns to the contrary. More times than not, I am simply offered a set of “apples to oranges” statistics instead.

From your response it appears that you do not support charter schools. You indicate that they must be held accountable. The statistics that you gave lumped together all charter schools, good and bad, and compared them to average report card of all public school systems, good and bad, in the State. Unfortunately, this is an unfair comparison.

I would venture to speculate that most charter schools operate within municipalities where the public school systems have failed. The ODE statistics will show this in the Greater Cleveland area. There is little need to have charter schools in any municipality where the public school system is in good shape. It would be a hard sell for the charter schools to convince parents to send their children to a charter school when the municipal school system is already effective and tax dollars are not wasted.

In the Greater Cleveland area, the charter schools as a norm operate mostly within the city limits and those suburbs where the municipal school systems have failed. The charter schools offer a choice to the citizens where there have been none before.

A more accurate assessment of charter schools performance can be made by comparing them to the municipal schools in the city they both serve, and then the statistics would be more accurate. Then we can talk accountability.

I have saved the opponents of charter schools on the education committee’s some time and effort. I have put together statistics concerning the Cleveland school system as compared to the charter schools that operate within the city limits using the current data from the ODE website.

There are 105 schools listed for the CMSD.

4 Closed, 101 Open. 2 of the open schools were not rated = 99 rated schools.

Of the 99 rated schools, only 7 schools (7.07%) had a satisfactory state report card (effective and above), 49 schools showed continuous improvement (49.49%), 43 schools (43.43%) had an unsatisfactory state report card (academic watch and academic emergency).

20 Academic Emergency - 20.20%

23 Academic Watch - 23.23%

49 Continuous Improvement - 49.49%

5 Effective - 5.05%

2 Excellent - 2.02%

There are 47 Charter Schools total listed in Cleveland.

5 Closed, 42 Open. 5 of the open schools not rated = 37 rated schools.

Of the 37 rated schools, only 7 schools (18.91%) had a satisfactory state report card (effective and above), 9 schools showed continuous improvement (24.32%), 20 schools (54.05%) had an unsatisfactory state report card (academic watch and academic emergency).

12 Academic Emergency - 32.43%

9 Academic Watch - 24.32%

9 Continuous Improvement - 24.32%

5 Effective - 13.51%

2 Excellent - 5.40%

Almost 19% of the charter schools in Cleveland reached the level of effective and above. One could argue that this is unacceptable. But compared to the Cleveland School system who only has 7% of its schools at effective and above, charter schools are ahead of Cleveland by 2 1/2 times. What is being done to hold the public schools accountable?

Cleveland has only met 4 out of the 30 state standards. That amounts to only 13%. But instead of being held accountable, the City and its newspaper celebrates the school systems good news concerning their state report card. The Cleveland Schools have never received an effective rating from the state since the report card system began in 1999, yet they are allowed to continue operations. Where it the accountability?

The statistics from the ODE also show that the charter schools with the poor ratings are many times operating in the same zip codes as the Cleveland schools with the poor ratings. In most cases, both charter and Cleveland schools have similar ratings in the same areas served, yet opponents of charter schools have turned a blind eye to the accountability of the public schools. (I have the statistics by zip code entered onto an excel program if you are interested).

I believe that if the rest of the charter schools in the state are compared respectively to the municipal school systems in their cities of operation, your statement of my children’s charter school being an exception to the norm will be proven invalid. In time I will have those statistics put together as well.

It is my hope that the State’s education committees from house and senate will treat municipal school systems with as much scrutiny as they are allotting the charter schools. But thus far, I have seen very little concern over the accountability of the failed public school systems in the state such as Cleveland. Cleveland has yet to achieve an effective status.

If my children’s charter schools are closed because of the politics and posturing of those who oppose charter schools, my children would be subjected to a Cleveland school in our neighborhood that is not considered effective by the state. If that happens, I will be bringing my children to your office to meet you in person so you could explain to them why it was in their best interest to shut down their effective charter schools while leaving them with a less than satisfactory school in its place.

Ohio lawmakers still allow an unconstitutional method of funding public school systems to continue. This practice has been allowed to remain in place for many years since the Ohio Supreme Court first made their ruling. I as well as many other Clevelander’s have been subjected to having our taxes raised by voters who do not own property, and then watching those tax dollars go down the drain while having no say on who is appointed to the school board. And through it all, the state lawmakers allow the failed Cleveland Public School system to remain operational in its current state, receiving funds from state tax dollars because accountability is seemingly a low priority compared to charter schools. As a taxpayer, I find this most deplorable.

Yes, I believe the citizens of Ohio deserve accountability from their elected officials.

I still hope that you would have the courtesy to answer my original questions and concerns from my previous correspondences.

Sincerely,

Mr. RickCFD

To date, State Senator Morano has not replied back.

Letter to Lawmakers, Part 2

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

Letter to Lawmakers, Part 2

This is a copy of the letter I sent to all education committee members of both Ohio house and senate back in July of 2007. Combined, there are a total of 32 representatives on the education committees.

Note: none of the committee members represent the Cleveland Area, yet these lawmakers can and will effect education decisions in Cleveland while us Clevelander’s have no respresentation.

Dear Education Member,

You have received an email with copies of my letter sent to the Governor. I am requesting that you provide your own answers to the questions I posed to the Governor.

From what I have observed and experienced from the time when I was a student in the Cleveland Public School system to the present day, I can only conclude that the current education committee members from both house and senate have little idea what so ever on the condition of public education in the city of Cleveland as it is allowed to continue operations in its current state.

The Cleveland Public School system continues to fail miserably yet for whatever the reasons it is allowed to remain operational.

At the same time, the charter school concept is in jeopardy of being eliminated.

My children attend charter schools in Cleveland Ohio. These schools have received an effective and excellent rating from the State of Ohio. These charter schools meet the current State standards.

Earlier this year, my wife and son had a chance to go to Columbus to express their concerns over this possible elimination of charter schools. My wife made an observation that on the panel of legislators, some were interested while others seemed board to death and one was possibly asleep. When I receive your responses, I will be able to figure out on which side you support.

For those who do support the charter schools, I offer my sincere thanks. For those who do not, I would like answers on why you are allowing failed public school systems to continue operations, wasting state tax dollars while threatening to eliminate my children’s effective charter schools.

The Cleveland School system has been broken for many years now. Approximately two thirds of its high school seniors do not graduate. It can easily be surmised that out of the other one third who do graduate, many have just gotten by with the lowest passing grade possible. There are very few success stories coming out of the Cleveland School system. Proficiency test scores continue to be dismal. With continued poor statistics, where is the accountability?

It is obvious that there is no accountability and has not been for many years.

As a Clevelander, I have personally seen schools renovated and then permanently closed. Some of these newly renovated schools have been razed a few years after all the money was spent to renovate them. While others that are operational still await needed upkeep.

I am a Boy Scout leader in Cleveland. I have been involved in scouting for 35 years now; 10 years as a youth member and 25 years as a volunteer adult leader. I have personally witnessed young teen age boys who were unable to read an analog clock let alone their Boy Scout Handbook. They attended the Cleveland School system. Yet miraculously they were not failing in school and were allowed to advance to the next grade level! My scouts have told me that all they do in school is prepare for the proficiency test by taking practice tests over and over again. There is little learning. I have no reason to doubt my scouts’ integrity.

My oldest son is now 11 years old. When he started kindergarten, his charter school was being built. We sent him to a Cleveland public school. His school in the past used to be a junior high school. When my son went there, it was a K to 8th grade school. This was one of the experiments of Barbara Byrd Bennett, at the time the highest paid school CEO in Ohio. It is my understanding that it was also under Ms. Byrd Bennett’s watch that attendance numbers were falsified in order to receive more state monies.

The problems are many; the solutions have yet to come.

I am not a lobbyist. I do not have the monetary power of a lobbyist. I am simply a concerned parent who hopes to hold my representatives accountable with my vote. I will do my part to spread the word loudly so people will hopefully listen.

My children’s charter schools have met your standards, yet there are those who do not support them and would like to lump all charter schools with the few bad ones. The Cleveland Municipal School district does not meet the standards and there are those who would like them to continue operation while lumping it with all other public schools in the state. Where do you stand?

My children cannot wait while some politicians want to eliminate an excellent school while testing their theories and making promises to fix the public school systems. Cleveland has waited long enough. Our children are only young once.

By looking at everyone’s credentials and education, do any of you believe you could reach the same levels of education now in Cleveland if you were again of school age?

Would you be willing to move to Cleveland and send your children or grandchildren to the Cleveland School system?

I’m sure that you would have no problem sending them to my children’s charter schools. All I ask is for you to visit them and see for yourself before any more decisions are made to further doom the City of Cleveland by eliminating one of the best privately managed public schools in Cleveland.

Something I have noticed is that there are no members on the state education committees who represent Cleveland. Yet these committees are supposed to represent my children’s right to a satisfactory education in Ohio. A parallel situation has been evident in Cleveland as well. Teachers do not have to live in the city and do not have to send their children there, the school CEO does not have to live in Cleveland. Past Mayors managed to use some law which allowed their children to attend the school system of another city, yet they were in charge of the Cleveland Schools. It is hard to find anyone involved in the administration of the Cleveland School system that owns property and supports the schools with their tax money or is willing to send their children to the Cleveland schools.

So for the opponents of Charter Schools on the education committees; come visit my children’s charter schools and see for yourself one of the only privately managed public schools in Cleveland that meets Ohio’s standards.

Sincerely,

Mr. RickCFD


And here is one of three responses I have received. The first response is from State Rep. Stephen Dyer:


Dear Mr. RickCFD: Thank you so much for taking the time to write me about this important topic. I want to first of all say that I have nothing against Charter Schools or Voucher programs; my opposition stems from the fact that their money comes out of the public schools' budgets and they are unaccountable to voters. I'll demonstrate my issues with two examples.

1) According to Cleveland’s SF-3 Report, charter schools take away $82.7 million from the public schools. What's that mean? That means that all of the district's poverty aid and about one-third of its parity aid goes to Charter Schools. So, essentially, the money the state gives to the schools in order to make them better and on par with the world-class education we all deserve goes instead to Charter Schools. Charters take away nearly $550 million from public schools around the state. To me, that makes no sense. If the schools work, as yours undoubtedly does for your kids, Charters should have their own line item outside the public school budget so that the public schools have a chance to improve and the Charters that do work can be funded too.

2) Charter schools are the only schools in the state that actually get all the funding they are promised. As the SF-3 report shows on Cleveland, Public Schools are supposed to get $5,565 per child. However, when the money going to charters and other adjustments are made in the formula, most schools get nowhere near that. So how do they make up the difference? They go to the ballot again and again. I have a district in the area I represent that will be going to the ballot in August for the fifth time in 15 months. That's because the state won't fully fund what it says it will fund. However, Charters don't have that problem; they get the $5,565 per child no matter what. They're never before the voters asking for money over and over. If local districts were able to count on the same funding, I wonder if we'd be in this fix.

3) I have serious concerns about for-profit ventures running schools. I want schools doing well because they educate my child, not because they make money off my child. I'm not certain who runs your Charter Schools, but that's my thought on that issue.

Finally, I don't believe the answer to fixing public schools is abandoning them. I believe the answer is, well, fixing them. Unfortunately, that takes a commitment this state has not been willing to make, at least not until this governor came along. I'm willing to make the fixes necessary to ensure all our children receive a top-flight education anywhere their family chooses to live. I'm glad that you've found a solution that works for your family.

I hope I've been able to address your concerns, and I hope you'll be before the Education Committee again. Just so you know, I'm not on the Education Subcommittee of the Finance Committee, which deals with budgeting. That may have been the committee before whom you testified.

I hope this note finds you and your family well. If you wish to discuss this further, feel free to call my office at 614-466-1790. Thank you again.

Sincerely,

State Rep. Stephen Dyer


My reply back to State Rep. Stephen Dyer:

Dear Representative Dyer,
A response to your email:

I want to first of all say that I have nothing against Charter Schools or Voucher programs; my opposition stems from the fact that their money comes out of the public schools' budgets and they are unaccountable to voters.

It is my understanding that a public school’s budget is based on the amount of students in enrolled it. Charter schools are in fact educating students. They are not simply sitting idle receiving funds. I will go more in depth in my next paragraph. As for accountability, it is also my understanding if a charter school fails to meet the State standards, it can lose its State funding. Correct? Public schools are not accountable to the voters because they are allowed to remain operational and receive state funding even when they do not meet State standards. The Cleveland School system is proof of this.

1) According to Cleveland’s SF-3 Report, Charter schools take away $82.7 million from the public schools. What does that mean? That means that all of the district's poverty aid and about one-third of its parity aid goes to Charter Schools. So, essentially, the money the state gives to the schools in order to make them better and on par with the world-class education we all deserve goes instead to Charter Schools. Charters take away nearly $550 million from public schools around the state. To me, that makes no sense. If the schools work, as yours undoubtedly does for your kids, Charters should have their own line item outside the public school budget so that the public schools have a chance to improve and the Charters that do work can be funded too.

The money going to charter schools also comes from the school foundation formula. It is a per pupil amount. It pays the same per pupil amount to either a public or charter school for the students that are enrolled in the school district or charter school. The premise that the public schools are losing money is inaccurate. This money you speak of is money used to educate the individual children of Ohio. My children are recipients of this money. Considering that they do not attend the Cleveland Public School system, they do not receive any services from the Cleveland Schools. There is no logical reason that the monies allotted for their education should go to a school system that they are not enrolled in, especially a failed system such as Cleveland. Considering that students are being educated at the charter schools with this state money, how can there be any money lost from the public schools? Let me put it another way; In my children’s case, the Cleveland School system membership has decreased by three students because they are not enrolled there, and the Charter Schools have increased by three students. This State money does not belong to the Cleveland School system; it follows the student to the school they are enrolled in. It is the parent’s choice to enroll their children in a charter school. It follows reason that the Cleveland School system has not lost any money as they have three less students to educate.

The State money used in my children’s charter school has been used properly and has not been wasted as their charter schools have met the State standards, (currently excellent and effective). The only money that is truly lost is that which is still going to the broken school system that does not meet the State standards and is not held accountable by the State. As for the issue of poverty, this would be another topic unto itself.

2) Charter schools are the only schools in the state that actually get all the funding they are promised. As the SF-3 report shows on Cleveland, Public Schools are supposed to get $5,565 per child. However, when the money going to charters and other adjustments are made in the formula, most schools get nowhere near that. So how do they make up the difference? They go to the ballot again and again. I have a district in the area I represent that will be going to the ballot in August for the fifth time in 15 months. That's because the state won't fully fund what it says it will fund. However, Charters don't have that problem; they get the $5,565 per child no matter what. They're never before the voters asking for money over and over. If local districts were able to count on the same funding, I wonder if we'd be in this fix.

And according to the Ohio Supreme Court, the current system of funding schools (tax levies) have been ruled unconstitutional. It is clear that these current formulas should be disbanded all together. How long will this system be allowed to continue? When did the Supreme Court first make their ruling? How many times have they upheld that ruling since you have been in office? Why hasn’t this issue been resolved? Plus there is an important thing you missed, even though the Charter Schools get their full funding as you say, the charter schools educates their students without additional municipal property tax monies. Furthermore the city of Cleveland is in short supply of property taxpayers due to many reasons including but not limited to tax abatements for those building new housing, and tax abatement for large corporations who should be doing their civic duties by paying their fair share of property taxes. Yet these non-taxpayers are allowed to vote to raise my property taxes. The City of Cleveland with its 400,000 plus population borders on economic collapse. We have regained the title of the poorest American city. According to our Mayor, he is concerned that the 8000 city workers may move out of the city now that the State has ruled that residency laws are invalid. He says the leaving of 8000 city workers would devastate the city’s economy. It is not right that 5 % of the city’s working population seems to be holding up the city financially while being given a failed school system.

Out of curiosity, the school system that you spoke of which has gone to the voters five times; are charter schools allowed in this district? Perhaps the voters are simply dissatisfied on how their schools are being managed and would like other choices such as charter schools. Their lack of yes votes speaks loudly. Is their lack of yes votes the fault of charter schools or the result of an unconstitutional school funding system that our representatives have failed to address?

3) I have serious concerns about for-profit ventures running schools. I want schools doing well because they educate my child, not because they make money off my child. I'm not certain who runs your Charter Schools, but that's my thought on that issue.

You failed to list your concerns but considering the “Excellent and Effective” rating from the State of Ohio, there is no question that my children are in fact being educated at their charter schools. This is also evident by their proficiency test scores and attendance records, both state standards met. The teachers and management of the West Park Community and Middle Schools have definitely earned their pay and not wasted tax payer money. These charter schools are meeting your standards by effectively educating Cleveland’s children.

Let’s talk of who profits in Cleveland. The city of Cleveland has paid their last School CEO an enormous amount of money to manage a failed system. She profited well and has since resigned leaving the schools in worse shape than when she arrived. We continue to pay a new school CEO an enormous amount of money to continue running this failed system. He has profited well enough to live outside the City limits he works for in the upper class, quiet and country-like village of Bratenahl.

Private contractors profit to renovate schools and other private contractors profit to tear them down a short time later. Everyone involved in the traditional public schools profits off of the children. To think otherwise is misleading. The Cleveland Public School system has been broken for many years and does not provide a quality education and yet many have profited from its failure. How is this any different from a for profit company being involved in education especially if they meet State standards? Is this not money well spent?

Finally, I don't believe the answer to fixing public schools is abandoning them. I believe the answer is, well, fixing them. Unfortunately, that takes a commitment this state has not been willing to make, at least not until this governor came along. I'm willing to make the fixes necessary to ensure all our children receive a top-flight education anywhere their family chooses to live. I'm glad that you've found a solution that works for your family.

Abandonment? I don’t believe I ever used the word in my letters. I did question what was being done to ensure that failing public schools are held accountable to its state funding, which incidentally you chose not to answer. But since you brought it up; if I understand you correctly, you are implying that families using charter schools are abandoning the public schools. Using this premise, do you also believe that families receiving vouchers and/or choosing private or parochial schools have abandoned the public schools as well? Is it your belief that pouring more taxpayer money into the broken Cleveland School system without holding them accountable is the answer in solving its problems? Not all voters pay property taxes. Perhaps tax abatements should be outlawed or at least the issue of tax abatement should be taken to the voters to give them a say on if anybody should be cut a tax break when the schools are in such need of funds.

The ship called the Cleveland School System was sunk long ago. The call for abandon ship happened in the late 70’s after the Battisti torpedo hit. Those who remained in Cleveland have been treading water for a long time. Fortunately, an island of hope was found called charter schools. Unfortunately it appears that some politicians have this island in their torpedo sights. The only abandonment I see is from the politicians who continue to fund this sunken ship without any accountability, while there are students treading water.

Regardless of any of your present and future arguments concerning charter schools, the fact remains that my children’s charter schools are effective by current State standards and the Cleveland School system is not and has not been for many years. I, like you, want schools to do well by educating my children. My children are receiving that good education at their charter schools. This fact cannot be denied. It would be morally wrong to shut down these charter schools leaving my children no other choice but to attend the below State standards Cleveland School system. This definitively would be abandonment.

I hope I've been able to address your concerns, and I hope you'll be before the Education Committee again. Just so you know, I'm not on the Education Subcommittee of the Finance Committee, which deals with budgeting. That may have been the committee before whom you testified.

Unfortunately, you failed to address any of my concerns. I have included a breakdown of the questions that I needed answers to for your convenience. I hope that you will find the courtesy to answer them. That would be a start in addressing my concerns.

1. Would you live in a city where the graduation rate is less than 35% or would you abandon it?

2. 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?

3. 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?

4. Have you ever felt helpless when those who do not pay property taxes vote to raise your taxes?

5. Considering the continued poor performance of the Cleveland Municipal School system, are you proposing any moratoriums for the creation of new public school systems?

6. Do you believe that the Cleveland Municipal School system is being held to acceptable academic and financial standards? If so, which ones?

7. Will there be newly crafted standards to ensure that municipal school systems are held accountable as they also receive state funding?

8. What plans are there in the works to properly fund the Cleveland Municipal School system?

9. Why are property tax levies allowed to continue if the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that this current way of funding schools is unconstitutional?

10. Is there a 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?

11. My children’s charter schools have met your standards, yet there are those who do not support them and would like to lump all charter schools with the few bad ones. The bad charter schools lose their State funding. The Cleveland Municipal School district does not meet the standards and is allowed to continue receiving State funds and remain operational. Is this a correct analogy?

Sincerely,

Mr. RickCFD

To date, State Rep. Stephen Dyer has not replied back.

Letters to Lawmakers, Part 1

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.

The Targeting of the Charter Schools

The Targeting of the Charter Schools

News Flash – The Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann has taken action against some dismal charter schools that are wasting Ohio tax dollars.

Citing the Moraine Community School, according to Dann:

* Met only three of the 32 applicable indicators for school performance;

* Amassed persistently dismal Performance Index Scores, averaging 66.1 out of a possible 120, giving it an institutional GPA or “F”;

* Failed to meet Adequate Yearly Progress standards for the past four school years;

* Consistently lagged behind the performance of the West Carrollton City School District on State tests.

(Blogger’s note: this charter school is actually located in Dayton Ohio, not West Carrolton Ohio. I wonder why this charter school is not listed in the Dayton school district. There seems to be some unseen politics going on here.)

“By any measure, this school, like those we filed suit against last week, is an utter failure”

The Ohio Education Association hailed the decision by Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann to seek court orders to close down three Dayton-area charter schools for failing to live up to Ohio's academic standards.

"OEA has hoped for this kind of enforcement action to reverse the state's long-term failure to monitor charter school programs. Finally, we have an Attorney General willing to target enforcement action against charter schools that have failed to meet standards of academic and fiscal accountability," said OEA President Patricia Frost-Brooks.

Well how about that, accountability from the Attorney General. Let’s hammer these appalling charter schools! How dare these schools waste Ohio tax dollars! The Attorney General has two other Dayton charter schools in his sights, the New Choices Community School, and the Colin Powell Leadership Academy.

Yet would you believe that there are at least 108 public schools listed by the Ohio Department of Education throughout the state that fall into the same utter failing bracket (and lower) as listed by their 2006-2007 performance index scores as these three charter schools?

Here is a spreadsheet using information from the Ohio Department of Education showing those dismal public schools that are in the same bracket with the utter failing charter schools Mr. Dann has targeted sorted by their 2006-2007 performance index score.

Click Here

And these municipal schools are still being allowed to continue operations with the blessings of the attorney general and OEA.

Could this single sided accountability be politically motivated by our Attorney General? I guess when those utterly failed charter schools are shut down in Dayton; their students will be dispersed to the utterly failed Dayton municipal schools instead.

In Cleveland, where I live, only 7% of the Cleveland schools are rated by the state as effective and above while 19% of the charter schools in Cleveland are rated effective and above.

Some people in Cleveland choose to send their children to charter schools because of the long failed Cleveland school system. Perhaps they cannot afford parochial school or cannot receive a school voucher.

The Cleveland school system has never ever received an effective rating by state since the state report card system came into being back in 1999. Out of the over 100 schools in the Cleveland school system, only 5 schools have reached the level of effective, and only 2 are at the level of excellent. That’s only 7% of Cleveland Schools that are considered satisfactory by the Ohio Department of Education. Where is the accountability for the state tax dollars wasted by the Cleveland school system? Where are the Attorney General and the OEA? Instead, only the charter schools are targeted. You can almost hear the battle cry -

The monopoly must be preserved and choices taken away.

The inaction against the failing municipal school systems (which incidentally have been in existence much longer than any of the charter schools and have had more time to waste Ohio tax dollars) speaks volumes of the political grandstanding now taking place.

If the Attorney General is going to shut down these failed charter schools, why then is he not holding those municipal schools, which are also utter failures, to the same standards? If he does, will the OEA continue to support Mr. Dann? Accountability must go both ways.

There is a current campaign by some Ohio lawmakers to discontinue state funding to all charter schools including those that are successful. The Cleveland school system remains an utter failure yet it is allowed to operate well below Ohio standards. (Only 13% of the state standards met.)
If funding discontinues for charter schools, and the effective charter schools in Cleveland are forced to close, these Ohio lawmakers will be taking away from these charter school students inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness because most likely, the Cleveland schools that they would be assigned to would not be listed as an effective school by state standards.

The children of Cleveland are growing and do not have the time to wait for the Cleveland school system to get its act together. It took 8 years for the Cleveland School system to achieve a level of so called “continuous improvement” by reaching 4 out of the 30 state standards. At its continued rate, some Cleveland children will be in their 30’s before the Cleveland school system reaches an acceptable level of state standards. It is unjust to have to send Cleveland’s children to such a failed school system. It is also unacceptable that the state lawmakers continue to fund the failed Cleveland school system and all other failed public school systems throughout the state by allowing them to continue operations with little or no accountability.

Should I write to Attorney General Dann asking him if any of the failed Cleveland schools are in his sights to be shut down? According to information from the ODE, there are huge numbers of Cleveland students failing their state proficiency tests. Cleveland has a terrible graduation rate. Or am I to assume that the inaction of the Attorney General and the OEA means that they believe that the Cleveland school system is being held to an acceptable academic and financial standard?

I will write Mr. Dann. I hope he would have the courtesy to reply. I will ask him what plans are there in the works to properly fund the Cleveland school system. The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that the current funding methods are unconstitutional. Why then are property tax levies allowed to continue? Is this not in contempt of the Supreme Court’s ruling? Charter schools in Cleveland that manage to be effective by state standards do it without the help of property tax dollars. It appears that these charter schools can do more with less, a measurable savings to the taxable Cleveland property owner. Perhaps the state legislators can learn from the management of these effective charter schools.

I will let Mr. Dann know that there is no question that the Cleveland 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 utter failure of a school system. And I will ask Mr. Dann how many more generations of children will have to attend this ineffective school system. How many more politicians need to be elected until accountability for the state funds being used in those dismal public school systems is restored? There was never a need for charter schools and vouchers when public school systems were held accountable for their state funding.

Governor Strickland believes that “Every Ohio child deserves the best possible educational experience, regardless of whether he or she attends a traditional or charter school.”

If the charter schools which are already considered effective by the current State standards are allowed to lose state funding and are forced to close while the Cleveland school system, which by no means can be considered effective academically or fiscally is allowed to continue operations in its current condition, there will be no way Cleveland’s children will be able get the best possible educational experience they deserve.

For his information, I will also be sending Mr. Dann copies of some numbers from the Ohio Department of Education Website which show the public schools throughout the state that have scored as low as and even lower than the charter schools he is targeting. I will list the charter schools he has targeted so he can compare them to the ineffective public schools. I am hoping that these ineffective public schools are given the same courtesy as those charter schools.

But unfortunately, I will be writing from my home in Cleveland aka "Free Stamp City", which is usually ignored by state lawmakers, and the brunt of many jokes from the nation.

Note: I did write to Attorney General Dann in September of 2006. I still await his reply.

The Ohio Department of Education Numbers

The Ohio Department of Education Numbers

The Ohio Department of Education numbers have been listed for the 2006-2007 school year.

Here is some current data from the ODE website concerning the city of Cleveland. These figures can be accessed by the general public.

There are 105 schools listed for the CMSD.

4 Closed, 101 Open. 2 of the open schools were not rated = 99 rated schools.

Of the 99 rated schools, only 7 schools (7.07%) had a satisfactory state report card (effective and above), 49 schools showed continuous improvement (49.49%), 43 schools (43.43%) had an unsatisfactory state report card (academic watch and academic emergency).

20 Academic Emergency - 20.20%

23 Academic Watch - 23.23%

49 Continuous Improvement - 49.49%

5 Effective - 5.05%

2 Excellent - 2.02%

There are 47 Charter Schools total listed in Cleveland.

5 Closed, 42 Open. 5 of the open schools not rated = 37 rated schools.

Of the 37 rated schools, only 7 schools (18.91%) had a satisfactory state report card (effective and above), 9 schools showed continuous improvement (24.32%), 20 schools (54.05%) had an unsatisfactory state report card (academic watch and academic emergency).

12 Academic Emergency - 32.43%

9 Academic Watch - 24.32%

9 Continuous Improvement - 24.32%

5 Effective - 13.51%

2 Excellent - 5.40%

With only 7% of its schools reaching the level of effective and above, the CMSD CEO found it necessary to celebrate on the steps of city hall. The Cleveland Schools have a long way to go before it should celebrate.

Almost 19% of the charter schools in Cleveland reached the level of effective and above. Even with a percentage of almost 2 1/2 times more that Cleveland, the charter schools still have a long way to go before they can celebrate, but they are in the lead with the percentage of effective schools in Cleveland.

It is troubling that the Plain Dealer continues to put down the charter schools stating that they should be held accountable while on the same page declaring that the public schools have received good news on its State report card. To me this is nothing more than prettying up the water trough.

Cleveland teachers and the media have used the same ODE data to put down charter schools but at the same time they are also saying that the numbers should not be used to judge the Cleveland system because it is based mainly on proficiency test scores and other skewed data. The charter schools have caused some big concerns to the CMSD. They have broken a monopoly and have given parents other choices.

The ODE numbers are what they are. They can be interpreted many ways for many reasons. What they show me is that there are a small number of students who are taking advantage of their education, while most have chosen not to.

The statistics from the ODE also show that the charter schools with the poor ratings are many times operating in the same zip codes as the Cleveland schools with the poor ratings. In most cases, both charter and Cleveland schools have similar ratings in the same areas served.

The education of Cleveland’s children will only be accomplished if every school has the cooperation and support of the student’s parents. Unfortunately, the ills of society play a big part in preventing this from happening.

Education is there for the taking, the teachers are willing. A child is required to attend by law. But society has enabled misunderstood behavior. There are few consequences for the misunderstood. Instead our society rewards them with its “free stamp”. For those of you that do not know, there is a huge sculpture of a free stamp on the lawn of city hall.

I was a Cleveland student when the “Free Stamp” was erected on Lakeside Ave. As a youth I had no idea of the meaning of this sculpture. As an adult I now understand its significance. The artist perhaps never foresaw the true meaning of his sculpture. But when it was placed on the City Hall Lawn, it became, as if by magic, the new stamp of approval for Cleveland City Hall. A true self fulfilling prophesy in physical form. The city has generously taken advantage of its “free stamp” to reward those who choose not to contribute to society while at the same time it is also used by government leaders for dressing up the dead horse and its water trough. The free stamp has been used to house the former school CEO in tax abated property. The free stamp was used to ensure that the former mayor’s children were free to go to the Shaker school system for their education. The free stamp ensures that the misunderstood have their cable television, fancy cars and designer clothes while providing vouchers for school uniforms.

Some have asked for solutions on how to educate Cleveland’s children. Teachers cannot make Cleveland’s children learn. It is up to the parents to instill in their children the understanding that education is necessary to be a productive citizen in society. (Sorry Johnny, you cannot go out to play until your homework is done.) It is the parent’s job to communicate the importance of an education. (Johnny, you cannot watch television until you earn better grades.) It is the parent’s job to set the boundaries and limitations for their children. (Johnny, you have to be home by dusk, you need to get to bed on time; it’s a school night.) Until this happens, I cannot offer any solutions. The wise have given us the maxim of not making a horse to drink. So far the sages of old continue to be right while the alchemist still tries but cannot turn lead into gold.

I would like to see Cleveland lose its “free stamp” and demand more accountability for tax dollars spent. Unfortunately, Cleveland has a bad track record when appointing accountability committees. Cleveland could use some new leadership. When elected, they could remove the “free stamp” and erect a new stamp of “Responsibility” on the Lakeside lawn. Then perhaps the solutions will come naturally.