Landscape Risk Management Solutions with CREATIVITY
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Election Issue • Capital Conference preview October 2012 • Volume 56, Issue 5 J OURNALOHIO SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION Elections dominate landscape Risk Management Solutions with CREATIVITY Your Ohio School Plan Risk Management Team is your partner in managing your risk. We help you actively manage your own risk through a comprehensive risk assessment. For more information, Complimentary member services include: call 1-800-288-6821 • School inspection checklist peer-reviewed by the Ohio School environmental Committee of the Ohio Environmental Health Association Hylant Administrative Services 811 Madison Avenue • Technical assistance and resource materials Toledo, Ohio 43604 • Inspections by certified playground safety inspectors • Interactive bus driver in-service training ohioschoolplan.org The Ohio School Plan is exclusively sponsored by BASA, OASBO and OSBA. Table Of Contents ON THE COVER Candidates talk education, p. 18 J OURNALOHIO SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION Election issue: Political careers rise and fall quickly, but buttons last forever. OSBA gathers responses from presidential, U.S. Senate and State Board candidates on education issues. — photo by Bryan Bullock FEATURES p. 44 Students uncover history 44 Investigating local history is the basis of Washington Court House City’s Research History class. Discover your best at Capital Conference 50 The countdown is on to Ohio’s leading education conference. The fruits of long, hard work 64 Bob Bowers celebrates 50 years as a board member. NEWS p. 60 Feltner is president-elect nominee, Wilson will lead OSBA 16 in 2013 School funding outlook in the next biennium 36 How to get the most value from the OSBA Trade Show 60 Districts name journalists to 2012 Media Honor Roll 66 DEPARTMENTS p. 3 Executive Outlook 3 According to Law 6 Management Insights 10 Boardmanship 12 Capital Insider 14 OSBA: Working for You 72 New digital edition available! OSBA Journal (ISSN 0893-5289) is published bimonthly by the Ohio School Boards Association, 8050 N. High St., Suite 100, Columbus, OH 43235-6481. Periodicals postage paid at Columbus, Ohio, You can access the Journal’s new and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: send address changes to OSBA Journal, Attn: Mailroom, Ohio digital edition on the OSBA website at School Boards Association, 8050 N. High St., Suite 100, Columbus, OH 43235-6481. www.ohioschoolboards.org/journal. Comments and articles should be sent to the editor at the above address or email [email protected]. The views expressed in articles appearing in OSBA Journal are those of writers and do not necessarily represent OSBA policies or positions. Notice of rights: All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For information on permission for reprints and excerpts, contact OSBA. Who We Are OSBA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE JOURNAL STAFF Sharon E. Manson President Charlie Wilson President-elect Crystal Davis Hutchins Cathy Johnson Immediate Past President Editor Cindy Crowe Central Region Doug G. Stuart Northeast Region Gary Motz Dr. Angela Zimmann Northwest Region Managing Editor Terry A. Halley Southeast Region Jo Ann W. Feltner Southwest Region Angela Penquite Assistant Editor/ OSBA BOARD OF TRUSTEES Richard Lewis, CAE Layout and Graphics Central Region Bryan Bullock Cindy Crowe Westerville City Assistant Editor/ W. Shawna Gibbs* Columbus City Cathy Johnson South-Western City Communication Coordinator Hanifah Kambon Columbus City Amanda Finney Ken Morlock Madison-Plains Local Senior Marketing (Madison) Coordinator/Advertising Randy Reisling South-Western City Charlie Wilson Worthington City Jeff Chambers Northeast Region Director of Communication Ginger Baylor Akron City Hollie F. Reedy Services Reno Contipelli Cuyahoga Heights Local (Cuyahoga) Albert Haberstroh Trumbull County ESC Richard Lewis, CAE Robert M. Heard Sr. Cleveland Municipal Executive Director Susie Lawson Tri-County ESC & Wayne County Schools Career Center Roger L. Samuelson Champion Local (Trumbull) & Trumbull Career & Technical Center Mission Statement Julie Schafer Copley-Fairlawn City OSBA leads the way to educational Doug G. Stuart* Rittman EV & Wayne County excellence by serving Ohio’s public Schools Career Center school board members and the Northwest Region Van D. Keating diverse districts they represent Kenneth E. Ault Wood County ESC through superior service and creative Eric Germann Lincolnview Local (Van Wert) solutions. Lisa Sobecki Toledo City David Spridgeon* Arcadia Local (Hancock) Dr. Angela Zimmann ESC of Lake Erie West © 2012, OSBA Southeast Region Ohio School Boards Association Don E. Carpenter Barnesville EV & Belmont-Harrison 8050 N. High St., Suite 100 Career Center Columbus, OH 43235-6481 Terry A. Halley* Gallia County Local (Gallia) (614) 540-4000 Sharon E. Manson Waverly City & Pike County Career fax (614) 540-4100 Technology Center Cheryl W. Ryan W. Bryce Watt Muskingum Valley ESC www.ohioschoolboards.org Southwest Region Jo Ann W. Feltner Franklin City Rick Foster Manchester Local (Adams) Gail Martindale Cedar Cliff Local (Greene) & Greene County Career Center Randall E. Smith* Forest Hills Local (Hamilton) James Sommer Greenville City Vanessa Y. White Cincinnati City *Region President Damon Asbury Executive Outlook Public education under siege Protecting education for all Richard Lewis, CAE, executive director here was a time when our public Criticism isn’t new. In 2004, the Local control means community education system enjoyed the Commonweal Institute published a priorities and values — as determined universal admiration and respect paper examining the attacks on public through local debate and discussion — ofT the American public. Our schools education. It pointed out that until 25 should influence decisions on a and the local boards elected to govern years ago, public education was community’s schools. Individual boards them have always been the democratic regarded as one of the great are responsible for reflecting those bedrock of the diverse communities they institutions of this country. Open to all priorities and values in governing the serve. Strong schools have always meant children, schools embodied our national school district. That is the essence of an even stronger Ohio. ideals of equality and opportunity. Our local control. schools served as a vital resource at the Yet today, the institution of public center of children’s social and academic However, across Ohio, organized education and local control of schools lives. opposition is interrupting those local are under unprecedented attack. dialogues, including one group that The paper noted that the attacks were awkwardly proclaims itself as the The criticism is scripted: greatly influencing how Americans think protector of “the constitutional rights of l “Public schools are failing and about public education. It also said Ohioans from government abuse.” children are trapped in failing opposition to this great institution was schools.” being driven “as a result of a broader Such groups are trying to strip respect l “Management associations protect ideologically and politically motivated and resources from public education by the status quo and teachers unions assault,” and that those mounting the spreading misinformation, promoting are blocking meaningful reform.” attacks have “systematically worked, for ballot initiatives to cut local funding l “Public schools are a monopoly and more than two decades, to undermine and denying how successful our schools parental choice will solve all of our the public’s confidence and respect for really are. problems.” public education.” DOING MORE WITH LESS Make your budget stretch farther with EasyProcure. This program was designed in partnership with OASBO, BASA and OSBA and is offered through VISA® and PNC Bank. This no-cost purchasing card can cut administrative fees and participating school districts are eligible to receive a portion of the rebate generated based on program volume of all participants beginning with your first dollar spent. For more information please contact Matthew McAuliffe at 614-463-7553. PNC and ACHIEVEMENT are registered marks of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. Visa is a registered trademark of Visa in the United States and other countries. ©2012 The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. All rights reserved. CIB PDF 0812-046-109500 OSBA Journal — October 2012 3 Executive Outlook Perhaps even more troubling are the champion of local control — telling valued by most citizens. That is proven public school board members who travel other communities: “Your school board by the fact the vast majority of Ohio’s the state working hard to diminish local should run its district exactly as I do children attend public schools. support of other public districts. We mine.” cannot overlook the irony and hypocrisy The public’s trust and confidence in of a school board member — by School board members, your work and their school boards’ decisions remain definition, a creation, steward and dedication are still highly regarded and high. In a recent Ohio Omnibus Survey, conducted by Fallon Research & Communications Inc., almost two- thirds of Ohioans responded that they most trust their local school board to make good decisions on education policies, whereas 15% said they most trust the state superintendent of public instruction, 6.6% the governor and 3.3%