Here in Columbus, there is a major push to pass a new school levy. That isn’t unusual especially in Ohio where the Republicans have taken million of dollars away from education, over the past few years, in order to give tax breaks to their rich friends. What is different this time is the effort is really to privatize the Columbus School District so the corporate interests can get millions of dollars the schools still get. Privatizing public schools doesn’t make it better. Instead we give up control and our tax dollars for the equivalent of a WalMart for education.
There is a TV ad running with Columbus Mayor Coleman touting the levy. Here are the bullet points given in the ad:
Ohio Law Would Force Public Schools To Share Levy Money With Charter Schools
This was a very scary read in the Columbus Dispatch. It seems a bill in the Ohio legislature, if passed, would require the Columbus City School District to share future levy funds with charter schools in the city. Some Democrats including Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman support the slap to Unions and voters. He and other supporters claim that the measure would improve education in the city but current science doesn’t support that view. The bill is another attempt to corporatize education and give a big pay day to Charter school operators.