HB 70 - TODAY ITS YOUNGSTOWN; TOMORROW CANTON?

The immediate object of House Bill 70 (passed by the Ohio General Assembly last Wednesday) was to set up a mechanism for the State of Ohio to take over the highly academically distressed Youngstown City School District.

For Stark Countians and in particular Cantonians, it is an alarm bell that Canton City Schools could be next.

The alarm bells were set off locally by Akron Beacon Journal education writer Doug Livingston, to wit:

Livingston describes in the article the process whereby:

• the Ohio General Assembly - at the last minute in the legislative process of it current session passed House Bill 70 which might result for failing school districts:
• in teacher unions being removed,
• in local voters losing the right to control their own school districts, and
• turn operations over to "for profit" management entities,
• "the Ohio legislature introduced and passed legislation in a matter of hours with no opportunity for the public to deliver opposition testimony."

Only Melissa Cropper of the Ohio Federation of Teachers showed up at this last minute legislative gambit to present opposition to the bill.

However, only four "favorables" to the legislation including recently named Youngstown State University president Jim Tressel:

• former Ohio State University football coach who resigned when the program became troubled,
• who served as interim president of The University of Akron, and applied for the permanent job,

and three other including former Akron University administrator Connie Hathorn (on his way out as superintendent of the Youngstown City Schools) were allowed to testify.

The Stark County Report thinks Canton City Schools are vulnerable under the legislation because of the system's horrible rating by State of Ohio since Ohio has been grading the quality of local school systems since the 2005-2006 school year.

Be sure to take a look at Livingston's "Steps to a Takeover" (LINK).

Take a look going back three years:

Notwithstanding the Canton City Schools' effort to turn things around with its phased in three phase Brighter Tomorrow project, its hard to imagine the district pulling off this seemingly impossible feat so as to avoid the draconian measures included in HB 70.

Only one majority member (the Republicans control both the Ohio House and Senate) of the Stark County delegation to the Ohio General Assembly stood in opposition to the bill, that being State Senator Scott Oelslager.

Republican Kirk Schuring (Jackson, House District 48) who once referred to Cantonians as - "those people" - during his 2008 16th Congressional District race in a losing effort against Democrat John Boccieri to succeed long time Republican congressman Ralph Regula, was a "yes" vote to possibly put Canton in the crosshairs of HB 70.

Joining him was Republican Christina Hagan (Marlboro) of the 50th House District.

One may agree or disagree about the merits of the bill, but for Schuring and Hagan to support legislation that was offered with affording opponents the fundamental American democratic-republican values of "notice and opportunity to be heard" should be an outrage to Stark Countians.

Here are the recorded votes of the supersize Republican majority:

Despite Canton mayor William J. Healy, II repetitively in his annual State of the City messages since he developed the notion of "pillars" of rebuilding the declining for years Canton government infrastructure (one pillar being Education), The Report and daresay most Stark Countians see Canton City Schools as one gigantic mess with a school board that is probably among the state's very worst.

Some readers may think HB 70 is the only way to save the likes of the Canton City Schools.

And maybe they are right?

STARK COUNTY ANIMAL LOVERS - CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS VOTE BY REPUBLICAN OHIO HOUSE REPRESENTATIVES OELSLAGER & SNITCHLER?

Back in October, 2008 an unbelievable story broke out of the Youngstown area about maltreatment of dogs and a "professional" dog care and training kennel.

Authorities did step in and prosecute the owner of the High Caliber K-9 (a Steve Croley). but the owners of the dead and starving dogs were horrified when they learned that the laws of Ohio are so weak that Croley ended up with a four month sentence.

A group called the Nitro Foundation started a campaign to have the law of Ohio changed.

 

 CLICK HERE to link to the Nitro Foundation.

Youngstown area Democrats in the Ohio General Assembly (Ron Gerberry of the 59th House District  and Bob Hagan of the 60th House District) got to work and help Nitro with its mission.

Under their proposed revision to Ohio Revised Code Section 959.99(E)(3) "Whoever violates division (D) of section 959.131 of the Revised Code is guilty of a felony of the fifth degree."

Currently law provides that such offenses are a misdemeanor.

Of interest to Stark Countians should be the fact that two Republican representatives (Oelslager - the 51st and Snitchler - the 50th), chose to vote, apparently, the party line and opposed the Gerberry and Hagan bill.  See an excerpt from an email forwarded to the SCPR:

It's stretch to think that Oelslager and Snitchler favor lesser penalties for animal abusers.

So their vote must have something to do with partisan politics.

But are partisan political considerations an acceptable basis on which to "protect" animal abusers?

Partisan politics plays in favor of animal abuses?  Hmm?   The SCPR thinks that Stark Countians will be outraged by this Oelslager and Snitchler vote.