The Middle

To Whom It May Concern (notably elected officials in the state of Ohio):

In letters such as this, it is often best to keep your emotions in check and remain objective. However, I am beyond the point of objectivity. I am a disappointed educator and a ticked off citizen. The school district in which I teach and live just failed its third straight levy needed to make up for the loss in funding from the passage of House Bill 66. Our district has one more chance in November to pass this emergency levy before our school board has to undertake the difficult task of cutting 4.4 million of our operating budget. While I am relatively new to the area, many of my family members have been rooted in this area for generations. Time after time, levies are placed on the ballot and fail. Sure, they eventually pass, but not before the district is forced to skim here and there, leaving schools that are a shell of their former selves.

I have attributed blame to various groups as each of the previous three levies have failed. Why don’t the local voters value the future of their community regardless of whether they have children or grandchildren in school? Why can’t the district leaders run an effective, proactive levy campaign to garner as much support as possible? But you know what I am starting to realize? It should not be the responsibility of the citizens to foot a big chunk of the school district’s bill. I cannot blame the district leaders for being unable to reach some of the stubborn voters who are simply a product of our current political climate. What I can do is ask the elected officials of Ohio why 1997 came and went thirteen (13!!!!!!) years ago and the school funding system of the state is still unconstitutional?

I won’t pretend to know the process of creating legislation, nor will I tell elected officials what should or should not be included in a funding bill. However, our governor was elected in 2006 on an education platform and four years have passed without a statewide vote on a constitutional bill for school funding. If I had been a resident of Ohio in 2006, as a registered Democrat I most likely would have cast my ballot for Governor Strickland. In the three years I have been an Ohio resident, I have cast my ballot with Democratic representatives. I have never trusted the education agenda of Republicans and most likely never will. But regardless of political affiliation, I have lost trust in each and every one of you sitting in the state capitol. You are elected officials who represent your community and their interests. Education is one of those interests.

In conversations with family and friends over the years, I have defended public education at all costs. “Yes, we can rescue our low-performing schools. It takes dedicated educators and families, and a lot of hard work, but it can be done.” “Yes, we are preparing our students to be citizens. Sure, high stakes tests and drill-and-kill pedagogies are a reality, but kids are leaving our schools ready to survive the real world.” As much as I hate to type this, I am losing hope. When I vote, I cast my lot with the candidates who represent my views as a citizen first and an educator second. Until recently, I believed that political change could happen if enough elected officials did what they were elected to do: represent their communities. I wanted to believe in each of you. But that was naïve of me given our current political climate. We have reached a point in our country’s history where there is no middle. There is left and there is right. We can’t all just get along; we have to get our way. So let me get straight to my point…

Get off your butts, work together (not as Democrats, Republicans, and Independents) as concerned citizens of a state that has many schools struggling financially to provide the best education for our FUTURE, and get a constitutional bill for school funding for the state of Ohio available for us to vote on!

With (little) hope,
Brian Brown