3/27/08
Columbus Dispatch Blog
Jennifer Smith Richards
The teacher-licensing fee hike issue isn’t quite dead.
The State Board raised rates for teaching licenses in February from $60 to $200 for a typical certificate. Then the teachers union lobbied the board to reverse its decision in March. That didn’t work.
Now, the issue has been pushed up to the legislature. House […]

3/27/08
Columbus Dispatch Blog
Jennifer Smith Richards
The Ohio Coalition for Quality Education issued this statement in support of White Hat Management, which came under attack by a teachers union today.
“This morning the Ohio Federation of Teachers held a news conference to challenge the 501(C-3) tax status of White Hat Management. White Hat Management does not represent themselves […]

3/26/08Columbus Dispatch Blog
Jennifer Smith Richards
When Gov. Ted Strickland unveiled his new dual high-school/college enrollment program in his State of the State address, some districts and colleges (and especially the teachers unions) were lukewarm on the idea.
But the state has announced that interest in using the Seniors to Sophomores program that allows high-school students to spend […]

3/26/08
Columbus Dispatch
Bill Bush
The Ohio School Facilities Commission can’t dictate how much construction companies pay their workers to build schools, but it has nevertheless started requiring them to report their payroll.
Union companies are hailing the change as a way to squeeze cheaters out of taxpayer-funded school construction, but at least one other contractor is labeling the […]

3/26/08
Plain Dealer Letters
Letter writer Kelly Smargiassi posed yet another misguided and degrading opinion about educators (”Teachers can afford to renew licenses,” March 13).
This only further supports my theory of what’s really wrong with schools today: It isn’t about money or testing, it’s about respect.
Education in America is no longer a core value, nor are its […]