Ohio considers cuts to arts programs
In early November, the Ohio Board of Education proposed new Ohio Operating Standards, much to the dismay of the media and the public.
On Nov. 10, Patrick O’Donnell wrote for The Cleveland Plain Dealer, “The State Board will vote in December… on whether to eliminate requirements that local districts have a certain number of elementary art, music or physical education teachers, school counselors, library media specialists, school nurses, social workers and ‘visiting teachers.’ Administrative code requires districts to have at least five of these eight positions per 1,000 students in what some call the ‘5 of 8’ rule. The state board is considering wiping out that rule and allowing districts to make staffing decisions on their own.”
According to Plunderbund.com, a political blog focused on Ohio and national politics, in an article on Nov. 10, “The State School Board is leaning toward the notion of ‘local control’ in these proposed revisions.”
The article went on to say that the proposed changes are a major result of the lack of funding to the public educational system in Ohio.
According to The Columbus Dispatch on Nov. 12, “Many people took to Twitter to express their outrage to this plan using the hash tags #Ohio5of8 and #5of8. On Tuesday, the board heard five hours of testimony from people who were mostly against the plan, which will get a preliminary vote in December and a final vote in March.”
According to StateImpact.Npr.org, the State School Board feels these changes will be beneficial in favor of focusing on the core subjects that are tested in the state’s standardized testing curriculum, and also in giving local districts more freedom to choose which programs to fund.
There is still ample time for people to voice their opinions and or support on the proposed changes to the Ohio School Board Operations.