Bill Phillis, former deputy state commissioner in Ohio, founded the Ohio Equity & Adequacy Coalition to support public education. Now retired, he is an expert on the funding of education. Consider joining his email list and contributing to its work. You can contact him at: ohioeanda@sbcglobal.net
He writes:
The 16 school district superintendents and the ESC superintendent in Lorain County have been engaging their respective communities in evaluating the education “reforms” handed down from Washington D.C. and Columbus. These superintendents have been speaking out responsibly regarding the “reforms,” including the voucher programs and charter industry.
One year ago this month they conducted a countywide opinion survey regarding the “reforms.” They learned from the poll, among other things, that a majority of the Lorain County citizens feel connected to their public schools and believe their schools are going a good job in preparing the students for the future. They found that citizens do not support many of the “reforms” handed down from Washington D.C. and Columbus.
Subsequent to the survey, all boards of education in Lorain County called on their legislators, by board resolutions, to draft legislation which would require “Ohio citizens to have an opportunity to review and discuss changes in education policy before they turn into educational mandates.” This initiative has positioned the Lorain County school community to exercise a positive influence on the improvement of educational opportunities via the public common school system.
Contact Greg Ring, Superintendent of Lorain County ESC, for information on the process used in that county.
The public common school system must be rescued from the privatizers, person by person, district by district and state by state. The federal government and most state governments are in cahoots with the privatizers and thus the only hope of restoring the public common school system to its constitutional role is through citizen involvement.
William Phillis
ohioeanda@sbcglobal.net
Ohio E & A
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Diane Ravitch's blog 
Great post!
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I read Mr. Phillis and I;m very grateful for his advocacy on behalf of Ohio public schools, but it would be really helpful if he would provide a link when he quotes a local news source. It can be difficult to find the source when he quotes smaller, local papers in Ohio, as he does frequently.
Again, I;m grateful to him because most of us in Ohio would not find this reporting without him, but it would be easier if he would link 🙂
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I think they have hit on a system of citizen advocacy that can serve as a model for other areas of the country.
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Jason Hart, at mediatrackers, in an Aug. 4, 2014 article, “State, Bill Gates, Business Groups Push Common Core in Ohio”, lists the organizations that are ‘supporting Ohio Standards’. He provides information about the amount of money donated to Kasich, from some of the group’s members. He also lists Gates’ donations to the organizations.
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