Publication for Members of Central OEA/NEA Scott DiMauro, PresidentOctober/November 2011

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We knew we’d be out-spent. With Issue 2 sup-porters backed by big business and billionaires, they are most likely running two ads for every one of ours. But we have right on our side.

Our message is honest. Collective Bargaining has worked for 30 years, did not cause the recession and Issue 2 won’t fi x it. States without collective bargaining (Mississippi, Alabama, Florida) are in no better shape than states with it.

There is bipartisan support to repeal SB5 and only partisan support for it, with proponents needing to play dirty politics and change two committee members to get it to a fi nal vote.

We can begin to win by applying for an absentee ballot, then asking our friends, family and neighbors to do the same.

The following is an excerpt from the We Are Ohio website.

No on Issue 2 means No to SB5 – The Final Push

Kevin Griffi n, Chairperson, Central Communications Committee

Issue 2 is Unfair Politicians make special exemptions for themselves and upper management, while stripping the rights of middle class Ohioans. It is not Ohio values to let fi refi ghters, police, teachers, and nurses lose their rights and have their wages and benefi ts gutted, while the insiders and people at the top get big pay increases and bonuses. They need to stop working for themselves and their big corporate donors and start serving the people who elected them.

Issue 2 is UnsafeSB5 puts the safety of all our families at risk by making it illegal for nurses, teachers, and emergency responders to fi ght for safer staffi ng levels, critical safety equipment, and training that protects them and our communities.

Issue 2 Hurts Us AllSB5 hurts Ohio families and blames public employees for a mess caused by Wall Street’s greed. Instead of serving “We the People” and working to create jobs, some politicians work harder for big corporate donors by offering them tax breaks and selling off our parks, prisons, and turnpikes, which create a bigger hole in the budget. Make the politicians work for “We the People” and stop blaming them.

We winA face-to-face conversation about how Issue 2 is unfair will carry more weight than any commercial will.

Focus on your personal story, about how your life will change if SB5 becomes law. How is SB5 unfair to you? How will it impact your classroom? How will it affect their child, grandchild, and nephew? Focus on why the fi remen and police believe this is unsafe. Focus on corporate bonuses and CEO salaries. How do those things help the middle class?

We loseWe’ll lose if we become complacent. We need to ask our family, friends, and neighbors to vote NO on Issue 2 (visit WAOeducators.com to get started). People will trust you more than a commercial. We need to get out and bang on doors. It’s not glamorous work, but grassroots discussions can swing an election by 6 points.

We’ll lose if we come off topic and allow them to defi ne the debate. They want to talk about unrelated issues such as pensions and healthcare. Don’t take that bait. SB5 isn’t about those things; it’s about fairness, safety, and silencing your voice.

How do we win? How can we lose?Having right on our side isn’t enough. SB5 proponents will spend millions more dollars to spread a disingenuous message to try and confuse the voters. We have people, but the people (YOU) will need to step it up, once again.

October/November 2011

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By voting absentee you can Avoid lines on election day, which may discourage others

from voting

Avoid the cold and rain, or unexpected events that may make it harder

Avoid any voting machine mishaps

Let the We Are Ohio campaign concentrate on getting less enthused voters to the polls on election day

Once you have voted, it’s time to ask those in your friends, family and neighbors team to vote absentee! Locking in as many “No on Issue 2” votes as early as possible is critical to our success on election day!

You may request an Absentee Ballot by…Using the application form prescribed by the Secretary of State (Form 11-A) http://www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/up-load/elections/forms/11-A.pdf to apply for your absentee ballot.

You may return your absentee ballot to the Board of Elections by…

U.S. Mail: the return envelope containing your marked ballot must be postmarked no later than the day before the election and received by the board of elections no later than 10 days after a special, primary or general election.

In person, either by you or an eligible family member: your marked ballot, which must be sealed in the complet-ed and signed identifi cation envelope provided with the ballot, must be delivered to the board of elections offi ce no later than the close of polls on Election Day.

Your absentee ballot must be received by the Board of Elections for your county before 7:30 p.m. on Election Day to be counted!

Note: No voted ballot may be returned to a board of elec-tions by fax or e-mail. If a voted ballot is returned by fax or e-mail, it will not be accepted, processed, or counted.

Champaign County1512 South U.S. Hwy 68, Suite L100 Urbana, OH 43078(937) 484-1575

Clark County3130 E. Main St.Springfi eld, OH 45501(937) 521-2120

Delaware County2079 U.S. 23 NorthDelaware, OH 43015(740) 833-2080

Fairfi eld County951 Liberty Dr.Lancaster, OH 43130(740) 652-7000 or (614) 322-5270

Fayette County133 S. Main St., Suite 404Washington Court House, OH 43160(740) 335-1190

Franklin County280 E. Broad St., 1st FloorColumbus, OH 43215(614) 525-3100

Highland County1575 N. High St., Suite 200Hillsboro, OH 45133(937) 393-9961

Licking CountyCounty Administration Building20 S. Second St.Newark, OH 43058(740) 670-5080

Logan County 255 S. Main St.Bellefontaine, OH 43311(937) 599-7255

Madison County 117 W. High St., Suite 102London, OH 43140(740) 852-9424

Marion County 222 W. Center St.Marion, OH 43302(740) 223-4090

Pickaway County 141 W. Main St., Suite 800Circleville, OH 43113(740) 474-1100

Ross County475 Western Ave., Suite DChillicothe, OH 45601(740) 775-2350

Union County Union County Services Center940 London Ave., Suite 1000Marysville, OH 43040(937) 642-2836

For a complete list of all 88 County Boards of Elections you can visit the Secretary of State’s Web site at: http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/elections/boeDirectory.aspx

Published six times a year as a service of

CENTRAL OEA/NEA, INC.947 Goodale Blvd.Columbus, OH 43212

Scott DiMauro, PresidentDiana Ball, Vice PresidentKevin Griffi n, Executive Board LiaisonRussell Hughlock, Coordinator of Communications and Organizing

Editors Ann Eblin, Judy Furnas & Carla NollFiscal Manager Mark MeuserProduction Patti DeglerPhotography Mary Jo ArmstrongDesign Pam McClung

Voice 614-222-8228Fax 614-222-8218E-mail Communique@centraloeanea.org

Volume 40, Number 2 October 2011

COMMUNIQUÉ

Russell Hughlock, Communications and Organizing Coordinator

Why Vote Absentee?

County Boards of Elections for Centralballot.

October/November 2011

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School Levies and issues around Central on the November 8 ballot

County School District Levy Type New/Renewal

Clark Northwestern LSD permanent improvement R

Clark Tecumseh LSD operating - emergency R

Delaware Buckeye Valley LSD operating N

Delaware Delaware CSD operating - emergency N

Fairfi eld Fairfi eld Union LSD permanent improvement R

Fairfi eld Lancaster CSD bond - permanent improvement N

Fairfi eld Walnut Township LSD operating - emergency R

Franklin Canal Winchester LSD operating - emergency R

Franklin Dublin CSD bond N

Franklin Groveport Madison LSD operating - emergency N

Franklin Hilliard CSD operating N

Franklin Westerville CSD operating - earned inc N

Licking North Fork LSD operating - emergency N

Licking Northridge LSD operating N

Logan Bellefontaine CSD operating - emergency R

Logan Bellefontaine CSD operating R

Madison London CSD operating - emergency N

Marion Elgin LSD operating R

Marion Pleasant LSD operating - emergency R

Marion Ridgedale LSD operating - emergency R

Marion River Valley LSD permanent improvement N

Marion Tri-Rivers JVSD operating R

Marion Tri-Rivers JVSD permanent improvement N

Pickaway Teays Valley LSD operating N

Union North Union LSD operating R

What you may have missed over the summer on Join the Future, Central OEA/NEA’s growing public education social media network:

Parents Choose Public Education. Even with ex-panded vouchers, parents continued to prefer public educa-tion. http://www.jointhefuture.org/blog/406-parents-choose-public-education

SB5 Still Double Digits Ahead, But Work To Do. A look at the state and trend of current SB5 public polling. http://www.jointhefuture.org/blog/411-sb5-still-dou-ble-digits-ahead-but-work-to-do

Russell Hughlock, Coordinator of Communications and Organizing

Teacher Testing Law Is Disgraceful And Must Be Repealed. The budget provided for retesting of teach-ers in the bottom 10% of schools. Unfair, impractical, and should be repealed. http://www.jointhefuture.org/blog/430-teacher-testing-law-is-disgraceful-and-must-be-repealed

Stay up-to-date on all the latest state politics and educa-tion policy, research, and studies that affect you as educa-tion professionals. Join thousands of educators and public education supporters who follow and contribute to Join the Future every day!

In Case You Missed It

Teacher Testing Law Is Disgraceful And Must Be

Join the Future

October/November 2011

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Teacher Retesting is not a part of Issue 2 (the refer-endum to repeal SB 5), it is not something you can march against this fall, or vote against on November 8. This is law. This component of Gover-nor Kasich’s budget was disclosed in April 2011. This law requires the lowest 10% of school districts, not schools, to test teachers, and affects nearly 19,000 teachers. Testing is slated to begin in the 2012-2013 school year. Names of those who are on the list

Teacher RetestingJanice Vaughan, Springfield EA/OEA Board of Directors

to be tested can be viewed at www.plunderbund.com. Teacher organizations are opposed to this type of teacher testing for mem-bers, regardless of their building’s ranking on the annual report card.

This is one of the education reform changes that Kasich put into the current budget passed in June 2011. ODE is now required to rank all city, exempted village, and local school buildings, com-munity schools, and STEM schools into percentiles according to performance index score. Based on each building’s report card, teach-ers of core subjects ranking in the lowest 10 percentiles will be required to retake any written tests prescribed by the State Board for licen-sure in the teacher’s subject area and grade level. (“Core subject areas” are: read-ing and English language

arts, math, science, foreign language, government, economics, fine arts, his-tory, and geography, as defined by state and federal law for determining “highly qualified teacher” status.) Robert Sommers, Kasich’s education adviser, has said that retesting is necessary to ensure educators who work in struggling schools are competent in the sub-jects they teach.

Depending on the subjects and grade levels, teach-ers will be required to take between 2-5 exams each. As of now, there is a list of over 5,900 teachers from 349 schools who will be required to “register for and take all written exami-nations prescribed by the state board of education for licensure to teach that core subject area and the grade level to which the teacher is assigned.” The decision to

terminate or not to renew a teacher’s employment contract cannot be made solely on the results of a teacher’s failure to pass the test, unless the teacher has not attained a passing score on the same required ex-amination for at least three consecutive administrations of that examination.

No teacher shall be respon-sible for the cost of taking these examinations. So, who will pick up the tab? The cost of these tests will be paid by the schools themselves, using taxpayer dollars, another unfunded mandate by the legislature, another multi-million dollar payout for someone’s spe-cial interest. The real ben-eficiary of the retesting law will be the testing company, certainly not teachers or the students they teach.

Mary Giardina was appointed to the Central Executive Board in Au-gust, and serves as the Student Representative on the Board. Mary is a third-year student at The Ohio State University majoring in Math and English. Originally from Sandusky, Ohio, she graduated with hon-ors from Perkins High School.

Central New Executive Board MembersMary serves as the presi-dent of the OSU Chapter of the Ohio Student Education Association and is a student research assistant for the Mathematics Coaching Program. In her spare time, Mary participates in a number of community service ac-tivities, enjoys reading, and watching television. She plans to stay in Columbus post graduation.

Jackie Hastilow was elected ESP Representa-tive on the Central Execu-tive Board at the Central RA in April. She has been a custodian in the Licking Heights School district for nine years, serves as trea-surer of the Licking Heights School Support Association, and is the newly-elected chair of the Ohio Associa-tion of Education Support Professionals. Jackie enjoys her work for the Associa-tion and has been active at

the local, district, state, and national levels.

Jackie enjoys working with the students and is very proud of her work. She has said, “I clean for the health and safety of our students and staff!”

Jackie has been happily married to Greg for 11 years, and enjoys time with her family, scrap-booking, reading, and cooking.

October/November 2011

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The Central Emerging Leaders Program provides a wide array of opportuni-ties for participation in Association activities, such as the Central and OEA Representative Assem-blies, the November All-Area Meeting and Delegate Briefi ng, Central Area Meetings, and attendance at an OEA Board of Direc-tors meeting, to name a few. Emerging Leaders will participate in learning ses-sions on the Association’s structure, the OEA Fund for Children and Public Edu-cation, leadership styles, and political activities.

This year’s program has representation from all fi ve Central areas. The 2011-12 Emerging Leaders are: Area 1 – Bethany Herron,

2011-12 Central Emerging Leaders ProgramDiana Ball, Central Vice President

Ashleigh Miller, Renea Collopy, Jim Cordle, Jason Beavers, and Mike Fike; Area 2 – Kara Pinkerton and Ryan Schey; Area 3 – Jeff Caivano and Debo-rah Bey; Area 4 – Ginger Hixson, Jeremy Miller, and Talea McGinnis; and Area 5 – Steve Rozeski, Kelly Jett, Gina Pullin, Joe Armpriester, Linna Jordan, and Central Student Rep-resentative on the Execu-tive Board Mary Giardina.

Many of the 2010-11 Emerging Leaders are be-coming more active in the Association. Kim Moore, South-Western EA, has been appointed to the OEA Convention Planning Committee; Morgan Wil-liams, Amanda-Clearcreek EA, is a building represen-tative and LPAL for her local; and, Elliott Lemberg, Plain Local, Melissa Kendralla, South-Western EA, Clotilde Krivda, Pick-erington EA, and Tammy Koontz, SCOPE, have all been appointed to Central OEA/NEA Committees.

During the 2010-2011 school year, thirty-six locals were awarded Central Growth and Development Grants ranging from $600 to $5,000. The grant activities, used to improve the effec-tiveness of each local, were unique and varied. They included a communications/unity “bucket-fi lling” activity that recognized member accomplishments from Fairfi eld Union EA, a leader-ship training and contract education workshop from Westerville Educational SSA, a building representa-tive workshop from Dublin EA, and monthly all-member meetings for Hamilton Lo-cal EA. Central OEA/NEA reimbursed over $40,000 to locals for Growth and Devel-opment Grants.

Now is the time to apply for a Growth and Development Grant for the 2011-2012 school year. Applications are due by October 15, 2011. Keep in mind that

Growth and Development Grant2010 – 2011 Review

Growth and Development Grants are designed to help improve a local’s effective-ness and that the goals and activities in the grant should refl ect the Characteristics of an Effective Local. Grant amounts are from $2,000 (for locals with 100 or fewer members) to $5,000 (for locals with over 800 mem-bers) and are awarded for a one-year period. Priority is given to fi rst time ap-plicants, but previous grant recipients are encouraged to apply also.

Apply through the Central Web site www.central-oeanea.org. If you have questions, contact Andre Prenoveau, Central OEA/NEA Projects Manager pm@centraloeanea.org.

Andre Prenoveau, Central Projects Manager

Central OEA/NEA has scheduled its annual dinner meeting for local Association presidents and delegates to the OEA December RA on Friday, November 11, 2011, at the Columbus Marriott Northwest, 5605 Blazer Parkway, Dublin 43017. Registration is available on Central’s Web site at http://www.centraloeanea.org.

Additional information regarding the agenda will be posted on the home page of Central’s Web site as soon as it becomes available.

This promises to be an informative meeting and a great chance for interaction among our local leaders. We hope to have representation from all Central locals.

Central All-Area Meeting and Delegate Briefi ng

Friday, November 11

October/November 2011

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Faced with the challenge of repealing SB5, and quickly followed by the 2012 cam-paign, Central’s Political Action Oversight Commit-tee saw a need to refine and restructure its pro-gram to meet these critical challenges and provide increased support for local association efforts.

Big Challenges, Big Changes

This summer the Central Executive Board voted to restructure its Political Action Program by adding four new Political Action Coordinator positions to the current five Area Political Action Coordinator posi-tions. These new positions will deal specifically with

Central OEA/NEA Restructures Political Action Program

Central’s efforts to support local Associations by:

Lobbying elected representatives on legislation affecting our members

Providing assistance in developing Fund for Children and Public Educa-tion fund activities

Provide a consistent and coordinated com-munication to local Associa-tion leaders and members regarding Association politi-cal activities

Increase Central OEA/ NEA-Retired members involvement in political action.

Patricia Kuhn-Morgan - Area 1 - Fairfield & Licking Countiespatricia.morgan@centraloeanea.org Tanyce Addison - Area 2 – Delaware, Marion, & Union Countiestanyce.addison@centraloeanea.org

Jim Templeton - Area 3 – Clark, Logan & Champaign Countiesjim.templeton@centraloeanea.org

Mark Milless - Area 4 and Lobbying – Madison, Pickaway, Fayette, & Ross Counties plus Greenfield Exempted Villagemark.milless@centraloeanea.org

Joy Bock - Area 5 – Franklin County excluding Columbus plus SCOPEjoy.bock@centraloeanea.org

Tom Beck - Communication & Retired Member Political Action Coordinatortom.beck@centraloeanea.org

To be determined – Fund for Children and Public Education Political Action Coordinator

Meet Your Political Action Coordinators

Central Recommends Pro-Education Candidates for Franklin County Offices

The Area PACs will continue to be the primary contact working with local Association leaders and members to coordinate and increase member involvement in critical political events and activities.

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Recognizing that support for public education is criti-cal at all levels of govern-ment, the Franklin County Council of Education Asso-ciations (FCCEA) has issued its recommendations for judicial and administrative positions to be elected at the county level in the No-vember 2011 election.

After conducting an ex-tensive written and oral screening, the FCCEA is pleased to recommend the following candidates:

For Municipal Court Judge:Andrea C. Peeples*David YoungEric Brown*

For Municipal Court Clerk:Lori Tyack*

*Incumbents

Screening interviews took place on Saturday, August 13. The screening com-mittee representing the 24 local associations of the Franklin County Council of Educa-tion Associations (FCCEA) included Robin Trafford, Nate Kelly, Tim Skamfer, Terry Tullis, Amy Grittani, and Chairperson Rolla Beach. Central Political Ac-tion Coordinators Mark Milless and Tom Beck facili-tated the process.

October/November 2011

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Delaware City is one of 23 Central Ohio school districts facing a critical levy on the ballot this fall. This month’s Communique local spot-light features the efforts of Delaware City Teachers Association members to protect vital services for their students.

Like many other districts in Central OEA/NEA, Delaware City Schools is a district on the brink of either excel-lence or disaster. Our local taxpayers will decide the fate of our district on November 8, 2011.

Receiving an “Excellent with Distinction” designa-tion for the fi rst time comes in a year of budget cuts and reductions in staff due to decreases in state aid. This year Delaware City Schools will attempt to maintain our state report card status with fewer administra-tors, teachers, and support staff, but with signifi cantly more students. Delaware City, along with many other school districts in Central, will have an operating levy on the ballot this Novem-ber. The campaign slogan is “YES! Our Schools, Our Community.” Funding from the levy will generate about 15% of the district’s total budget for 2012-13 and an

Delaware City Schools Levy CampaignRandy Turner, President, Delaware Teachers Association

It is the result of an abdica-tion of constitutional re-sponsibility by those at the highest levels in our state’s government. It is a transfer of costs in the name of “savings” to the State of Ohio by those same indi-viduals.

Our students, staff, and community will bear these costs through the increase in local taxes you will be forced to put on the bal-lot this November and the cuts in services that we are forced to implement in the meantime. Perhaps the

even greater percentage of local funding for the district. It is “Do or Die.” If the levy fails in 2011 and another passes in 2012, additional funding will not be available until January 2013. Novem-ber 2011 is it for Delaware. The size of this levy and the cost to our local taxpayers was increased by approxi-mately one-half due to the reduction in state aid for 2011-2012 by House Bill 153. This transfer of costs by our governor and state legislature is appalling and inexcusable.

Delaware City Teachers As-sociation President Randy Turner addressed the Dela-ware City Board of Educa-tion as it voted to eliminate 14 teaching positions in March 2011: “Tonight you will be considering some diffi cult, painful, and even heartbreaking decisions to cut staff and programming in our school district. The Delaware City Teachers Association wants you to know we recognize that this crisis is not of your making.

latter will be the greatest cost to our students and our community.”

Our board, administration, support staff unions, and the Delaware City Teachers

Association are working with Support Ohio Schools to hone our message to the community, holding fund raisers for the cam-paign, asking employees to donate “1 mill” to support the campaign, conducting phone banks and literature drops, displaying yard signs, sponsoring community awareness events, hold-ing neighborhood informa-tional meetings and other activities, leaving no stone unturned to solicit support-ers.

We know we are not alone in our fi ght for our commu-nity, our schools, and our students. Delaware City is only one story among many as school districts through-out central Ohio, and the entire state of Ohio, face tough decisions to cut staff-ing and programming and/or go to the tax payers to replace operating revenue in the face of unexpected and devastating cuts in state aid from HB 153.

Educators and school sup-port staff cannot give up the fi ght. Our greatest infl uence is at the ballot box. Whether it is NO on Issue 2 to repeal Senate Bill 5, supporting pro-education elected offi cials, or YES on your local levy, register and vote your profession this Novem-ber!

In this issue2 Why Vote Absentee?

3 School Levies and issues on the November 8 ballot

3 In Case You Missed It

4 Teacher Retesting

4 Central New Executive Board Members

5 2011-12 Central Emerging Leaders Program

5 Growth and Development Grants

6 Central OEA/NEA Restructures Political Action Program

6 Meet Your Political Action Coordinators

6 Central Recommends Pro-Education Candidates

7 Delaware City Schools Levy Campaign

Central OEA / NEA

Teacher Testing Delaware City SchoolsLevy Campaign

NON-PROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDCOLUMBUS, OHPERMIT No. 204

CE NT RA L O EA/NEA, Inc.947 Goodale BoulevardColumbus, OH 43212

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Growth & DevelopmentGrants

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Why Vote Absentee?

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October 21: Central In-service Day Various locations

November 8: Election DayVote No on Issue 2

November 11: All-Area Meeting and Delegate Briefi ng Columbus Marriott Northwest

December 3: OEA Representative Assembly Veterans Memorial