The name “John Q. Public” was first used in 1922 by an editorial cartoonist for the Chicago Daily News to represent the general public. Since John R. Kasich and his privatizing party have taken over the Statehouse, has the general public been well represented in the Ohio legislature? NO.
Republican legislators who continue to work alongside corporate lobbyists in the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) are not representing the average Ohio constituent, John Q. Public, because they are too busy catering to BIG BUSINESS. Check out this list of Ohio legislators who work hand-in-hand with ALEC: http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Ohio_ALEC_Politicians
The number one initiative of corporate-backed ALEC is to push the privatization of public functions, such as schools, prisons, and local governments. The Center for Media and Democracy’s publication, ALEC EXPOSED, points out: “Through privatization schemes, taxpayer dollars are diverted from the building of public assets and institutions to create long-term revenue streams for corporations. Privatization has resulted in the loss of public sector jobs that have been crucial to the growth of the middle class and has created a system that favors lower wage jobs and new profit centers for CEOs and investors.”
Ohio’s ALEC “lawmakers” have been actively pushing legislation geared towards school privatization for quite awhile now, with policies concerning vouchers, charter schools, and so-called school choice. Gov. Kasich strategically took control of the Ohio state Board of Education and appointed many advocates of privatization in our public schools. The recent vote by the B.O.E. to eliminate the “5 of 8″ minimum standards for hiring educational specialists was orchestrated so that school districts would balance their budgets by cutting licensed educators and contracting with private companies to provide those lost services.
ALEC member Rep. Andrew Brenner created quite a stir last year when he said that public education in America is “socialism,” and he promoted privatization as a better alternative. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/14/andrew-brenner-education-socialism_n_4961201.html Many people thought this was simply the ranting of a far-right extremist, but public education activists have heard that he isn’t the only legislator who wants Ohio public schools to be controlled by the private sector.
ALEC’s goal for 2015 is to keep pushing to privatize public schools. ALEC’s “Public Charter School Act” is a revamp of a 2007 ALEC bill, and it goes far beyond the predecessor in its attempts to greatly expand school privatization in a state, preempt democratic oversight, and sneak in a parent trigger mechanism. Although ALEC’s agenda does not list the bill’s sponsor, the proposed model closely tracks one promoted by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. http://prwatch.org/news/2014/11/12666/alec-buoyed-election-results-lays-blueprint-2015
John R. Kasich has been tied to ALEC since it was first created in 1973, and he has thoroughly embraced this notion of school privatization in Ohio. According to a recent Youngstown Vindicator article, the state representative-elect from Youngstown said the governor told her he would like to shut down Youngstown City Schools and replace the district with a great charter school. Look for it in the state budget bill from the governor in February. http://dianeravitch.net/2014/11/24/ohio-will-governor-kasich-privatize-youngstown-public-schools/
“There are more privatizations to come,” said John R. Kasich. “We don’t want to leave any money on the table.”
When John Q. Private-ization is finally out of office, there will be no money left on the table for public education in Ohio.
Think.
Think. 