Analysis: Ohio GOP launches a power grab over public education. They’re likely to succeed

Are you aware what one-party management of presidency in Ohio actually means?

It means this:

If the Republicans’ veto-proof super-majority within the Ohio Normal Meeting sees any nook of state or native authorities that doesn’t completely align with their view of the world, they may step in and crush it. They’ll steamroll over it and make it disappear.

The Ohio Senate, led by Senate President Matt Huffman, discovered an important nook to obliterate this week — the Ohio Board of Training.

When the Ohio Senate went into lame-duck session this week, one of many first objects on the agenda was to resurrect an concept that has failed up to now however will seemingly succeed this time due to the overwhelming Republican majorities in each the Home and Senate.

The concept is to strip the state board of schooling, the place 11 of the 19 members are elected from districts, of practically all of its authority and place all of it in a brand new cabinet-level place referred to as the Division of Training and Workforce.

And, after all, that will be a division within the cupboard of the just lately re-elected Republican governor, Mike DeWine, who not often has a public disagreement with the GOP legislative management over something. And, even when he did, there may be nothing DeWine may do about it. Republicans have a veto-proof majority within the legislature.

So why now? Why did it out of the blue turn into precedence primary for the legislature?

Does it have something to do with the truth that, within the common election, candidates backed by the Ohio Democratic Get together and Ohio’s academics’ unions received all three open seats on the Ohio Board of Training, defeating all the GOP-backed, conservative candidates?

You’d higher consider it does.

“It is nothing however an influence seize,” stated Melissa Cropper, president of the Ohio Federation of Lecturers. “The state board of schooling is one place the place differing opinions are mentioned and the Republicans within the legislature do not like that.”

Cropper is referring to points just like the educating of crucial race idea, a straw man GOP politicians like to prop up and knock down, and proposed modifications to Title IX that will permit transgender girls to play in girls’s sports activities.

Beneath Senate Invoice 178, launched by State Sen. Invoice Reineke of Tiffin, would put such contentious points out of the purview of the Ohio Board of Training, together with all different issues of curriculum.

If the invoice passes — and there’s no purpose to consider it will not — the state Board of Training’s solely duties can be to decide on the state college superintendent, supervise trainer licensing, hear instances about employees misconduct, and make choices on college property transfers.

The remainder of the time, college board members would presumably be twiddling their thumbs or enjoying tic-tac-toe.

The Republicans within the legislature, due to their gerrymandering skills over the previous 30 years, have had a super-majority for a while now. Lengthy earlier than the Nov. 8 election. This begs the query: Why did not they do that earlier than?

“Once they attempt to do that every week after shedding three seats on the Board of Training, my degree of cynicism rises,” stated Liz Walters, chair of the Ohio Democratic Get together. “The governor already has monumental affect over public schooling in Ohio. Why does he want extra? It is all political.”

Efforts to achieve Huffman by the Ohio Senate Majority Workplace went unanswered.

Reineke, the chief sponsor of Senate Invoice 178, stated in a listening to on the invoice that the change has been wanted for a very long time.

“The proof exhibits that there’s a want for systemic change on the state degree to our schooling to make sure accountability to taxpayers and for our youngsters,” Reineke stated.

Perhaps so, possibly not.

They’ll cobble collectively a couple of public hearings earlier than the Senate Major and Secondary Training Committee throughout the lame duck session; a companion invoice will sail by the Ohio Home.

And even when they do not full it by the point the lame duck session is over, they’ll do it over once more in January when the brand new, barely enhanced super-majority takes over.

Cropper stated it could be troublesome, if not unimaginable, to cease this prepare, given the facility the GOP wields within the legislature.

“Individuals are going to have to search out methods to voice their beliefs,” Cropper stated. “We are going to push again towards these that don’t profit youngsters in public schooling.”

And they’re going to push again. Right into a stable brick wall. Resistance is futile.

Being in love with energy means by no means having to say you are sorry.