- EdWeek is still talking about charter school closures, and Fordham’s Kathryn Mullen Upton is on hand to not only talk best practices in the event of closure, but also to remind folks that strong application processes for new schools is really the key to mitigating closures: “It's much easier to say no on the front end.” Well said. (EdWeek)
- So, you may have heard that the stacked deck on the House Rules Committee voted yesterday to refer the Common Core repeal bill to the full House 7-2. Not a surprise, really. Media coverage of the vote – and of the bill’s uncertain future in the House – came in two flavors. First up, the clear and concise pieces, all of which quoted Fordham’s Chad Aldis on the consequences of Common Core repeal. You can check out the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Columbus Dispatch for the big-city take, and also for some choice quotes from House Education Committee Chair Gerald Stebelton. For the statewide take, check out Gongwer Ohio. And of course there’s the national take from PoliticoPro.
- The second flavor of media coverage of the House Rules Committee vote was pretty much nonsensical. The Associated Press’s story ran in a number of papers, including the Akron Beacon Journal yesterday. Honestly, if anyone can tell me what is being said in those last two paragraphs, I’ll give you a lollipop. Props to journalist Ben Lanka for making the trip all the way up to Columbus from Chillicothe for the 2-minute hearing and vote, but he got caught up in the bill supporters’ rhetoric and produced a story that doesn’t actually make a lot of sense. It also ran in several Gannett papers, including the Cincinnati Enquirer.
- In other legislative news yesterday, the House Education Committee met briefly to amend and consolidate several bills for potential consideration by the full House during the upcoming lame duck session. Issues include limits on testing time for students, TFA licensure changes, and truancy. (Gongwer Ohio)
- From optimism to uncertainty in just 24 hours. We told you yesterday that Ledgemont schools’ property tax levy did not pass on Tuesday. This was thought to have been an indication that district residents were interested in merging with nearby Cardinal schools, an outcome sought by both districts’ superintendents and already made easier by legislation passed in Columbus earlier this year. However, it seems that neither district’s board agrees. Cardinal’s board voted 3-2 to reject “territory transfer”; Ledgemont’s board tied 2-2 on the issue, which was already moot by that point. Apparently the merger issue can be forced by the county ESC and the state, and so the saga continues. (Willoughby News Herald)
- We didn’t talk at all about the facilities funding levy in Cleveland, which passed with 63 percent of the vote on Tuesday and would extend the district’s existing facilities expansion/improvement projects to an additional 40 or more buildings. One of those is a new facility for the successful, popular, and growing Campus International School. Sounds like a pretty good program in partnership with CMSD and Cleveland State University. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
