Gadfly Bites 12/7/22—Lost on the roads AND in the mail

1. That “unprecedented” mid-year shake up of bus transportation as provided by Columbus City Schools—which is necessary because their service has been completely messed up all year—is underway. District staffers announced, with some misplaced pride if you ask me (which, as usual, no one did), that new bus and routing information was winging its way to homes across our area via snail mail right this very minute. As an aside, we learned in this piece that more than 14,000 charter/private/STEM school students are transported daily. Interesting. You know what would also be interesting to know? How many additional choice-attending students applied for transportation but were deemed impractical and offered payment instead, as well as how many district school-attending students aren’t eligible for transportation due to the close proximity of their homes to their buildings. Once we have those variables in place, we can probably solve for X. You know what I mean. (Columbus Dispatch, 12/7/22)
    
2. Meanwhile, Senate Bill 178 was amended and voted out of committee yesterday. In case you’ve forgotten (hah!) that’s the one which would restructure the statewide K-12 oversight structure in Ohio. Next stop: The Senate floor. (Cleveland.com, 12/6/22)
   
   
3. Students taking Home 101 at Taylor High School in Three Rivers Local School District, are taught “cooking” among a list of other “routine tasks associated with home ownership and maintenance” that includes plumbing, electric, and carpentry. Sure doesn’t sound like the home ec class I remember from the ancient 20th Century. It seems that the intro course was so popular that it spawned a hardcore career-focused follow up called Home 201. That course focuses on students designing, building, marketing, and selling tiny houses from the ground up. I was hoping for some gourmet cookery to follow on from 101, but alas that does not seem part of the deal. (Local 12 News, Cincinnati, 12/5/22)
   
   
4. Against the odds and bucking the national trend, union watchdog Mike Antonucci reports that the Ohio Education Association was the only state affiliate of the NEA that reported a gain in membership during the 2021-22 school year. It added six members. Kudos. (The 74, 12/7/22)

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