On April 3 the  Chagrin Gateway Dems were treated to an evening that was at once both inspiring and thought-provoking.  Three engaging speakers enlightened us about the true cost of the changes in education funding and policy. First, Dr. Christine Collins of Honesty for Ohio Education helped us see why we cannot allow the words DEI to be demonized.  Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are the definition of good teaching because kids are different and should learn in welcoming environments. But SB 1 ends DEI, and curtails tenure protections and collective bargaining in higher education—and while that may be a done deal pending court intervention, SB113 and HB 155 are current attempts to strip DEI out of K through 12.  Collins encouraged us to advise our schools officials to: not “discriminate in advance” out of fear of coming legislation; to consult with civil rights attorneys; to focus on what is best for kids

Dan Heintz, school board member in Cleveland Hts./University Hts., and a history teacher in Chardon, spoke about why private school vouchers are not only unconstitutional, they are harmful to Ohioans because they undermine public schools. While the state pays public schools  $600-900/year per student;  the state is paying families with vouchers $8408  per student /year. That money is coming out of school budgets. The schools that receive the money are going to have little or no oversight and many of the students receiving the voucher money were not in public schools before receiving the money. He encouraged us to make our voices heard; to run for school boards and support judicial candidates that will uphold the constitution. 

Finally, former Chagrin Falls school board member Kathryn Garvey spoke to us about the Fair School Funding Plan. This was a plan that was created by a bipartisan group of lawmakers along with education experts to create a constitutionally fair and financially appropriate allocation of state and local dollars to fund Ohio education. It was to be implemented over 6 years, but after 4 years, the Ohio Assembly decided not to cover the State’s share of the true cost—opting instead to give a only 2% increase. This leaves property owners to make up the difference—except that due to a complex sub-bill, communities with greater cash reserves would have to rebate taxpayers. That also means they would never have the cash reserves to qualify for AAA bonds needed to be used to renovate schools. Catch 22?  It cannot be that the state general assembly wants public schools to fail, can it? The Fair School Funding Plan was a good idea when it was implemented and it needs to be followed. Garvey encouraged us to tell Governor DeWine and our state representatives that.   

We ended the evening feeling both frustrated and hopeful.  Thank you to Dr. Christine Collins, Dan Heinz, and Kathryn Garvey.

– Lyn Newman

A regular feature to the Chagrin Gateway Democrats from Lyn Newman

What happened? :  On April 1, 2025 Susan Crawford won her seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court despite Elon Musk having spent millions of dollars and making personal visits to Wisconsin trying to defeat her. She not only won, she won by a 10 percent margin. 

Why it matters?: Crawford’s victory maintains a 4-3 liberal advantage on the Wisconsin court for a least another year in a term that could decide cases about congressional maps and redistricting as well as reproductive rights and collective bargaining. But more than that, her victory is a sign that votes matter. Message matters. When people can see the local consequences of political action, they can be persuaded to vote for their own interests.  

What can we do about it?: Talk about issues. Avoid “us vs them language”. Talk to people about what needs doing and finding leaders that can help us get it done. We need local School Board Members, City Council Members and Judges who believe in upholding the constitution.  We all really do want to make America Great. But we want it to be great for all of us. We can do it if we all work together. Susan Crawford just proved it.

Lyn Newman can be found on Bluesky