League of Women Voters of Ohio Education Fund
	Hamilton, Warren County, OH November 2, 2010 Election
	Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues Member; State Board of Education; District 4

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of Ohio and asked of all candidates for this office.     See below for questions on Qualification, Priorities, Operating standards, Nonpublic school funding, Public school funding Click on a name for candidate information.   See also more information about this contest. 1. What are your Qualifications for Office? (50 word limit) Answer from Debe Terhar: I am a licensed, certified Montessori Teacher and a Summa Cum Laude graduate of Xavier University. Have served on the Parent Advisory Board of the Kelly O'Leary Center of Cincinnati Children's Hospital, on the President's Advisory Council of Xavier University and as a Board Member of the Cincinnati Montessory Society. Answer from Bobbie Grice: I am a local school board member with over 13 years of experience. I was a teacher for over 30 years and am a curriculum consultant working in the area schools. I work with the school improvement process as well as with first year teachers and mentors. Answer from Pat Bruns: I have always sought best practices and leadership roles to create innovative and effective opportunities for student learning. My professional experiences included: Member, District Professional Development and Continuous Improvement Committees; Chair, Colerain High School North Central Evaluation, Student Outcomes and Colerain High School Art Department; President, Northwest Association of Educators. Answer from John L. Spohn: I am experienced as an educator, administrator, tutor, and businessman. I have taught those seeking teacher's certificates in ethics, management, and behavior. I have tutored elementary students in math and science. Also, I have created policy and contracts similar to those the Ohio State Board of Education position will require. 2. What plans do you have to address your top three priorities? (100 word limit) Answer from Debe Terhar: Ensure that the State supports a full range of educational opportunities for each child including charter schools, e-schools, home schooling and vouchers. Improve qualitative achievement scores by using available verified research data and supporting educational research efforts to ensure any state mandated program is based on hard data. Institite a zero-based budget method that requires the re-verification of efficiency and need for programs in every budget cycle. This would preclude the continued funding of inefficient or ineffective programs. Answer from John L. Spohn: I recognize the trust that may be given with the responsibility of managing a large amount of public resources. As trustee of these funds, I will be vigilant in fulfilling its responsibility to see that these funds are used wisely for the purposes for which they are allocated and a proponent of school choice. Competent personnel and efficient procedures are essential for sound management of fiscal affairs. Without school choice a cookie-cutter approach to education may continue- not allow a community to meet the needs of their children in their area. Efficient and community supported programs draw in parental participation. Answer from Pat Bruns: The board must advocate to all sectors in our state, the importance of equitable and adequate funding for all Ohio's children. The arts play a significant role in encouraging students to synthesize learning and make connections that are relevant to their own lives. Teaching creative and critical thinking skills through the arts is a key component to a high-quality education. The people who work with students need the appropriate tools and an environment that nurtures innovation and best practices. They need to be important partners in the decision-making process that impacts their students' ability to reach their full potential. Answer from Bobbie Grice: Look at how other states fund their educational system as well as looking at a state sales tax that would be used for education. Stop the unfunded mandates. I would work with ODE and state legislators to assure that any school receiving state financial support would be held accountable to the same rigors as public schools. Audits should be in place to assess their progress. The teacher in the classroom is who provides the excellent education. They must have meaningful professional development and become a partner in the decision making process concerning educational reforms and processes. 3. What can the State Board of Education do to ensure that all school districts comply with Operating Standards for Ohio's Schools? (150 word limit) Answer from Bobbie Grice: The Operating Standards are the legal aspects of what a school must do to be in compliance with the law. The State Board's job would be to work with ODE to make sure each school district is in compliance. They would be the oversite group that ensures that all schools are in compliance with the law. Standards must be met. Answer from Debe Terhar: It is the function of the State Board of Education to set programs, priorities and standards for Ohio educational institutions (K-12). The most important resource at the State Board's disposal is its mandated power to recommend the educational budget to the Ohio legislature. School districts that overachieve standards set by the State Board of Education should receive preferential funding over those who don't. It is incumbent upon each member of the State Board of Education to know each individual school district in his area of responsibility. If there are extenuating circumstances in any individual district that is having difficulty meeting state standards, it is incumbent on the Board member to work with that district and to represent it at the State level to help in overcoming the district's deficiencies. If the individual board member feels that specific programs would assist a district in achieving state standards, specific funding for individual programs... Answer from Pat Bruns: The State Board of Education, along with the Ohio Department of Education, should strive to have in place clear standards and adequate and transparent methods of assessing the operations of a school district. Reporting practices should be uniformly established for all schools that receive public funds. Consequences of non-compliance should be clearly established, including the expectation that the school submit a detailed plan to address the compliance issues within a board-approved period of time. Withholding public funds and/or other measures as outlined under current Ohio law would be an option the state could use in cases of extreme negligence of public funds. Answer from John L. Spohn: Ohio's students have seen great strides in the reported levels of achievement in Ohio Achievement Tests (OATS), but the state has lowered the standards. Ohio's House Bill 1 eliminated testing for students in writing at grades4 and 7, and in social studies at grades 5 and 8 for the 2009-10 and 2010-11school years. As a result, the indicators for schools and buildings in these subjects were not and will not be used. Now I do not advocate the taking of tests for test's sake, but the ability to learn early on how to write and your own history would seem to lend itself to how one would become successful. Additionally, other areas suffering are science and mathematics. With accountability in testing eliminated we may begin to understand why Ohio's graduation rate has dropped over the last school years. 4. What can the State Board of Education do to ensure that all community schools and nonpublic schools that accept state financial support (including vouchers) are accountable to the public? (150 word limit) Answer from Bobbie Grice: These schools should go through the same process as public schools. Audits, testing, hightly qualified teachers all should be in place. The State Board could with the help of ODE make sure this would happen. Schools not performing should be closed. Answer from John L. Spohn: The State Board of Education should create rules that are the same for every school both public and nonpublic; as well as, require transparency in spending. Additionally, the State Board of Education should not be allowed to cut support for these schools and not look into cutting public schools, as was almost the case this last fiscal year. If the State Board of Education treats schools differently, then they will act differently. Answer from Pat Bruns: The State Board of Education has a responsibility to be good stewards of the public fund. All community and nonpublic schools that receive public funds should be subject to the same standards and reporting practices of public schools. I would support granting the Ohio Department of Education authority over all charter schools and sponsors as a further means of creating a more consistent system for all children. I would also end the two-year grace period for charter schools on developing school report cards. The assessment tool should the first component developed for a charter school. As a teacher, I am always required to begin with the end in sight and develop assessments for actual student learning. Assessments must be clearly stated, observable and measureable. An institution entrusted with the educational well-being of children should be held to high standards of accountability that are established as part of the original charter. Answer from Debe Terhar: Academic standards should be set for children's educational attainment not for measurement of an organizational structure's efficiency. Therefore, the most effective means of determining the quality of the education provided by any organizational structure is the performance of individual students against set state academic standards. If an nonpublic school provider of K-12 education has a student population that does not produce acceptable scores based on state standards, those results should be as public as results for public school districts. Parents must have reliable and well-publicized test results so that they can with their child make the best possible choice for that individual child's quality education. The use of State Achievement Tests as a measure of educational efficiency should be aggessively publicized and promoted by the State Board of Education. 5. What can the State Board of Education do to ensure a public school funding system that provides a realistic level of state funding, which meets the educational needs of students? (150 word limit) Answer from Debe Terhar: Fiscal responsibility means that only educationally efficient programs are funded by the state of Ohio. This would require the "zero-based" budget that would prevent ineffecitve programs from continuation of funding. In addition, the ability to determine individual program effectiveness would allow for prioritization of program funding and also indicate areas where programs not currently available must be developed. The total size of the Ohio education budget should be determined by the cost of programs to meet state standards, not the availability or lack of annual state budget allocations. Pay for what works. Answer from Pat Bruns: With the passage of HB1 in 2009, Ohio has finally replaced the state's previously declared unconstitutional funding formula with the Ohio Evidence Based Model. Its core components of a high quality education will be phased in over ten years. It is the responsibility of the board to advocate for this method of state funding that will insure that all students in Ohio have access to a "thorough and efficient" education that prepares them for future challenges. Board member must reach out to all sectors of our state and be a strong voice for adequate and equitable educational opportunities for all Ohio's children, no matter where they live. Answer from John L. Spohn: The quantity and quality of learning programs are, for the most part, directly dependent upon the funding provided and the effective, efficient management of those funds. It follows that any attempts to best achieve these goals include excellent fiscal management. The Ohio Evidence-Based Model needs to be re-examined because of the unproven, unscientific approach to funding distribution. The model has teacher's salaries estimated below what is being spent; unrealistic class sizes; creates a new school administrator for buildings; and requires school districts to fund administrators at a higher level every year until 2014. A new level of government will not teach Ohio's Students. Answer from Bobbie Grice: State funding has decreased in many areas. Where a child lives should not determine the quality of their education. Looking at how other states fund their schools should be a priority of the State Board. Being more visible in local schools to see how funding has impacted these schools. Property owners should not bear the percentage that they do. Even looking into an state-wide earnings tax earmarked for education might be something to look into or a state sales tax solely for education might be possible. The State Board could do research on this. Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. Word limits apply for each question. Direct references to opponents are not permitted. The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.