I suggest you make a call to the editor. At least one other Patch editor in another NEO community openly admits to being on the left side of the aisle. Of course it is well documented that there is a strong liberal bias in all media, some more than others.

@ Noah Webster - if that "one other Patch editor in NEO" is a registered voter, then he/she has every right to vote ANY way they want. Wouldn't you want the same if he/she we on your side of the aisle?

Let me guess, you consider Fox News as actual news?....

Patch is owned by AOL which also owns Huffington Post...

No, I would have to say Fox news and Huffington post are very similar. Their news reporting is slanted by their political bias. I did not know the ownership of Patch. I honestly can say the stories and news seem to be for the most part, unbiased in the Patch.

Curt Fell,
Let me guess,
you consider the New York Times actual news.

I would have to agree, good teachers should be paid more, and most of them are good. But let's face it, if they were paid more they should plan for retirement like other professionals do, not on the backs of the taxpayers.

yes the unions are holding them back that is why all the teachers in the the state are against SB5. Please! not fooling anyone. we know that the real agenda is to brak the unions and lower the status of hard working middle class families. Unions are keeping the corrupt politicians from cannning good senior teachers in favor of cheaper less expenrienced ones.

One of the first things Kasich did when he took over the Capital was to GENEROUSLY RAISE the salaries of the cronies he installed in various positions. That wasn't fiscally responsible when he's asking everyone else in the state to take cuts in pay and benefits and giving up their rights to bargain for decent pay, etc. How does one do that? What kind of message did he send to the people of Ohio? Giving TAX CUTS to the corporations and the rich with 2 ongoing wars is NOT responsible. It hasn't created jobs in Ohio for well over a decade.

Doctors have the AMA and lawyers have the ABA. More often than not, IT TAKES A GREAT DEAL TO GET RID OF BAD LAWYERS AND BAD DOCTORS. Passing SB 5 isn't going to "elevate" anybody except put more taxpayer money into big business's pockets. Most Republicans are against education, and especially higher education because they believe colleges are all "liberal" and they "spread" liberalism to the "innocent minds". What they want is for religious institutions to "educate" and brainwash the young to their political way of thinking.

Professions = "pro". Do you want a doctor doing mechanical work on your car? Do you want a mechanic performing surgery on your body? Do you want a politician out there on the ball field playing for the Cleveland Indians? How about a high school dropout for a politician or president? Decreasing quality of life for Ohioans isn't going to help anyone.

You forgot to mention that Finland is 100% union teachers. No union will result in less wages and benifits, less job stability, larger classroom sizes and the end of public education. You will be able to take your voucher and if your rich enough you will be able to get a good education. The middle class and poor will just have to suck it up. Besides Issue 2 effects a lot more than teachers! Want to fix tenure? Then fix it. Don't attack every worker in the state by dismantling unions and leaving the middle class hanging in the wind under the rule of the wealthy.

Teachers will be eligible for raises based on merit. Kasich has even said that he would like to see great teachers get paid well. Kasich has worked closely with Michelle Rhee, who as chancellor of DC schools, offered a very generous payscale to the teachers (they could earn up to $120,000) based on their job performance.

The teachers unions are corrupt, I personally know many conservative teachers who are ticked off that their local union is affiliated with the OEA and NEA who consistently funds liberal, Democratic politicians with their dues. I know a lot of teachers who do the Fair Share fee because they've had it with the union thuggery. And to the Tea Partiers, believe it or not there are many conservative public school teachers who agree with many aspects of SB 5 and who HATE the fact that the teacher unions are so corrupt and force fair share fees on those who do not want to join.

No union will only result in lower wages for the teachers who don't properly do their job. The teachers who go above and beyond the call of duty will be rewarded.

"leaving the middle class hanging in the wind"---That's my point! Why do teachers have to be blue collar, middle class laborers? Teachers are professionals in every sense of the word with Bachelor's or Master's degrees. The unions are holding the profession down and generating disrespect for teachers. Just look at the awful things people here on Patch say about teachers it disgusts me and I think SB 5 will help..

Michelle Rhee Lied and then Quit!

http://www.bluejersey.com/diary/18135/yep-michelle-rhees-school-reform-was-a-fraud

Makes sense kaisch worked with this woman!!!

just google her name and read about the fraud

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2011/09/23/michelle-rhees-legacy-continues-to-unravel/

Michelle rhee fires teachers and they get re-hired because she broke the law?

Michelle Rhee group StudentsFirst dumps $1M into Michigan lobbying effort during teacher tenure reform push

http://www.mlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/09/michelle_rhee_group_studentsfi_1.html

Wow where did she get a million dollars to donate for tenure reform.

Now she is a lobbyist!

more and more sense of her realtions with Kasich

Ricky you posted- "Kasich has worked closely with Michelle Rhee, who as chancellor of DC schools, offered a very generous payscale to the teachers (they could earn up to $120,000) based on their job performance.

The teachers unions are corrupt..."

Have you really never read what was reported by USA Today, the NY Times and others regarding the "suspiciously high test-score gains at 41 Washington schools while Ms. Rhee was chancellor.

At some schools, they found the odds that so many answers had been changed from wrong to right randomly were 1 in 100 billion."

The teachers and administrators suspected to have changed the answers got huge bonuses. as you mentioned. Is this really what you want to promote?

Michael,

I hardly consider the McPaper and NY Times to be objective sources for this topic as they are very left-leaning newspapers, so they will of course try to make Michelle Rhee look bad. I highly doubt Rhee was encouraging teachers to change answers on tests. This has happened in other school districts as well, including Atlanta. That is simply a result of unethical teachers in the system. This problem will exist regardless of whether or not SB 5 passes as long as we are placing such a heavy emphasis on standardized test scores. This type of high stakes, one size fits all type of testing is not working in our country. It of course works in places like China and Finland because their cultures are very homogenous. It will not work here because we live in a multicultural, individualistic society. It will also not work because some kids just aren't good at taking tests. Using standardized tests to measure students' progress is a bad idea.

Ricky- You posted "That is simply a result of unethical teachers in the system. This problem will exist regardless of whether or not SB 5 passes as long as we are placing such a heavy emphasis on standardized test scores."

You do realize that Michelle Rhee PROMOTES using standardized test scores for merit pay, right? I'm assuming you didn't bother to read any of the articles on the cheating scandal based on your comments. You seem to be advocating both sides of the issue.

"It will also not work because some kids just aren't good at taking tests. Using standardized tests to measure students' progress is a bad idea." but a great idea for teacher merit pay.. too funny

Yes, once They receive their checks, it is their money. But before we agree to give them OUR money, we should have a say in how much they get. The very people who, in the end decide how much these public servants are paid, have jobs that are dependent on the dollars contributed by the unions negotiating against them. Now, what is wrong with that picture?

Yes it does.
It's Union managed and has the deed to a bridge in Brooklyn and extensive real estate holdings 20 miles due east of Miami.

Oh yeah,
Pulitzer Prize winners. The goal of winning the prize from the Progressive Enhancement Center does not lend any credibility to the "journalists" of the old gray lady. Just like the "Nobel" prizes for Gore and Obama they have ceased to have any meaning. Only those who have no integrity believe that these "awards" have credibility. Look at the figures for readership/subscription/viewing. NYT/Time/Cnn/ABC/NBC/CBS/et al. all down. Fox/Breitbart/Drudge all up. We are not accepting the idea that these "news" sources have any validity. They are the minions of the Democratic Party and "nuff said".

Students in FInland are ranked #1 in the world. They view their teachers very differently than we do in the US. You might find it interesting reading.

Michael R,
When was the last time Finland meant anything on the world stage? Then again, maybe they are smart enough to just keep to themselves.

No Curt,
I acknowledge the Conservative slant of Fox, you deny the Overwhelmingly Obvious Liberal Bigotry of the MSM.

Linda- One of the measures of how countries are doing is the PISA ((the Program for International Student Assessment) and this is where Finland ranked at the top.

You might find it interesting to read an article breaking down the results by income level at http://nasspblogs.org/principaldifference/2010/12/pisa_its_poverty_not_stupid_1.html

The gist of the article is that if you compare low poverty level schools in the US to those in Finland, we scored higher than they did.

The question I am left with is what direction will we be moving. In Stow, people have spoken out stating they believe we should be cutting AP classes to save money. Where would that lead us over the long haul? I believe families look at a school system when they are choosing where to live. What will attract people to Stow?

Only one part of SB-5 is targeted at all public employees and rightly so. That's the 33% reduction in paid sick days earned per year, from 15 to 10. Notice how the Administration is not touting just how much money that simple change is going to save public employers?

So, having those figures law bothers you why since you say they're already paying that amount?