Board member Bob Hagan (L) asks questions of Wadsworth School Superintendent Andy Hill (R)
The Ohio Board of Education has voted to eliminate requirements that large schools must hire positions that include art teachers, counselors, and librarians.The move came after a day of testimony and debate that included three new members.It’s known as the 5 of 8 rule -- for every 1000 students, districts must hire 5 service personnel from a list of 8 positions. That includes art teacher, music teacher, librarian, nurse, and counselor.
The superintendent of Wadsworth Schools in Medina County, Andrew Hill, told the board that he was not under any financial pressure to lay off anyone. But Hill said in his previous job, Waterloo Schools in Portage County was under great financial stress.“And I think it’s really important that local communities have the ability to make decisions that they think aligns best with the education they want for their students.”Former board chairman Debe Terhar was one of the prime movers for this change in standards. She returned to testify, telling the board that it was all about local control.“We, this board, this body is not taking away anything. You are providing flexibility to districts to be able to make their staffing decisions.”That didn’t go over well with the three new members, all Democrats. One is a retired school librarian, another is a retired art teacher. And Bob Hagan is a retired state legislator“We keep talking about local control, local control. Local entities should be making these decisions; superintendents should be making the decisions. What are we sitting here for? Why are we a state school board? What’s our responsibility? Have we just given it all up?”Both sides agreed that districts wouldn’t have to make any tough decisions on staffing if they had enough funding. Terhar suggested that doing away with the requirements would be good way to start that funding conversation. In the end Democrats voted to keep the standards and the majority Republicans voted to eliminate them.