Ted Strickland, Ohio Governor's Charter School Plan Called Racist, Ads to Hit Stations in Columbus, Akron and Other Cities

"Separate but equal," that's a phrase we should not have to confront in the United States today, but unfortunately, we are. Charter school advocates in Ohio will hit the airwaves today to accuse Ohio's Governor Ted Strickland of pushing a racist plan for schools that disproportionately serve African-American students. The ads equate Gov. Strickland's proposal to fund community, or charter, schools at lower levels than traditional public schools with the civil-rights era fight over "separate but equal'' education for whites and blacks. Here we go again, one giant step forward for the United States in electing the first African American president and two steps backward when it comes to educating black students of lower economic means in this country. How can we be a beacon of hope to girls in Afghanistan who want an education, when we can't even get it right here?

"Most of us would like to believe those days are over, but are they?'' asks the male announcer in the radio ad. "Here in Ohio, some politicians are trying to block the schoolhouse door for more than 80,000 public charter school students who are disproportionately African-American." Source: Toledo Blade

As you know, charter schools are taxpayer-funded public schools that are freed from some of the regulation governing their more traditional counterparts. It seems rather suspect that the governor chose National Charter School Week to unload his plan. So, while President Obama is championing his vision for making the tools available to our students to uplift the quality of their education, the governor and his supporters are kicking our black kids in the gut. To compete in the changing global landscape, we have give our children, specifically poorer black and Latino kids a better shot at realizing their potentials, instead of pushing them into the streets to a life of crime. I know the governor is operating within some severe constraints, but I wonder what he thought the feeling would be with cuts to schools that serve predominantly black children. I would love to know if any of these schools were in the suburbs, would he make the same cuts?

Mr. Strickland's original $51.4 billion, two-year budget proposal sought to reduce state funding for charter schools from $617 million this year to about $471 million in 2010and $511 million in 2011, not counting one-time federal stimulus funds. The budget also differentiated between schools run by private managers and those sponsored by school districts.

The budget House Democrats sent to the Senate last week along a party-line vote would boost aid overall for charter schools but would punish those failing to maintain continuous-improvement status or better by withholding some of their subsidies. The Republican-controlled Senate is expected to increase funding for charter schools. Source: Toledo Blade

Shame on you Governor Strickland for taking the racist way out! Our kids' education should mean more to you. I hope all the parents of the students who attend these charter schools would unite and fight for their children to get a good education. As you can clearly see by the governor's actions, unless you fight through your voice and your vote, your kids will be at the losing end.