The idea of Representative Government is that people have a voice for those who make policy decisions. Their backgrounds and experiences are reflected in who sits in these positions. Unless... you are the state board of education, which doesnt look at all like the Ohio they represent. From the linked article: The board looks like this: •Eight of nine board committees are chaired by white men, although board gender is 9-8 male. •Seven of nine committees are chaired by appointees, although appointed members are outnumbered 10-7. •Of the seven appointees seated today, all are white and one is female. •The only African-American member, elected from Dayton, intends to resign by the end of the year to take a seat in city government. African-Americans account for 13 percent of Ohio’s population. •With the resignation of the Dayton representative, there is only one remaining member who lives in an urban district. Her vote represents about 6 percent of the 17 members, while urban districts account for about 25 percent of the Ohio student population. •12 Republicans account for 70 percent of the current board’s voting power, compared with 36 percent of the state electorate registered as Republican. •Almost all appointees are significant Republican donors, organizers or fundraisers. •About a third of the members attended private schools or sent their kids to private schools. About 10 percent of the state’s students attend private schools. •Although the majority advocates for charter schools, which account for a little less than 10 percent of state enrollment, not one has a child in a charter school. •Home schoolers, who strongly oppose government intrusion into their business and represent about 2 percent of the student population, unified last year to elect one member from rural Northeast Ohio. Their representative has never had a relationship with public education and identified her primary mission as assuring that home schooling is left alone.
Posted on: Mon, 02 Dec 2013 13:34:07 +0000
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