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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2009 > December > 09
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Editorial: Caterpillar’s new jobs give nice lift to area
Some people think Mother Nature isn’t on Dayton’s side. No mountains, no beaches, you know.
But, in addition to having a small ocean of clean water underground, the region does have location on its side.
And the forces of nature did have a hand in shaping the country’s geography.
This week, being somewhat in the middle of things worked out nicely for the community.
Caterpillar Logistics Services announced that it will build a $68.6 million distribution center at Commerce Park on Hoke Road in Clayton, not far from the intersection of I-75 and I-70, and Dayton International Airport.
The facility will have a $20 million annual payroll and employ 500 to 600 workers. The lowest-paid people will start at $11.75 hour.
There are a few take-aways from the experience:
— Clayton was competing against West Jefferson near Columbus. Outside the state, Caterpillar was considering sites in Indiana and Kentucky. The company will get a little more than $3.5 million in state and local incentives to put down roots here, but local officials believe that what really sold Caterpillar on the Dayton region is the united front that the community presented.
Officials didn’t push just the fact that Clayton had a ready-made site. They also pitched that the Job Center could deliver the needed workers and would help screen them. RTA offered to be a partner. Sinclair Community College said it would help the company in any way it could.
Meanwhile, the Miami Valley Career Technology Center will be across the road from the new facility, giving the company a place to do ongoing training. And the students there will be a potential resource.
— Some of the Caterpillar jobs will not be especially high-paying, but today’s distribution centers are much more than forklifts and loading docks.
Supply-chain management is a science, driven by complicated software and tech-heads. Whether in the private sector or the military, logistics is not for dummies.
(This subject, of course, is something that Wright-Patterson Air Force Base happens to know a little about. Not coincidentally, Wright State University has a master’s degree program in logistics and supply-chain management.)
— Caterpillar’s operation, which will be its second-largest in the United States, is the second major distribution center to locate in the region recently.
Collective Brands Inc. opened its Payless and Stride Rite shoe distribution facility in February in Brookville.
The hope is that, over time, distribution operations are something the region can court. Having 1,000 workers engaged in this kind of work can catch other firms’ attention.
After all, there are plenty of sites along both I-75 and I-70, all of them with easy freeway access and great visibility. Having two major companies that could have located anywhere choose this region begs the question: So what’s special about Dayton?
Having the opportunity to tell that story to the curious can only be good.
Notwithstanding all the awards Ohio has received from Site Selection magazine, there hasn’t been a lot of great news in the state or region about companies moving here. Part of the problem is the economy, part of the problem is lousy marketing.
In this instance, Caterpillar liked what it saw, and the region sold itself well. The jobs couldn’t be more welcome.
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment | Categories: Editorials, Ellen Belcher, Local Business, Montgomery County, Suburban Communities
TweetEditorial: Gov. Strickland should change A’s to C’s
Gov. Ted Strickland should get real about the flaws with Ohio’s school report cards. He’s standing in the way of a change in the law that won’t fix all that’s wrong with the report card system, but that would correct a glaring, unfair flaw that penalizes good-performing districts by classifying them as serious underachievers.
A bill sponsored by state Sen. Gary Cates, R-West Chester, would prevent school districts that fail to meet “adequate yearly progress” on state achievement tests — but do well otherwise — from falling more than one rung on the report card rating scale. It’s intended to correct a flaw that in August hit several districts around the state, including Kettering and Lebanon.
Both of those districts would have earned the equivalent of an “A” from the state, but were dropped to a “C” because small subsets of students — such as those in special education or those who speak English as a second language — fell short of an expected test score gain.
The bill had huge support in the Senate, passing 32-1, with the only “no” vote coming from a Cincinnati senator who didn’t think it went far enough. The Ohio Department of Education and several education groups back the bill.
Now it moves to the Democrat-controlled House, where Rep. Peggy Lehner, R-Kettering, is its primary champion. She expects support from Stephen Dyer, an Akron Democrat and head of the Education Committee. Its prospects in the House look good.
However, even if it passes in the House, the bill will require Gov. Strickland’s signature, and he has consistently opposed making this change. The governor’s spokeswoman said he believes in rules requiring “adequate progress” for all groups of students in order to ensure “accountability for every child.”
Gov. Strickland is wrong if he believes this change harms that goal. Sen. Cates’ bill continues to ensure that schools must focus on struggling minority groups, and the report card system will continue to severely penalize those who don’t ensure those kids keep up.
Under the Cates bill, a district that has two subgroups of at least 30 kids falling short would be knocked down one rung on the rating system. So Kettering or Lebanon would still be dropped from an “A” to a “B.” That’s a big hit.
What Sen. Cates wants to prevent is driving them down from an “A” to a “C.” Keep in mind, Kettering met 29 of 30 state benchmarks; another state metric ranked that district in the top 26 percent in the state; and for the second consecutive year, it got extra credit for better-than-expected growth in test scores.
Even so, Kettering was rated a “C,” leaving the district only rated ahead of 10 of the state’s 610 school districts — the tiny handful of lowest scorers that earned a “D” or “F.” A district performing that well simply does not belong so close to the bottom.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Editorials, Education, Scott Elliott, Suburban Communities
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