Let Ohioans decide the future of higher education. Bill 1 (SB1), signed into law March 28, is micromanagement of higher education. The legislation imposes restrictions on universities and faculty, limits their ability to engage in diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, censors classroom discussions, prohibits faculty strikes and tenure negotiationsSB1 inhibits the teaching of essential concepts related to race, class, and gender, and impacts the teaching of accurate historical and social content. The anti-diversity provisions of the bill prohibit schools from offering scholarships that support women, ethnic, and racial minorities, and make it illegal for universities to offer voluntary faculty diversity training. The legislation is expected to have a chilling effect on free speech and discussion in the classroom, forcing faculty to self-censor and decreasing the quality of education. It will make it challenging to attract and retain quality faculty, thereby reducing the overall quality of higher education in Ohio. SB1 is viewed as detrimental to faculty, students, and the overall quality of higher education in Ohio. Ohioans are urged to sign a petition by June 21 to place a referendum on the November ballot to repeal the law and to protect academic freedom and the future of higher education in the state. For more information: ohsb1petition.com.
- Richard Cohen, Beavercreek
Who owns property? People who own property have the wealth to support it. Property owners may have mortgages but they avoid the higher cost of paying rent for no gain to their wealth. Eliminating property tax provides a bigger advantage the wealthier you are, with no advantage for the multitude that do not own property. Do you honestly believe that elimination of property tax would allow the wealthy property owners (who also own the rental properties) to lower the rent for their rent paying clients? How would public schools receive funding? Is this a diverse attempt to force the closing of public schools and force everyone to pay for private schools? I own my own home. I didn’t start that way. After my military service, I rented to provide for my wife and children until I could save enough to buy a small home and start paying for it. It helped when my wife could stop full time caring for our children who were in public school and she could get a job. As rapidly as possible we paid off all our debts. I am now 90 years old and I still approve of the taxes I pay for public school support even though my children and grandchildren graduated (from public schools) and got college degrees. I still believe that our constitutionally provided education system works and benefits our country. I can’t believe that anyone who doesn’t own property would vote to eliminate property tax, But maybe what our property owning representatives believe is that property owners vote and non owners do not tend to vote. Maybe we should eliminate the advantages of being a representative.
- James L. Schumacher, West Milton
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Credit: JIM NOELKER
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