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Billboard campaign targets school levies

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By Lindsey Hilty, Staff Writer Updated 8:35 AM Thursday, September 23, 2010

WEST CHESTER TWP. — “Did you get a raise for not dying this summer?”

This is one of four messages motorists may notice this month on 25 bill boards in Greater Cincinnati, designed to look like green chalk boards.

This one, which references step raises given to teachers based on years of service and educational attainment, is on Ohio 42 just north of Cox Road.

An electronic billboard on Ohio 747 south of Union Centre Boulevard switches between the following two messages:

“Does state law give you 15 paid sick days a year?” and “Cincinnati Schools spent $7.5 million on employee sick leave last year.”

Each message finishes with “Public schools have a spending problem, oheaexposed.com.”

It is part of a campaign by a three-year-old non-profit in Michigan that is targeting several states with its platform.

The Education Action Group Foundation’s message to Ohio is that reform of state funding is needed as funds for public schools decrease and the cost of operating schools keeps increasing.

“From our perspective, it’s all about the spending,” Vice President Kyle Olson said. “A lot of school districts are going out for levies and tax increases. Many districts are saying ‘We don’t have enough money, so we’ve got to lay off teachers —we’ve got to delay buying text books ...”

The inefficient spending, he said, impacts students negatively.

The group studied collective bargaining agreements from 19 southwest Ohio school districts, looking at where costs could be eliminated or cut, at least temporarily, to help schools survive a financial crisis without gutting student services.

This spring his group released a report, “Ohio Teacher Contracts: The Black Hole of School Spending.”

It outlines the cost of various contract provisions and policies like paid leave time for teachers to work on union business.

»Lakota union leaders respond Article on A5

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