Following a roundtable with Monroe school officials and teachers, Acton expressed concerns about fully funding the state’s public schools.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
“If we remember Ohio history...Ohio made this constitutional commitment to have a public school in every community. They felt it would make for a really educated citizenship that would be more civically involved, they felt it would lift the whole economy of this new era, of this new state. And that is an essential agreement, that was a foundational principle, and we are not fully funding our public schools, our constitutional commitment,” she said.
Acton also criticized Ohio’s recently implemented school voucher system, which she described as lacking transparency and accountability, adding that the state must “re-look at what a 21st century education looks like” in light of the advent of AI.
“Ohio used to be at the top. We were always the top measure of education. We are now falling below,” Acton said.
Acton also spoke with current high school students about college credit, as well as their concerns about the state of the world, social media, and artificial intelligence.
“The high school students were wonderful, and I think if everyone got to hear them, we’d feel a lot better about our future,” Acton said. “I think in the times we’ve been living in, and it’s been very topsy-turvy, heavy news cycles, more overwhelming stimulus than you could ever get in social media, it was really comforting to see these young people wanting to help their neighbor and really valuing their relationships.”
Monroe recently completed a $2.5 million construction project to convert a junior high gym into 8 new classrooms in two stories along with two smaller, learning conference rooms. The project was necessary to provide more learning spaces for students as the Butler County school system rapidly expands, Monroe Schools Superintendent Robert Buskirk said at the time.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
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