Strickland hands the keys to the inmates

Yes, give the unions more control. It's worked before (that's sarcasm by the way).

Strickland names four to state Board of Education
Three of governor's first appointments have union backing

Saturday, January 10, 2009 3:05 AM

By Catherine Candisky

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Gov. Ted Strickland appointed four people to the state Board of Education yesterday, including three with strong ties to teachers unions.

It was the governor's first opportunity to fill seats on the 19-member panel, and it comes just weeks before Strickland is to unveil his proposal for fixing Ohio's school-funding system.

Two appointees are union-backed candidates who lost their bids Nov. 4 for elected seats on the board; a third is a recently retired executive of Ohio's largest teachers union.

Strickland named:

• Dennis Reardon of Pickerington, retired executive director of the Ohio Education Association.
• Martha Harris of Cleveland Heights, who finished a distant second in a five-person board race to former U.S. and state Rep. Mary Rose Oakar. Harris has 35 years of teaching experience.
• Tracey Smith of Van Wert, who also lost her bid for an elected seat on the board. Smith has been a social studies teacher for Van Wert City Schools since 2000 and is a legislative liaison for the Ohio Federation of Teachers.
• N. Daniel Green of Gallipolis, who served 20 years on the board of Gallipolis City Schools and is a retired postmaster.

Harris and Smith will serve alongside the candidates who defeated them.

Their election bids were supported by a first-time coordinated effort of the unions representing Ohio teachers and school employees: the Ohio Education Association, Ohio Federation of Teachers and Ohio Association of Public School Employees. (Two of their seven candidates won.)

The appointments also should give Strickland more influence over the board, which he says he is depending on for support of his school-funding plan.

Strickland is expected to detail his proposal in his State of the State address on Jan. 28.

The state board consists of 11 elected members representing districts across the state and eight members appointed by the governor. All serve four-year terms.

ccandisky@dispatch.com