A Way to Increase Support for Our Schools

In their effort to generate public support for their schools, many Ohio school superintendents share a common concern about a problem I’ve often heard expressed in my work in school districts over the past 20 years.  It is that the only time we (superintendents) make a concerted effort to reach out to our citizens is when we need their help in passing a tax levy.  I agree with this concern and would like to propose a solution to the problem.  What if tax levy leadership teams were utilized to build community-wide discussion networks to discuss and help shape statewide education policy.  In addition to keeping citizens productively engaged in between tax levy campaigns, the discussion groups would attract citizens who may vote no or who are often on the fence when it comes to their support of school tax issues.  The bottom line is that these discussions would create a deeper understanding of the challenges facing our students and teachers and increase support for our public schools.