DeMora dead wrong. 'Ohio does very well' by its public school districts, teachers.

Public schools, teachers already get enough of the share

State Senator Bill DeMora’s Feb. 13 opinion piece criticized a proposal from The Buckeye Institute urging lawmakers to help build more classroom space at non-district schools as those schools see a greater influx of students.

DeMora asserts Ohio should spend more money on public district schools instead of helping all schools educate Ohio’s children. He writes public districts are asked to “do more with less” and that Ohio doesn’t adequately pay teachers.

Facts show otherwise.

• Ohio’s new school funding plan passed by the General Assembly includes more than $1 billion in spending on public district schools over just two years—a historic level of spending.

• Per-pupil spending increased more than 40 percent between 2014 and 2023—well above inflation.

• Since 1997, Ohio has spent more than $11 billion on public district school facilities.

• Furthermore, average Ohio teacher salaries are in the top half of states nationally and higher than most neighboring states.

Ohio does very well by its public school districts. Now, it needs to do well by other education providers and their students too.

Greg R. Lawson, Research Fellow, The Buckeye Institute

Cities, not small towns should get Amtrak stops

For towns between the major Ohio cities proposed for Amtrak passenger train service, it's natural to want the train to stop.

Having local service would be a boon to individuals needing to head to and from the cities. However, it's vital that we do not do that in the beginning.

The trains will function as intercity, and minimizing time to destination is paramount if they are to be used. Later, as train service becomes more established, added commuter trains can be scheduled as rails are added to account for the increased load.

Until the service is reliable for city-to-city traffic, we must minimize the transit time to be competitive with driving, which can't happen if we stop repeatedly on the way.

Matt Simmons, Dublin

Palestinians are being erased, traumatized

The Israeli military recently rescued two hostages. During this operation, densely packed Palestinians were bombed, killing at least 67 people. This can happen because the extreme Netanyahu government regards Palestinians as subhuman, and their lives worth less than Israelis.

Nearly two million Palestinians have been forced to migrate to southern Gaza, making the area around Rafah one of the most densely populated places on the globe.

Now, the ongoing genocide is destined to continue as Netanyahu is planning to attack Rafah, forcing the people to evacuate again to the north in total disregard to their starvation, severe injuries, lack of potable water, food, medicine, electricity, and shelter. The area in the north has been completely decimated where homes, hospitals, and schools are nonexistent.

The brutal, indiscriminate bombing has left 30,000 civilians dead and over 10,000 children erased.

Many more children are orphaned and have been maimed. They live in a perpetual state of misery and will have PTSD for a lifetime. Countless mothers have given birth during this assault only to witness those same babies killed during this barbarity.

The inhumanity of it all is staggering and harrowing. And our government wants to reward the Netanyahu government with billions of dollars for more weapons. Inconceivable!

Bill Lyons, Columbus

Our nation's survival is on the line

J.D. Vance has made clear his position that Donald Trump should ignore “illegitimate” U.S. Supreme Court orders, “illegitimate” apparently meaning orders with which Trump disagrees.

Just as frightening, Vance has declared that, if he had been vice president, he would not have certified the 2020 presidential election results.

Bernie Moreno (who so proudly boasts that he is “the Trump-endorsed candidate” for the U.S. Senate) has left no doubt that he wholeheartedly agrees with Vance’s positions.

The possibility of having two Ohio senators so willing to ignore the Constitution is beyond staggering, We voters have the obligation in the March primary and the November general election to make sure that dangerous possibility never happens.

Our votes in those two elections may well determine the survival of our democracy.

Stephen Gladstone, Cleveland

Beware of baby bottle decay

Whether it’s breastmilk, formula, or cow’s milk, milk is a great source of vitamins and nutrients that help babies grow.

Milk becomes problematic, however, when teeth are exposed to its sugars for long periods of time.

This occurs commonly when children are put to bed with a bottle or carry a sippy cup of milk throughout the day leading to “baby bottle decay.” If left untreated, these decaying teeth require extraction.

Baby teeth are important and generally last in the mouth for 6-8 years (front teeth) or 10-12 years (back teeth). What happens is the milk’s sugar combines with the mouth’s bacteria to make acid, and this acid eats away at the teeth over time. A quick internet photo search of “baby bottle decay” will quickly show you the result.

It is recommended to wean and eventually stop your child from drinking milk at bedtime and brush their teeth twice daily with a toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste.

Dr. Shivam Patel, Columbus

What's on your mind? How to submit a letter to the editor for The Columbus Dispatch

Parents, kids deserve EdChoice

This school year marked a significant shift in Ohio’s educational landscape, with applications for EdChoice scholarships more than tripling.

Some may read this news and think of numbers in the state budget, when instead, we should think of the families behind the numbers.

EdChoice scholarships empower every family to direct a portion of their child’s state funding toward an education that may work better for them. As more Ohio families demand greater control over their children’s education, demand for alternatives will also rise.

It should be no surprise that education is poised for substantial innovation, affecting unconventional and traditional models alike. Families choose different options because their kids need something different, not more of the same. Freeing providers to innovate and offer what families want will strengthen all types of educational environments. After all, Uber didn’t put taxis or public buses out of business; it prompted those existing programs to better meet commuters’ needs. People across the nation use ridesharing apps today because it simply works better for them. Nobody knows kids better than their families. To cultivate the innate talents of every kid in Ohio, let’s continue to empower and support families, no matter which educational avenue they pursue.

Tiffany Barfield, government affairs director, yes. every kid and Donovan O’Neil, state director, Americans for Prosperity - Ohio

Property rights take a back seat to fossil fuel profits

Ohio pro-fossil-fuel laws are enabling both public and private lands to be exploited by out-of-state fossil fuel companies. In 2022, House Bill 507 was passed during the 2022 General Assembly “lame duck” session.

This bill did not accept public comments and opened up public lands for fracking leases.

The Oil and Gas Land Management Commission disregarded the nine criteria contained in the statute, the vocal disagreement of over 100 informed, angry Ohio citizens, and the peer-reviewed health and environmental studies.

Private lands are also open for fracking as citizens can be forced to participate in oil and gas development via a forced pooling or mandatory unitization action. Our family was recently notified that our land is no longer exclusively ours, but instead is a part of a unitization parcel.

The chief of the Division of Oil and Gas at ODNR approves a mandatory pooling application by considering correlative rights; providing for effective development and use; and promoting conservation of oil and gas. Environmental harms or health effects are not considered.

Landowners have the choice between participating in the drilling unit or nonparticipating and risking penalties. In Ohio, citizens’ property rights take a back seat to fossil fuel profits.

Dr. Randi Pokladnik, Uhrichsville

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Does Ohio support public schools enough? Why research fellow says 'yes.'