We are students for Issue 2
When Ohioans go to the polls on Tuesday to vote on Issue 2, they will do so based on their perspective of being Democrats, Republicans, policemen, firefighters, teachers, other public employees, family and friends of the last few, Ohioans working in the private sector, or Ohioans not able to find a job in this economic downturn.
We all may fall into a couple of these groups, but another important perspective to me is being a young student looking forward to my future career and life in Ohio.
Issue 2 is fair
Issue 2 has been dubbed as an attack on the “middle class.”
There are two problems with this argument. First, public employees comprise around 6 percent of Ohio’s workforce, hardly constituting the “middle class”.
Second, it is not an attack. The ballot initiative requires public employees to pay only 15 percent into their health insurance and 10 percent into their pensions.
Private employees pay, on average, roughly double those figures into their benefit packages, so the proposed levels of contribution are reasonable.
Issue 2 actually prevents layoffs
The cornerstone argument of the opponents of Issue 2 assumes there will be fewer firefighters and policemen to protect us without the ability of public safety personnel to bargain collectively for the number of staff hired.
There have been many ads on television, radio and in the newspaper that make this claim. However, even the writers of these ads recognize the fallacy of their argument when they use qualifies in their statements: “Issue 2 MAY threaten your safety.”
The truth is, Issue 2 saves money for governments at the local and state level. Since local governments will experience less financial strain due to savings, layoffs will actually be avoided.
Would you rather have a smaller number of public employees with above average wage and benefits packages, or a larger number of the same who pay a still reasonable amount into their health insurance and pension?
Mike Bell, the Independent mayor of Toledo and a former firefighter, endorsed Issue 2 because it will help Toledo, and other communities, avoid layoffs.
Issue 2 promotes change in education
In our current system teachers keep their jobs by completing two requirements: coming back after the summer and not making an egregious error of conduct.
Issue 2 makes it so that teachers utilizing the newest, more effective methods will be compensated more than teachers who use outdated methods and fail to educate their students.
This is true for both newer and older teachers. For those that are worried about reliance on standardized testing in merit-based pay, they should be made aware of the current trend in education to measure student progress as opposed to student achievement.
With Issue 2 passed, teachers who make the greatest difference in their students’ lives by utilizing new (dare I say progressive) practices that engage students’ interests will be rewarded and prioritized.
Issue 2 helps new teachers
The easiest argument I can make to convince Bowling Green students (or a sizable portion of us) to support Issue 2 is that it benefits students studying to be new teachers.
In the current system, teachers are rewarded based on the number of years served and the level of formal education received. Newer teachers are placed at the bottom of the totem pole in regards to layoffs and wages, despite the fact that they have most recently been immersed in newer teaching strategies.
During rough economic times such as these, our current system keeps the teachers with “more experience” over the newer teachers who provide students with an education that fits their needs and really works. To clarify, older and newer teachers both could receive this advantage.
However, younger generations are ambitious and want to make a big difference in the world, so newer teachers will benefit by voting YES on Issue 2.
We encourage you to do just that.
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