CORE Election Day Recap
some wins, some hits, and some misses
November 4th’s election night brought public education wins to city, suburb, and rural districts across the state, though notably avoiding Columbus. Below is a quick recap.
Levies and Bonds
Olentangy Local Schools Bond - Yes 56%
Will fund the construction of a new high school and an elementary school, along with other infrastructure and safety updates.
Jonathan Alder Local School District Bond - No 50.13%
This would have funded construction of a new middle school and to renovate, repair, expand, improve and construct additions to current facilities. There may be hope for JA yet, as the result was close enough to likely trigger a recount, and the Board of Education is considering legal action against the Union County Treasurer Office.
King Local School District 1% Income Tax - Yes
Westerville City Schools, Earned Income Tax Levy - Yes, 60%
Local unions and school boards alike should be taking note of the victory for Westerville City Schools, who also voted in union-endorsed Board of Education members, resulting in a 100% union-backed school board, in edition to a funded district, despite the continued divestment from the state. The passage of this earned income tax levy, which WEA members mobilized in droves to support, avoids $20 million in cuts.
Walnut Township Local School District Emergency Levy No - 53%
Southwest Licking Local School District Bond No - 70%
Delaware City Schools Tax Levy Yes - 52%
Delaware City Education Association activated over 10 percent of their membership to canvass and partake in a text campaign in support of the levy.
Jefferson Local School District Income Tax Levy Yes - 69%
School Board races
Southwestern City Schools
The Democrat slate of Kelly Dillon, Chelsea Alkire, and Camile Peterson won. The slate, endorsed by South Western EA, faced an attack when the opposing Republican slate created a deepfake AI generated video of the endorsed candidates expressing false opinions.
While this has been a voiced fear from the tech industry and content creators alike, this was the first time (to CORE’s knowledge) we saw it interfere in a very real way. While social media can be a friend to campaigns, it reminds us that in-person, real-life member and community engagement will bring us the wins we need!
Pickerington
A notable candidate on the Pickerington ballot was Brooke Lagrosso, CCS educator, CORE-Columbus EA member, and special needs parent. Running on a platform of classroom teacher representation, community engagement, and board involvement, she gained both Pickerington EA and Columbus EA endorsements. Through CORE organizing she was able to fund a crucial part of her campaign, as a CORE-CEA organizer who sits on the union’s PAC put forward a motion for monetary support to Lagrosso’s campaign. Educators supporting educators - we love to see it.
Upper Arlington
Board of Education President Lou Sauter was unseated by a former-admin-now-Board-member, and though we always have speculation when a former boss becomes a bigger boss, newly elected Francis (Kip) Greenhill seems to be teacher-friendly and very much in support of progressive education. In other great news, Board member Nidhi Satiani, known and appreciated for her activism and transparency, retained her seat.
Columbus
The Columbus EA slate and the Franklin County Democratic Party slate differed by one candidate, and it was an important one. Organizers made videos and slide decks for union leadership to educate fellow members on the importance of the race, though those materials went unused, and member mobilization totaled 13 out of 4,300 (5 of which were CORE-CEA members). As a result, the community saw another election bought and paid for by the Franklin County Democratic Party.
While two of the three seats were won, the union did not flip its hostile board of education, despite a contract re-opener on the table and going on 4 years post-strike.
Canal Winchester
With no current PAC and no endorsements, CWEA chose a path of transparency that brought educators and community together: they hosted a candidate night for their school board race. Candidates were asked pre-determined questions without the ability to prepare an answer. Questions rotated, providing every candidate a chance to answer first, and responses were held to a one minute time limit. Attendees (educators, parents, and community members alike) said hearing the candid replies helped them make an informed decision, and perhaps most impressive of all, was the high school student that stepped into a leadership role and facilitated the event.
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