State report cards mislead the public

As a former state representative, I want to urge Lorain County residents not to be misled by the state’s recent claims of poor grades reported in the state report card for our school districts.

Of the 90 total grades for 15 school districts in our county, the state reported 55 grades were a “C” or less, with only seven “A” grades.

Sadly, Gov. John Kasich and the Republican majority running the legislature keep changing testing, goals and measurements. They have pretty much put in place a changing system that sets up our school districts to come up short.

The state report card system makes it appear as though our districts are failing or barely achieving.

The state’s very narrow data doesn’t give you the complete picture of the accomplishments of students and the hard work of teachers and administrators. By creating a negative perception of our public schools, the governor and Columbus Republicans, who control the votes on education policy, are trying to build up interest in the for-profit charter schools and voucher programs in Ohio.

I have expressed my concerns to state Sen. Gayle Manning and state Rep. Nathan Manning. I would encourage you to do the same.

Tell them our students and teachers are working hard in our school districts. Their accomplishments should be recognized, not minimized and misrepresented by this current state report card system. We should always put the educational success of our children first.

Matt Lundy Avon Lake