Ohioans are just overtaxed. We have:

Ö Federal Income Tax

Ö State Income Tax

Ö City Income Tax

Ö County Tax

Ö School Tax

Ö Property Tax

Ö They even tax us after we die (Both Federal and State Estate Tax)

Every form of government has their hand in our pockets and our pockets are just not that deep.

We need to reverse this trend and get our budget in line and cut taxes for its citizens. We need to attract new businesses to Ohio and we will not be able to do that if the state is taking a larger share of the companies’ profit off the top than other competing state.

People are leaving Ohio in numbers while the state of Texas is growing even faster and taxes and jobs are the primary reason.

SCHOOLS

The 36th District is one of the most successful districts with regards to education in the state. Two of the school districts are rated “Effective”, two “Excellent” and two “Excellent with Distinction” yet all of them are below the average cost per student of the state. I have met with many people regarding education from all over the district, administrators, Board Members, owners of tutoring services as well as many teachers along the campaign trail. If I am going to be stopped for an in depth discussion on the campaign trail it is usually by a teacher which shows their passion for their profession.

My main problem with education is the state and the federal government meddling in the affairs of the local schools. No one knows better how to educate the children of their own community than the community itself. There is not a cookie cutter plan that will work effectively in each of the 613 school districts in Ohio. House Bill 1, Gov. Strickland’s Evidence Base Model, does exactly that. Not only that but it puts more demands on the schools without funding the mandates. If a school needs or requests help, let the state give them direction, but to tell Northmont they need to operate under a new model when the current one has been very successful is wrong.

I think there are some inefficiencies in the number of school districts. Northmont has approximately 6000 students and the three districts in the western part of my district probably do not have that many total students combined, yet they all have a superintendent and multiple administrators. I believe there are some economies of scale in smaller sized school districts. Sports are probably the biggest problem with combining but it is necessary.

Additionally, I do support charter schools for the students in a failing school system. If a child is not learning then they should be allowed to move to a system where they can learn. I just refuse to accept that a family must keep their child in this environment so the school can work through their problems. I have heard that if a child misses an early year in school they will never catch up. That is an unacceptable position to put on a family of limited means. BUT, the charter schools need to be held to standards and be able to substantiate their funding. I would be open to hearing both sides on making charter schools nonprofit. I do not have enough information to voice an opinion either way.

I have learned there is an adversarial relationship between the OEA (teacher’s union) and the republican party. I was told not even to go to the endorsement screening, “it is a waste of time”, but if I am going to represent the district I am going to represent the teachers as well so I need to know their issues. I did not receive their endorsement which I accept. I have since reached out to the OEA to sit down and explain their side of the issues yet because I am not the endorsed candidate they were not even interested in a meeting. This decision, as well as others I have seen over the years, has led me to believe the OEA is not for the schools, students or the community but just the teachers. We all know great individual teachers and the community wants to give then the respect as any professional yet collectively they act like a labor union. There are great teachers and there are less effective teachers and there is no reason why job performance cannot be built into the compensation formula. Teachers are concerned about their retirement yet I have been told by more than one teacher that they know it faces serious financial problems by the year 2015. I believe we need to honor the commitments made to the current teachers but changes need to be made going forward. Changes must be made, tough decisions are on the agenda and I hope we can begin a dialogue and put partisanship behind.

SOCIAL ISSUES

The United States Constitution guarantees the right of every citizen to own firearms.

Marriage is between a man and a woman. No one particular group deserves any special rights or privileges over any other group.

One of the greatest failures in our society is the inability to protect the truly helpless members, the unborn. Abortion is a civil rights issue. The constitution guarantees the right of every American citizen to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This is not nullified by another person’s right of choice.

Much of our nation’s social problems are as a result of the breakdown of the family unit caused, in part, by misguided social programs of the federal government. It is not debatable that as a group, children who grow up in a household with a mother and a father perform better and are more productive members of society.