Industry leaders are finally saying what many of us have known for years in the southern half of the state: Ohio is not educating its children properly.

Saturday, August 26, 2000

Industry leaders are finally saying what many of us have known for years in the southern half of the state: Ohio is not educating its children properly.

The gathering of Ohio CEOs was part of a symposium sponsored by the Governor’s Commission for Student Success.

Among the participants was John Pepper, chairman of Proctor and Gamble, which is based in Cincinnati.

He told the commission that Ohio has to do something soon to bring the education levels up for all students in the state – including those from rural areas.

Without skills, he explained, these children will not be able to survive in the work world of the future. He added that industry is already spending a tremendous amount of money trying to provide the education links many of the graduates who are coming out of Ohio schools are missing.

He advised that fixing the state’s funding differential should be a top priority.

Although this is a fact that most Ohioans who live in rural or urban areas have known for some time, it is nice to finally hear someone from the private sector acknowledge how important a solution to the state’s school funding crisis really is.

Maybe with the confirmation from the industrial interests in the state, the Legislature and governor will move a little faster at resolving the equity question.