EDUCATION A day off for fund rally

Ten local rallies on school funding are also planned.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Pupils in two Trumbull County school districts will have the day off Wednesday as their teachers participate in a statewide rally for increased state school funding.
Bristol and Lakeview school districts have extended their school calendars by one day to accommodate the day off, officials said.
About 50 staff members are expected to go on chartered buses from Lakeview to the Project Chalkboard rally in Columbus, and about 35 to 50 staffers are expected from Bristol, officials said.
"I have to tell you, the staff is very committed to this activity," Lakeview superintendent Matt Chojnacki said.
Superintendents in both districts said officials balanced inconvenience to parents with the importance of school funding issues to the community.
"We are in fiscal emergency, and we believe there needs to be a [better] way to fund schools," Bristol superintendent Rocco Nero said. "We have had three levy tries fail, and we are trying every practical option to benefit the district."
Other participants
Many school districts are sending smaller delegations. School will remain in session in Champion, although about 10 people are expected to go to the Columbus rally.
"The school funding system is an abomination," Champion superintendent Pamela Hood said.
At the Project Chalkboard rally, educators and supporters from across Ohio are expected to converge on the Statehouse to demand that lawmakers shift the burden for school funding from local property owners to the state.
Organizers hope to pressure lawmakers to adhere to the recommendations of a 1997 Ohio Supreme Court decision that found the current method of school funding unconstitutional.
Chief props will be large chalkboard signs hauled in by truck.
A chalkboard from this area will be used in local rallies. It's being driven to Columbus by Roger Samuelson, a Champion school board member, and Robert Faulkner, a Warren board member.
In the Mahoning Valley, rallies are planned Monday at Bristol, Lakeview, Brookfield, Champion, Newton Falls, Weathersfield and Liberty schools, as well as the Trumbull County Career & amp; Technical Center, Samuelson said.
Additional rallies are planned Wednesday at Campbell and Canfield schools, he added.