Hiring of public employees should be public, impartial

Hiring of public employees should be public, impartial
EDITOR:
Ah, politics in the Mahoning Valley, where jobs are considered spoils of war and job security can be a relative thing.
Several times over the past few months stories raising questions regarding local government hiring practices have been brought to our attention by the media. Each time a story like this appears, I don't know whether to laugh, cry, beat my fists against a wall or hang my head in shame.
Charges of questionable hiring practices by local government agencies are not new. Accusations of patronage and favoritism have be "out there" in the community for as long as I can remember. Over the years, comments have been made regarding public employee rosters listing people with the same surname with disturbing frequency as well as these same rosters bearing a disproportionate number of people known to be among the party faithful, friends of friends, distant relatives, significant others and so on. The filling of vacant positions has come under fire repeatedly. There's a perception that often the person hired does not have the specific combination of educational and experience supposedly required for the position but gets the job anyway.
In view of these criticisms, we would think local leaders would approach hiring employees with some degree of discretion or common sense. But do we get discretion and common sense here in the Mahoning Valley? Nooooo. Instead, we get an almost royal sense of entitlement. "To the victor go the spoils" is used to justify engaging in practices that are, at the very least, bizarre.
Why can't public officials understand that when they use their positions to help people get jobs, they and the office they hold become compromised? It doesn't matter if the assistance involves hiring their own relatives outright, putting in the word for valued supporters or simply telling friends about openings that are advertised only "in-house."
All public sector jobs, regardless of the level or criteria, should be advertised to the general public and every interested person should be given the chance to compete for them, on the same playing field with the same standards applied.
To those candidates who won election last Tuesday on the promise to change our Valley for the better, here's your chance to stand behind your promise. You can start by instituting hiring policies that are open, fair and above reproach. Put the public back in public hiring and open up the process to everyone.
TONI YUHASZ
Berlin Center
Ohio needs charter schools
EDITOR:
I am responding to the Nov. 3 Vindicator article "Statewide poll shows parents' mixed feelings." The results of this poll highlight a growing number of parents who are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with traditional public schools. Nearly a third of parents surveyed said their public school has gotten worse over the past three years, while over half said they believed they should be able to switch their children from a failing school to a better-performing school.
These numbers help explain the need for charter schools in Ohio. Since charter schools are required by law to open only in the worst-performing districts, they often enroll students whose public schools have already failed. Many of these charters cater specifically to dropouts and other at-risk children, focusing on preparing them for the work force. The fact that parents are leaving the public schools and enrolling their children in charters is evidence of the integral role they play in Ohio's educational system.
NANCY CAMPANA
Youngstown