Big Walnut Community Advocates for Public Education
Questionnaire Responses from Candidates Running in the November 5, 2024, Election
Candidates who did not respond are:
Beth Lear (State House of Representatives Candidate)
Troy Balderson (U.S. House of Representatives Candidate)
Jim Jordan (U.S. House of Representatives Candidate)
Tammi Wilson (U.S. House of Representatives Candidate)
Bernie Moreno (U.S. Senate Candidate)
1. Briefly describe your education and experience/qualifications as they pertain to
public education?
Sherrod Brown (U.S. Senate Candidate)
I grew up in Mansfield, Ohio, where I attended Johnny Appleseed Junior High
School before going to Mansfield Senior High School. I graduated from Yale
University and then attended The Ohio State University for my Masters in Education
and Masters in Public Administration. I also taught at The Ohio State University’s
Mansfield campus from 1979 to 1981.
I’ve always fought to protect public education and secure investments that help our
teachers, students and their families succeed. I’m working to pass my Educators
Expense Deduction Modernization Act to quadruple the tax deductions teachers
can use for school expenses to put more money back in their pockets, and I’ve
championed the Child Tax Credit expansion to cut taxes for working families so they
can better keep with rising costs.
Our education system is vital to ensuring Ohio’s next generation succeeds. By
investing in it, we can help prepare the leaders of tomorrow.
David Hogan (State House of Representatives Candidate)
I have been an educator for thirty-seven years, thirty-five of those as a history professor at Heidelberg University. I have a doctorate in history from Carnegie Mellon University, and degrees from two other schools, with my dissertation on changes in public school funding. My active participation in Ohio public schools includes working on bond levies(Delaware), serving on the board of a public digital academy at Pleasant Local, participating in an ODE social studies taskforce, presenting programs in classes, selling merchandise for the marching band, and building many stage sets for our daughter's school plays at Buckeye Valley. Related experiences are co-designing a College Board AP American history exam, being elected as president of the Ohio Academy of History, writing books, and enduring seemingly endless sweet potato fries while eating lunch with my kids at their (Delaware) elementary school.
Jerrad Christian (U.S. House of Representative Candidate)
I am a product of public education and I believe that knowledge is a right. We all stand on the shoulders of those who came before us and the lessons we can learn from them. I believe there should never be a profiteer between us and knowledge. It isn't the same, but my first job out of the military was teaching outdoor education courses to children. We worked with team building, survival, history, ornithology, etc
2. If elected, when considering legislation, what would be your position on
separation of church and state as it pertains to the public education realm?
Sherrod Brown (U.S. Senate Candidate)
I’ve always believed that decisions about religious education are best made by a
student’s family and not their school district. Separation of church and state is about
protecting the religious rights and beliefs of all students.
All Americans have the right to practice their faith without interference from the
government, school boards, city councils, or other religious groups. The
Constitution is clear in requiring that the government not dictate religion, and I will
continue to work to uphold this founding principle of our democracy.
While I encourage students to express their religious beliefs and pray individually in
schools if they so choose, I do not believe that it is appropriate to teach or condemn
personal religious beliefs in public schools. I continue to encourage students and
educators to respect the religious beliefs of all students within our education
system.
David Hogan (State House of Representatives Candidate)
Religion has no role in government, and our public schools are the frontline of government. No tax money should ever go to private or church-affiliated schools, for any purpose, including transportation and other logistical support. None. Our current legislature is dominated by zealots who either want to dismantle public education, or transform it into their own Bible-based indoctrination. Also, groups like LifeWise are welcome to do whatever they do, after school hours, but not during the school day. This separation needs to be absolute
Jerrad Christian (U.S. House of Representative Candidate)
There needs to be an ABSOLUTE separation.
3. Ohio Attorney Dave Yost recently sued the Columbus City School District for its
failure to transport 9,000 of its private school students to the 167 private
schools in its boundaries. The district buses 37,000 public students. Across the
state, the number of private schools is increasing, and many districts have a
shortage of bus drivers. What might the legislature do to remedy this situation?
Sherrod Brown (U.S. Senate Candidate)
I’m working to make sure that Ohio schools, students and their families have the
resources they need to get to and from school safely and the support and tools they
need to learn and grow once they are in the classroom.
At the federal level, I'm working to make sure schools have the resources they need
to create the best outcomes for students and improve public transportation
infrastructure. I also have been a leading advocate for school bus safety and
introduced legislation to update school buses to help keep our kids safe as they
travel to and from school.
David Hogan (State House of Representatives Candidate)
Strongly encourage churches and private schools to purchase their own buses, if they choose to be in the education business. Yost is simply pushing an ideologically extreme agenda, vying to become the next governor. In regard to the statewide driver shortage, increasing salary and improving working conditions could help to increase that workforce.
Jerrad Christian (U.S. House of Representative Candidate)
Ohio Attorney Dave Yost recently sued the Columbus City School District for its failure to transport 9,000 of its private school students to the 167 private schools in its boundaries. The district buses 37,000 public students. Across the state, the number of private schools is increasing, and many districts have a shortage of bus drivers. What might the legislature do to remedy this situation? Make private schools and parents of children in them deal with their own transportation.
4. What is the most important thing that can be done to protect our school
children from gun violence?
Sherrod Brown (U.S. Senate Candidate)
Ohio parents shouldn’t have to worry whether their children will return from school
every afternoon. I supported the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the first
common sense gun safety legislation signed into law in nearly three decades, which
was endorsed by law enforcement, that will help protect families and children and
reduce violent crime across the country.
I support common sense measures that balance Ohioans’ Constitutional rights with
the need to keep Ohioans – including law enforcement and students – safe and
reduce senseless gun violence.
David Hogan (State House of Representatives Candidate)
There is not a single solution to stopping gun violence in schools. Guns are present in America, with estimates saying there are two guns for every individual person. Attempting to confiscate them or ban all sales is a political and practical improbability. What we should do immediately is make guns less accessible to persons who should not possess them by halting all gunshow and internet private-party sales. These transactions require no background checks or identification, bypassing licensed firearms dealers, essentially less regulated than a can of soup.
We also need a better system for mental health care in our nation. It is no secret that most mass shooters in schools are mentally ill teenagers or young adults. If we had more effective care, perhaps treatment would either forestall such shootings, or the shooters could be more effectively flagged as potential threats. Right now this system is failing both those who are ill, and the general public.
Though controversial, I support arming school personnel, if they are willing and able. I wish that guns had no place in any school buildings, but that is not our reality. We were all horrified to hear about the brave, unarmed principal who confronted the shooter at Sandy Hook, her becoming one of his many victims. It's not a total solution of course, in light of Uvalde and Parkland police failures, but it would protect school personnel -- and their young students -- from being helpless in the face of slaughter.
How do we stop this gun violence? We aggressively implement all these measures, and more. It isn't rocket science. We throw out the partisan politicians who take their orders -- and cash -- from the NRA, then bring sane adults from all sides together to hammer out practical measures. Improvement only comes through bipartisan cooperation and compromise, none of which is happening now in Ohio. Right now, children are dying because these politicians value their sleazy careers over young lives.
Jerrad Christian (U.S. House of Representative Candidate)
Make mental healthcare accessible and remove stigma around seeking help. Violence against children, these atrocities, are not normal human things to do.