School funding activists join board

Two founders of Educate Springboro won school board races.

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By Lawrence Budd, Staff Writer 10:46 PM Sunday, November 20, 2011

SPRINGBORO — Two founders of Educate Springboro — an affiliate of a statewide organization whose goal is to draw attention on school funding — are about to join the board they pressured on the issue.

After resigning from Educate Springboro, founders David Petroni and Jim Rigano topped unofficial final results Nov. 8 in the six-way race for two seats on the Springboro Board of Education.

At least one other affiliate, in Pickerington, advocated for its members to be elected onto school boards. But only Petroni and Rigano topped election-night results, leaving them to work with other board members who might have some hard feelings from their Educate Springboro activities.

“I’m hoping the disagreements are in the past. Hopefully we can better understand each others’ positions,” Rigano said.

The affiliates are part of a grass-roots network conceived by Paul Lambert, a member of the Hilliard City School District Board of Education and blogger at www.educatehilliard.org. Lambert obtained web addresses for potential affiliates in other Ohio school districts.

The group has operations in two other Columbus school districts, Westerville and Worthington, as well as Pickerington, located in Franklin and Fairfield counties.

Last year, Educate Springboro formed a political action committee before the last of five consecutive school levies defeated by Springboro voters in November 2010.

A grass-roots movement

In speeches to the board and on its website, the group pressed for budget cuts, some of which were adopted by the board. While continuing to espouse views similar to those used in the Petroni-Rigano platform — and offer text and video of their speeches on its website — the statewide group made no endorsements in the November election.

In the board race in the Pickerington district, Eye on Pickerington representatives backed two candidates, Robert Lysko and Vanessa Niekamp, in unsuccessful runs in a six-way race for two board seats.

Eye on Pickerington is the name taken by the local affiliate of the new network. Lysko and Niekamp were defeated by two candidates backed by the local teachers union, Lisa Reade and James Brink, according to Larry Twyman of Eye on Pickerington.

Lambert was not on the ballot in the Hilliard district and could not be reached on Educate Hilliard candidates in the November race. Representatives of Educate Worthington said they stayed out of the board race, due to their issue-oriented mission.

“We do not support or endorse candidates as part of our mission. Our mission is to educate the public on the issues,” an Educate Worthington representative said in an email.

Under election law, groups establishing 527 nonprofit political action committees are prohibited from campaign efforts on behalf of individual candidates.

Unlike Educate Springboro, Eye on Pickerington and the other Columbus-area affiliates made no filings establishing political action committees, according to election officials.

By resigning from positions, Petroni and Rigano eliminated any direct link causing a potential election law violation. After the election, both said they were weighing whether to rejoin Educate Springboro.

“We’ve not made a determination to become fully engaged in Educate Springboro again,” Petroni said. “We’ve talked about that as an opportunity.”

Pending final election certification, Petroni finished first with 4,422 votes. Rigano was second with 4,346, 117 votes ahead of Lisa Babb, a parent and levy advocate in her first election. Jane Gregg, an educator, and appointed board member Gentry Ellis and incumbent Mike Kruse rounded out the results.

Post-election reflections

Rigano acknowledged exposure through Educate Ohio helped their recognition by voters.

“That helped people understand who we were,” Rigano said. “All the publicity you can get, anywhere along the line, helps.”

By running together, Rigano and Petroni enjoyed other benefits, while campaigning on identical platforms.

“It certainly helped in the campaign finance area. The whole campaign actually. We split the duties,” Rigano said.

Now Rigano and Petroni say they plan to meet with the other board members and work for consensus.

Petroni also urged voters to reappraise Educate Springboro, although it raised funds and distributed information before the last levy campaign.

“The perception of Educate Springboro as an anti-levy group is not a fair depiction,” he said.

Instead the group, like the new board members, will remain focused on keeping the district budget balanced, he said.

Contrary to rumors, there are no plans to cut sports or extracurricular activities, Rigano said.

“We’re not coming in with a hatchet,” he said. “The budget’s balanced. There’s no need to cut anything right now.”

Still some wonder how Rigano and Petroni will affect the board.

“As a parent, I am concerned that our new school board is more focused on spending and taxes than it is on running quality schools. I worry about our community experiencing a greater divide than it already has,” Ellis said in an email.

Tiffany Carlisle, a district parent and regular at board meetings, wondered how Rigano and Petroni would fit in.

“I’m worried, but I do wish them the best,” Carlisle said in email. “I do hope that they remember that they represent the children and not anyone else, and every decision they make needs to be what is best for the children.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2261 or lbudd@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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