Oustanding work today, folks

We're still counting up the signatures, but we can say with no doubt that Springdale and PHS made today a fine start toward getting the 231,149 signatures that we need state-wide.

The afternoon started at PHS with dozens of staffers clad in their I Helped Make Princeton Excellent shirts (thanks, PACE, for getting those printed, by the way) showing their solidarity and signing the petitions to repeal SB5. We even got a visit and signature from one of our building administrators.

From there we headed to the UDF across the street from Springdale Elementary where nearly the entire Springdale staff found us tucked under shelter from the threatening skies and signed their names to the petitions.

Today was a great show of support, folks, and tomorrow will only be better as we'll be at Princeton Community Middle School's library from 3:15 (if that's the end of the Middle School contract day, it might be 3:30) for an hour.

If anybody from PHS missed their chance today, come on over to PCMS.

If anybody from Springdale missed your chance, come on over to PCMS. We'll wait for you.

If anybody from Glendale or any of the other elementary schools wants to go ahead and sign, come on over.

We're still looking to nail down details of visits to

• Woodlawn and Lincoln Heights (Looks like maybe at The Pike on Friday afternoon)
• Glendale (what about the Friendly Stop so our CO folks can visit, too?)
  
• Heritage Hill (Is there a better option than Crescentville Rec?)
  
• Sharonville (Anybody wanna spend some time in Gower Park?)
• Evendale (Would the church across the way let us hang out for an hour?)
• Stewart (I'm pulling for a shelter house at Francis Recreacres.)

We'll also have the petitions on the sidewalk at the Jazz Band Ice Cream Social at PHS on Monday evening, May 9 if anybody wants to bring some friends in.

We're thinking that an all-Princeton event on the afternoon of May 21 would be a great way to bring the whole district together - friends, families, neighbors, everyone.

Here's my question for you - where is the best public place (park shelter house, rec center, somewhere cheap/free) that we should have a large, district-wide event?

Bonus: Governor Kasich made a proclamation that this week is Public Service Appreciation Week. Seriously.

Tuesday we pass our own test

Tomorrow...Tuesday...May 3rd...We are tested.

We have our first opportunities to show that we are better and bigger and stronger and more determined than those who oppose public education in the state of Ohio and in the nation.

We will take the first step toward repealing Senate Bill 5 because that's what's best for our kids, our coworkers, our communities, and all of Ohio.

We'll see all of the high school staffers in PHS room 519 (right on Times Square) from 3-4pm. (We've rented the room to make it all legal.)

Then we'll see all the Springdale staffers (and anyone else who wants to join us) after that. We'll be to you with the petitions that we haven't filled from the high school.

But we need your help. We need you to grab every coworker - your neighbors, your lunch buddies, the people you never talk to, the people you always talk to, the guy across the hall, the gal by the office - and bring the to sign on the line.

Tomorrow we aren't just being tested...


Tomorrow we are passing our first test.

Definite signing times & dates

Things are locked in stone for Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.

Tuesday (5/3), we'll be signing at PHS in room 519 from 3-4pm. We've rented the room for an hour so we're all on the up and up. After that, Becky Brown and I (Lonnie Dusch) will be heading over to Springdale Elementary to give those folks a chance. Not sure what the exact time frame over there will be.

Wednesday (5/4), then, we'll be at PCMS just after their contract day ends for another hour-long signing. Becky's setting up the locale there.

We're still trying to get definite days/times nailed down at the elementary schools.

We'll also be at the Jazz Band Ice Cream Social (officially we'll be on the public sidewalk before, during, and after the actual performance) on Monday, May 9th. The concert is at 6pm, and we're hoping for good weather.

Come out to any of these times and dates to join us, folks.

Petitions, finally!

The first petitions for the PACE For Kids circulators are in the district, finally!

Sadly, Hamilton County is not among the 1st priority counties in Ohio, so we're not getting the vast bulk of petitions that we might have hoped for - at least not yet.

For now, we have seven petitions - five for Hamilton County voters, one for Butler County voters, and one for Clermont County voters. Each petition can hold up to seventy-five signatures from those specific counties.

This means we'll have to be a little judicious about spreading the petitions around. Our hope is that if we can fill these petitions quickly, we'll be able to go back to the OEA local and ask for more petitions.

So, we're going to hit the big spots first - PHS, PCMS, and two of our larger elementary schools, Springdale and Heritage Hill. We'll be at those schools on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 3rd and 4th.