In his ninth town hall meeting, potential Ohio gubernatorial candidate Jim Renacci, joined by former school board members, slammed the inclusion of critical race theory and Common Core in Ohio classrooms.
Renacci, who has alluded to but not yet announced a run for Ohio governor, was joined by John Hagan and Kelly Kohls for community town hall about education in Ohio earlier this month. Hagan currently serves on the state Board of Education and Kohls is the former president of the Springboro Community City Schools Board and a former member of the board of education for the Warren County Career Center.
The town hall was aimed at discussing issues Renacci says most affect Ohio students: family issues, technology, bullying, student attitudes and testing.
“We cannot compete if we do not have educated students and educated individuals,” Renacci said.
Although the town hall covered a wide variety of topics, both panelists and Renacci touched on critical race theory throughout the discussion.
Kohls, who began educating her children at home after serving on the boards of education, said that social issues should be taught by parents, not schools.
“This whole critical race theory, ‘The 1619 Project,’ all of this is part of the curriculum that abuses children, it bullies children,” Kohls said. “In the classroom, every child feels that they are either oppressed or the oppressor. They feel bad about themselves either way.”
Kohls also went after tax increases, saying that taxes are rising quicker than incomes.
Renacci said taking federal money is part of the reason critical race theory and Common Core are taught in Ohio schools.
“A lot of time the reason that we are doing some of these things, whether it’s critical race theory or Common Core, is because we are taking federal money,” Renacci said. “…One out of every four dollars comes from the federal government to fund the state treasury. As long as we’re taking their money, we’re going to have to listen to them.”
Renacci also put forth several solutions, such as increasing vocational training and encouraging people to join their local school boards. He also suggested eliminating federal money spent on “bad federal programs,” as well as returning control to local school districts.
Watch the entire town hall meeting here.
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Jordyn Pair is a reporter with The Ohio Star and the Star News Network. Follow her on Twitter at @JordynPair.
