Seven one. If you have KCD talk station, Happy Eve Friday Eve being even extra happy because today the return of donovan' neil from Americans for Prosperity, and normally we're talking about Americans for Prosperity and most notably AFP action, which is the way that you can help Americans for Prosperity. Well, get out there and spread the word about candidates like Bernie Marino. But today we're gonna be talking about Attorney General General David Yost in a cease and assist letter
he sent, Welcome back, Donovan O'Neil. It's always a pleasure for having you on the show.
I'm happy to be here.
Well, you know, the left, most notably in fact, it's really interesting the timing on this could have been better. Jason Riley op ed piece in the Wall Street Journal. Biden Harris worked to crush school competition. They are opposed to charter schools, and of course they're opposed to school choice. But the people like the option of being able to send their kids to charter schools and also private schools, and they want school choice. So they're on the wrong
side of the equation on this. Apparently the Columbus schools kind of feel the same way they do.
Yeah, Columbus public schools, you know, So here just lay the foundation for this conversation as well. Brand So you know, in the state of Ohio, we have we have a lot of school choice. We have public schools, private schools, charter schools, online, you have a lot of options. But regardless of the option you pick. In the state of Ohio, because we fund our public education with property tax dollars and other moneys, but mostly property tax dollars, transportation is
part of that. Every school district in the state of Ohio has an obligation to provide transportation to the students to the end that transportation includes the education options that the family picks. But in the city of Columbus, they've decided to get a little bold here and say we just can't do that anymore. We're not going to transport students to their schools of choice. And if you don't like that, you can just go to your public school.
There's a few other options there, but largely that's what they're doing. And so we pay for this with our taxpaer dollars and Columbus schools and we think there might be more out there Columbus schools have said we're not going to do that anymore, and it's putting families in a really tough tight position.
Well, charter schools, I mean, we have families of very modest incomes, folks on life's you know, financial margins that do attend charter schools that children do quite often those individuals maybe don't have transportation of their own. I saw this article out of Let's see it was, I think one of the local news outlets in Columbus. The quoted a woman named Crystal Green said she did not have a way to get her son to school on his first day, and then her son attends a charter school.
And there's the Columbus school that are schools basically saying sorry, sucks to be you. We don't care about people who are in that category.
Yeah, well, and that's that's a really tragic thing, right. You can read a number of articles coming out about this over the last couple of days that quote parents who were caught blindsided by this, who are are unable to get their kid to their school have had to shake up plans, and you know how frustrating that. I mean, well,
on one hand, it's frustrating. But the real tragedy is the education loss an opportunity that's occurring here because of the decision by administrators to to look the other way and put these families in a in in this position. And here's the deal. They have the money to do this as well. This isn't this isn't necessarily a budget kids straint, Brian. There's the money, is there? More money has been invested in public education in the last two years,
uh than in a number of years. And what we have here though, is I think I think administrators playing politics with families who are seeking school choice, and we need to just bring that to light and show it for what it is.
Well, absolutely, and this is I think I wish more Republicans would champion out loud and regularly the idea of school choice. I just I honestly donovant. I know, with the exception of members of the Public school Teachers Union, I cannot really personally imagine a family that wouldn't embrace the idea, whether or not they want to send their kids to the public school or anyplace else, just the point of having the choice to go where they want.
What's wrong with it? I thought Democrats were a champion of choice. Yeah, you can have your baby killed at eight and a half months, that's a okay with us. But no, when it comes to sending your kids to a school that performs better than the public schools which are failing, then no you can't have that. We need to support the public teachers union. This is just an illustration of how they're waging this war.
Well, and that's why I want to, you know, want to bring that up here on your show, because you know, we need to see I've heard rumbling. You know, we're a gross rots organization. So we travel around a state. We've got a pretty good feel for what's going on out there around the state and what families are experiencing, and you know, making sure that folks are paying attention to this. I don't think this is only happening I can't imagine this is only happening in Columbus public schools.
These transportation issues probably are out there and a number of areas, and they are areas that, you know, to bring it to your point, Brian, I think here is that there are areas that are traditionally democrat or blue areas,
areas that are underserved in education options. And when means charter schools or private schools, and with the expansion of school choice in the state of Ohio, more families have opportunities to get their kids out of a failing government funded school and put them in a school that meets
that child's needs. Yet when the transportation options are pulled out from underneath them, that that that reality that opportunity ev operates instantly, and so we need to make sure that folks are being vigilant and calling out their school districts if the transportation options aren't being provided for them.
Now, I know they struggle with transportation issues here in the city of Cincinnati, and I'm not quite sure how they resolved that for this year, my understanding was resolved, but quite often it's you know, public transportation, like regular buses are being used. But I mean, your point is really a point that that Attorney General Yost made, which is, look, you have to do this. The money is there, and your obligation is to provide the transportation, So do it.
I mean, is there any defense from the Columbus Public schools to Attorney General David Yost's point on that and the point that you're making here on the morning show this morning, Donovan.
Yeah, you know they're saying that they have it's if it's in just what the utual language is here, but if it's if they can't they determined that they can't actually do it, like there's a challenge, or it's impractical to transport, impractical to transport the language they would use there. There there are some exceptions, and I think that's where Columbus City Schools is saying, we made this determination that it's impractical to transport these students to their schools of
choice for any number of reasons. The argument, though, right, that the Attorney General is making is that that that may not exactly be the case, and when parents are appealing those decisions, they're being rejected. I think that's what he's his office is taking a look at, is to say, Okay, you're making this determination, but this might be a bogus determination, and you're doing it for for reasons that aren't entirely above board. And that's what I think we need to
make sure parents are equipped to do. But you know, I wouldn't put it past the school districts out there right who are frustrated with the choice options that exist, especially in a heated political year to be utilizing something like transportation right, like how do you how is your child going to get school? Right as a pressure point to try to make choice options limited in their communities.
And we really need folks, you know, to be focused on you know, we need the school districts to be focused on what their mission is, what we fund them with our tax pay dollars to do, which is the help make sure that our kids have access to good education, whether it's at the public school, the private school, the charter school, and what have you. That's their mission and their purpose. That's why we fund them with our tax dollars.
And when they fail to meet their obligations, we got to hold them.
Accountable, indeed, and that's what AFE does. And I'm glad you're on the program talking about the efforts by Attorney General David jose to force the schools to step up and to the plate and honor their obligations, even though it may result in fewer students going to public schools. Why because parents have a choice and would rather send them to a school that's going to provide the educational needs for their children. HA fancy concept that one again,
universal apolitical across the board. Everyone should embrace this reality. So what what's your what's your parents who are listening to this do. I mean, if they haven't experienced this themselves, I understand it won't be an issue for them, But get involved. I suppose get you know, get on school boards, get elected, or otherwise participate. I mean, we need engagement, don't we.
Yeah. Well, if you're listening to this and you're saying, huh, you know what, I got a letter my school district said they can't transform a kid, and I've just been trying to figure it out ever since. I'd say if you've gotten something like that, or if you're experiencing trouble with your school district getting your kid transported, get involved in that local school board and start pushing back a little bit. But I'd also encourage you reach out to
the Attorney General's office. They're an advocate for the citizens of Ohio. They're going to make sure that the laws are enforced, and let them know if you're experiencing that. Oftentimes, you pull one small thread right like yeah in Columba schools and you begin to unravel the whole quill. Let's just make sure that's not let's make sure that this isn't a systemic issue. Hopefully it's just the symptom in Columbus.
It's an incident in Columbus. But if you're having those troubles as a listener, reach out to the Traney General's office and make sure you start pushing back against your school board. Tell them they got to transport your kid all right now.
To boil it down in the file analysis, it sounds to me, base on what you said here in the Morning Show, that there are exceptions to the overall mandate slash obligation to provide transportation. But you have to have basically a specific reason why it's impractical or not they can't meet that need. That's something that they need to prove. It's it's almost like a due process analysis.
Yeah, And I think what you would think about with that brain, right, is I can't enroll my kid in a school in Cleveland and expect them to get bused there every day, exactly right, that's impractical. But look, you've got these buses driving through a neighborhood, and you've got you know, you've got schools within a community, within a town that are community charter schools. They are your student ought to be able to get bust to those get
bused to those schools. That doesn't seem unreasonable to me.
Certainly it is not to me either. Afpaction dot Coms can help out. They'll teach you how to go door to door, like to help work on Bernie Morina's campaign, Donovan, real quick before we part company this morning. I've seen a lot of Bernie Moreno's spots on the regular programs that my wife and I watch. I've got a lot of mailers out there, so it seems like the campaign has kicked off in ernest and I know even helping out with that, and you've gotten ahead of the curve
on it. Everything looking good in terms of your work on behalf of Bernie Moreno, things are looking great.
We've got a day of actually this Saturday, and there was a poll floating around social media with Bernie Moreno up one point. We think we've closed the gap and have Bernie and shared brown neck and neck right now. We'll spread for the next sixty days to election day to put them over the top.
Afpaction dot Com to help out, and they'll give you all the resources you need to do just that. Donovan, and Neil. God bless you. Thank you and everyone at AFP for what you do each and every day, and I know you'll be on the program again real soon. I'll look forward to having you back. Thanks Brian, my pleasure brother.