Columbus, Ohio (WCMH) – “If you can’t beat them, take their power.” The newly elected members of the Ohio Board of Education are a Republican-backed government that removes most of the powers and responsibilities of the state school board. I am talking about a proposal.

Senate Bill 178 was introduced after the Democrats won enough seats to maintain a majority.

Former state senator Teresa Fedor, one of three Democrats to win state school board seats and give seven seats to the Democrats, said, “They’ve got more power, The ongoing transition of power is literally robbing people of their voices.” Out of 11 elected seats.

A week later, Republican Senator Bill Reineke introduced Senate Bill 178. This will significantly reduce the powers of the board of directors and transfer power to new state cabinet-level bodies.

“We were chosen,” said Fedor. “We now have a majority of the board.Suddenly it seems suspicious that they have this plan.”

The new agency will be created and governed by a Republican Governor and Republicans who hold the overwhelming majority in the state legislature.

“Our children deserve a strong education that prepares them for their future. We have to make sure it’s effective,” Reineke said. “In fact, it’s our duty.”

In presenting the bill, Reineke said it would improve outcomes and better prepare students for careers.

“Remind voters in over 600 school districts that the Republican Party has been in charge of public education for over 30 years, minus 4 years under the Strickland administration, and now ranks in the 30s in education. “And now they have seized this power, trying to keep democracy out of the people and into the layers of the bureaucracy of the Cabinet. One thing is that the further away people are from public view and scrutiny, the greater the potential for corruption through fraudulent spending and fraud. It’s just that.”

There is no oversight or accountability for charter schools, Fedor said, and the plan could mean the same for public schools.

“So this is something that deserves full scrutiny of the bill and, in the process, what the public is watching,” she said.

Fedor, a former teacher, said the bill should be subject to public scrutiny with public hearings and opportunities to testify. But she fears it will go through a lame duck legislative session without input from the public, teachers, or the local school board.