Candidates McGervey, Gallagher lay out education platforms

SHEFFIELD TWP — State representative candidate Sarah McGervey wants state funding for K-12 students to follow the student, no matter what school they choose to attend. At a news conference at Lorain County Republican Party headquarters on North Ridge Road on Monday, she laid out her plans for public education in Ohio. A Catholic middle school teacher who lives in Avon Lake and one of two Republicans seeking their party's nomination for the 53rd Ohio House District, McGervey said she's interested in having taxpayer money "follow the student." Ohio spends approximately $13,000 per child per year on public education, according to the Ohio Department of Education. That has placed it about 20th among states in such spending in recent years. That money should stay with the student whether they choose go to public, private, charter, "micro" schools or are homeschooled, McGervey said. "Every kid is different, and deserves a chance for the school that works best for them, based on their academics, extracurriculars, music, drama, et cetera," McGervey said. State testing "isn't always accurate" and depends on how a student feels that day. Some don't get a good night's sleep or they just don't test well, McGervey said. "It's not always the most accurate way of seeing how a school is doing," she said. That's also why Ohio needs to invest more in skills-based schooling like JVS, so students don't have to worry about having options. "Some kids learn better hands-on. Some kids are just not naturally inclined toward state testing," McGervey said. "Those tests work best for people who learn that way." McGervey said she wants what's best for the student. "It's about the child and Ohio's future," she said. "The job is to be the people's representative, hear their voice and be their voice." McGervey is facing a primary challenge from Avon Lake businessman Marty Gallagher for the Republican nomination. A product of public and private schools whose four children went to public school, Gallagher said he'd look "objectively" at the way public schools in Ohio are funded, but doesn't want education to change "at all." Gallagher said his education platform is "very similar" to McGervey's, but he worries taxpayer-funded school infrastructure will suffer if money follows public school students when they switch to private schools. That funding "needs to be taken out of the equation," he said. "The end result is, you can't penalize the student for going to another school or penalize the infrastructure the taxpayers own," Gallagher said. Gallagher said he'd like to see more job-training programs for high school students who might not want to go to college — like the existing Joint Vocational School and starting as early as ninth or 10th grade. The state of Georgia has something like that for its high schoolers, and "it's like an incubator" offering many different career paths, Gallagher said. Gallagher is not "a big proponent of giving away money" for post-high school education, and is against more taxes to pay for everyone to go to college. He said he'd rather see students get low-interest loans. "You've gotta pay for your school. Someone's gotta pay," he said. Both said other complicated matters like public school funding formulas would require more research on both their parts. The winner of the McGervey-Gallagher primary goes on to face the winner of the race between incumbent state Rep. Joe Miller, D-Amherst, and his write-in challenger, Democratic former state Rep. Dan Ramos. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @DaveOBrienCT.