Gilligan undecided on another run

Education reporter Ben Fischer writes:

John Gilligan, the 86-year-old member of the Cincinnati Board of Education, still says he hasn't decided whether to pursue another term in November.

But at the moment, his job satisfaction is extremely low.

Wednesday evening, Gilligan blasted his colleagues for not taking charge in a simmering debate over whether to place a tax levy on the November ballot to fund CPS. The board is planning its first meeting on the subject next week, just a few weeks before members must make a decision.

"Well, it's just ridiculous," Gilligan said. "If they really are going to go for a levy, this process should have been started six to eight months ago. You can't bring the general public up to speed on the complexities of financing the schools in a fortnight."

"We're in real trouble. And as you know, the essential part of this is, it's a public enterprise. And the public has to be brought up to speed about what these questions are, what the potential responses are, and (We must) give them a chance to sort it out. But they aren't given that chance."

Gilligan went on to say outside grassroots coalitions that typically help out during a levy campaign aren't being consulted.

"I think the most frustrated people in the whole enterprise are good-hearted and dedicated people who give their time and energy, like Parents for Public Schools and others, who are driven to almost idiocy by their inability to find out what in the world is going on.

"And it's through them that we have whatever chance we have of passing a levy, and advancing along the lines of improving the district to the benefit of the children in it. They're critical. "

Any two members of the CPS board can call a meeting on any subject, according to the board's bylaws.

Gilligan, it should be noted , has a history of trying to sell new taxes to voters. In 1972, then-Governor Gilligan signed into law Ohio's first income tax. According to many state political experts, the tax was a major reason his first term was also his only term.

So is he ready to try for four more years on the CPS board he just slammed? Gilligan, who uses a walker, answered the question with a joke.

"They've got me reduced to a stroller now. I'll be in an iron lung then."