03/27/2014
Matt Dietrich
Reboot Illinois
If you’ve got kids in a public school in Illinois, what’s going on at Ottawa Township High School might be a familiar story. With nearly two-thirds of all districts statewide now surviving by deficit spending, schools are cutting anywhere they can.
In Ottawa, it meant ending the building trades program (which readers of a certain age might better remember as “shop class”) and laying off its teacher.
This prompted quite a dust-up among students in the class and those already working in construction and other trades for which the program prepared its students. It caught the attention of Mike Rowe, host of the Discovery Channel’s series “Dirty Jobs,” who produced the video below in solidarity with the students.
So while lawmakers in Springfield argue how to restore proper funding to the state’s elementary and high schools, students, parents and supporters of the building trades program are taking it to the streets in Ottawa. With Mike Rowe providing moral support.
What do Gov. Pat Quinn and Bruce Rauner have to say about education funding?
Rauner was highly critical of Quinn’s budget plan.
Matthew Dietrich is Reboot’s executive editor. An award-winning journalist, Dietrich is the former editorial page editor of the State Journal Register in Springfield. He believes in holding our politicians accountable. Read Dietrich’s take on the leadership vacuum that sent Illinois sinking. You can find Reboot on Facebook at and on Twitter @rebootillinois.