Ben Lindy is Failing CPS
The differences between the private and public sectors are staggering. A person like me would never survive in the private sector. I worked in the restaurant industry for 8 years and I didn’t particularly like the fact that a major corporation got to decide how much money I made, how big my raises were and what hours I would have to work. I fit in much better in public education, a sector dominated by labor unions who give large amounts of power to the workers instead of the bosses. If it were up to me, every American would be a member of a labor union. If it were up to a person like CPS school board member, Ben Lindy, labor unions wouldn’t exist and teachers would be at the whims of bureaucrats.
CPS Board Member, Ben Lindy.
If you’re familiar with Cincinnati politics, you’re familiar with Ben Lindy. But here’s the gist of it:
He went to Yale and in 2011 he published a “research” paper in the Yale Law Review slamming teacher unions and saying they hurt student learning outcomes. His “research” was used in multiple court cases that severely damaged the way labor unions operate in the United States.
He worked for Teach for America; an organization that lets people cosplay as teachers for a couple years in low-performing school districts. He personally brought TFA to Southwest Ohio and promoted privatization efforts, vouchers and charter schools.
Ran for State Representative in 2016 against Brigid Kelly and lost.
Was elected to the CPS school board in 2019 and eventually became board president from 2022-2023.
Was instrumental in bringing Iranetta Wright to Cincinnati Public Schools as superintendent. He is her strongest ally.
His peers on the school board refused to re-elect him as board president, so in January of 2024 he was forced to step aside and is now simply serving as a school board member. His term will end in 2027 but there are no term limits for school board members.
During the 2000s under Presidents Bush and Obama, “reforming” public education was all the rage. Some of the reform-minded ideas that were popular at the time included increased pay for teachers depending on their student’s test scores, a major push to create and promote charter schools as well as an effort to funnel public tax dollars into private schools via vouchers. Fast forward to 2024 and all of these ideas have failed in terms of improving educational outcomes for Americans. However, this reform-minded time period is where CPS school board member Ben Lindy’s mind has been permanently stuck for decades.
Despite his ‘gee shucks’ persona, he’s done real damage to Cincinnati Public Schools. During his time as board president, he failed to hold certain district administrators accountable and ignored the labor unions who sounded the alarm when problems arose. The district is facing a budget crisis because former president Lindy failed to force administrators to rein in spending. He also did something very curious on Monday that I’m sure he’s regretting because it has the potential to harm his future political asperations.
On April 29th, the CPS school board voted 6-1 to approve a one-year contract extension for all five labor unions as well as the approval of a 2% cost of living adjustment for all collective bargaining units. Ben Lindy was the only CPS board member who opposed CPS employees receiving a 2% raise and extending their current contracts into the 2024-2025 school year. It also must be noted that the teacher transfer rounds, something Ben Lindy is vehemently opposed to based on his Yale research, almost didn’t happen. The Cincinnati Federation of Teachers, the union representing CPS teachers, had to fight tooth and nail just to give their members the chance to pursue vacancies within the district before they offered them to external candidates. The transfer rounds are a legally binding process, written directly into the CBA. This process should happen every year in February. However, the transfer rounds did not happen until April this year. No big deal, according to Ben Lindy.
A bizarre email Ben Lindy sent me in 2020, gently reminding me that he is indeed a Democrat.
The most irritating part about Lindy is the fact that he parades himself around as a Democrat. However, all of his views on public education align solely with the Republicans. Thanks to his ties to Yale, he is a prolific fundraiser and is happy to spread the wealth to others, hence his recent endorsement by the Hamilton County Democratic Party. In my opinion, he bought the endorsement. In his opinion, he’s just a “team player.”
It appears Lindy’s ultimate goal is to be a state legislator in Columbus. There are plenty of rumblings that whenever he decides he’s done being a school board member, he will launch another campaign for either State Representative or State Senator. State legislators are very powerful when it comes to shaping what public education looks like in Ohio. Lindy would be foaming at the mouth at the chance to increase voucher payments to private schools, send more money to charter schools and further undermine teacher unions.
Here’s the facts: what is good for teachers is good for students. Smaller class sizes help teachers manage their classes more effectively, but it also allows them to spend more time teaching individual students. I also want to point out increasing class sizes at CPS is something Ben Lindy supported as recently as two months ago. The higher pay scales labor unions demand attracts more people to the district and it also helps teachers survive on a livable wage. The fact Lindy rejected a 2% cost of living adjustment for employees, when inflation has been 3%, is absolutely wild to me. I suppose it’s difficult for an Ivy League elitist to understand the plight of a public-school teacher. It also must be noted he supported increasing the walk-radius for CPS students. In layman’s terms, that means some students would have to walk further distances to school without being offered yellow bus services. He can say he’s laser focused on outcomes for kids all he wants, but his votes and his actions simply speak for themselves. He’s bad for both teachers and students.