Stepping down, president says DeWine asked for her resignation; 2d Republican also resigns as Governor makes new appointments
Laura Kohler resigned as president of Ohio Board of Education
Last year, in the wake of the public lynching of George Floyd, the Ohio State Board of Education passed Resolution 20, a statement of principle that, among other things, urged the state Department of Education to examine its implicit biases, textbooks, disciplinary records, and test questions.
That eminently reasonable position was rescinded by the Board earlier this month, a casualty of the culture wars being fanned by the right wing to rile up the conservative base.
State board President Laura Kohler who helped draft Resolution 20 and voted against its repeal, resigned from the board yesterday, along with fellow board member Eric Poklar of Worthington.
Kohler told reporters that DeWine asked her to resign. She said in an interview earlier in the week that she knew her vote against repeal was controversial and that there would be controversy.
The board voted 10-7 to repeal Resolution 20, and to replace it with a different resolution condemning any teachings that “seek to divide”.
Kohler, a lifelong Republican from New Albany, was appointed to the State Board of Education in February 2017 by former Gov. John Kasich. She became board president in 2019, and DeWine re-appointed her when he was elected to a term ending in 2024.
DeWine, who appears increasingly in step with the extreme conservative wing of his party, was ready with two new appointments shortly after accepting Kohler and Poklar's resignations. His office announced the appointments of Richard J. Chernesky of Waynesville (Warren Co.) and Brandon Kern of Amanda (Fairfield Co.) to the State Board of Education, each for a term beginning October 29, 2021, and ending December 31, 2024.
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