Mentor schools fighting for survival: Callender and Cirino are no-shows

June 2, 2026

Good Tuesday morning,

Here’s a headline that probably took state Rep. Jamie Callender and state Sen. Jerry Cirino down a notch last week after both skipped an invitation to speak at the Mentor School Board meeting where vouchers were discussed.

Mentor schools are fighting for survival , so why won’t their state reps show up to explain themselves?…read the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

You remember Callender? He introduced the Public School Bully bill, beat his chest for a few days stating he was going to punish school districts that joined our lawsuit by withholding all their state funding and then promptly backed down after seeing the severe backlash to his mean-spirited and unconstitutional idea.

Callender and Cirino represent Mentor. So does state Rep. Dan Troy, who attended the meeting along with Dan Heintz, speaking on behalf of Vouchers Hurt Ohio.

Here’s how the Plain Dealer reported the situation: “The district is staring down serious budget pressure and has now twice gone to voters for a tax levy — and twice been turned down. A third attempt is being drafted. Mentor also is weighing whether to join more than 300 other school districts in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Ohio’s private school voucher program.”

Chris Quinn, the Plain Dealer editor, said: “It’s a very bad look. I think they were looking for real information and (Cirino) blew him off. What kind of state senator does that?”

Quinn continued: “Mentor is one of the largest school districts in Cirino’s senate district. And the issue at hand — where hundreds of millions in public money goes — is one he has influenced as the head of the Senate finance committee.”

Lawmakers live in the Statehouse bubble where they pat one another on the back and quietly joke, “hey, what’s a little Constitution between friends?”

House Speaker Matt Huffman told the Columbus Dispatch, “we kind of do what we want.”

It’s a different story when they have to leave the safe Statehouse confines, and actually meet with the people of Ohio and look them in the eyes and try to explain the EdChoice voucher boondoggle.

It’s not easy justifying giving wealthy families a refund and a rebate and giving $1.7 billion in our public tax dollars to private, mostly religious schools – an idea a judge in Ohio has already ruled is unconstitutional on three counts.

Is your district part of our historic lawsuit? Check here.

If not, why isn’t your board, superintendent and treasurer standing up for public schools, public school children and taxpayers? Join here.

Sincerely,

Vouchers Hurt Ohio