Plain Dealer endorses Issue 2

The largest newspaper in Ohio, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, has endorsed Issue 2:

Because of that, this editorial board -- after much soul-searching and vigorous discussion -- has decided to endorse the passage of Issue 2. 

Imperfect though it may be, Issue 2 will give local governments and school districts more tools to control labor costs and protect taxpayers. It requires public employees to make the same kind of contributions toward their health and pension benefits that most private-sector workers do. It ends state-mandated wage step-ups, requires performance-based pay and permits layoffs based on more than seniority. Those factors are especially important to school districts such as Cleveland that need to transform themselves in the face of outmoded state rules that force them to toss aside newer -- and perhaps better -- teachers when money is tight.

  Read more here.