Wayne Baker

Springfield philanthropist Rosalyn Bullock has made a donation to Wittenberg to start the Bullock Math Academy. The academy will train gifted junior high students how to use math in everyday life.

Linda Hallinan is a former mechanical engineer who is now a math whiz and teacher. She was thrilled to learn that Wittenberg received a gift from Bullock to start the Math Academy.

Hallinan says that math is more than timed tests and sheer memorization, and as the director of the academy, she plans to get students excited about it.

Several members of the Wilberforce University faculty along with nearly 100 students held a rally Tuesday morning to protest several ongoing issues with the school’s administration.  The faculty is asking Wilberforce President Patricia Hardaway to step down and for the Board of Trustees to disband.

Students gathered were chanting, "Hardaway must go, Hardway must go, no Board of Trustees, no Board of Trustees," at the rally, which was held at the school's Alumni Multiplex.
 

Plans for the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery to open a satellite operation in Springfield's Upper Valley Mall are ahead of schedule. The museum is now on pace to open in early March.

Boonshoft's vice-president of external relations Diane Farrell, says the museum received an overwhelming positive response by Clark County residents and mall management when the idea of locating at the Upper Valley Mall was proposed.

Farrell says the satellite museum will be an interactive experience designed for family fun.

Governor John Kasich released his $63 billion budget plan on Monday. The plan, which the governor is calling Jobs Budget 2.0 is set to have a profound effect on Springfield's economy. 

Governor Kasich has proposed $1.4 billion in tax cuts over the next three years and $3 billion in sales tax revenues over the next two years.

Kasich wants to reduce the tax rate on most small businesses by 50 percent and cut the income tax rate by 20 percent over three years.The sales tax rate will also drop from 5.5 to 5 percent.

Dr. John Fleming was the founding director of the Afro-American Museum in Wilberforce. The museum opened its doors in 1988. He was saddened to see it close in August of 2011. For awhile the future of it was uncertain, but it re-opened recently thanks in part to funding from the state.

It did not make Fleming happy to see the museum close because of mold problems. And now he feels the museum staff, led by current Director Dr. Charles Wash, needs to think about its future and what it will take to keep it going.