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Your Voice Ohio is a collaborative effort to produce more relevant, powerful journalism based on the needs and ambitions of Ohioans and Ohio communities. Your Voice Ohio is an initiative of WYSO and more than 30 news organizations across Ohio.

Your Voice Ohio Hosts Community Forums

Your Voice Ohio is hosting a series of forums for community members to discuss what topics they want to see politicians and the media cover during the next election cycle.
Jason Reynolds
/
WYSO
Your Voice Ohio is hosting a series of forums for community members to discuss what topics they want to see politicians and the media cover during the next election cycle.

Twenty community members gathered at the main branch of the Dayton Metro Library on Monday to decide what topics they want to see politicians and the media cover during the next election cycle.

The forum was hosted by Your Voice Ohio, a media collaborative designed to bring communities together to discuss problems and share solutions.  

Participants were asked to imagine what their ideal community would look like, and then to decide what would need done to achieve that ideal.

Otis Gowens was in a breakout group that said educational equality is the first step. He says some schools are doing poorly despite their best efforts.

“It’s not because they’re bad schools or bad students,” Gowens says. “It’s just that they’re not funded properly. We need better teachers and more incentives to get better teachers.”

Robin Robertson was in the same breakout group. She says that the difference between schools is easy to see and that student outcomes should concern Daytonians.

“You can deal with the Westside of Dayton,” Robertson says. “They’re not getting the education they need, but then you can go to other city schools and they have everything you can think of to prepare them for the future. The kids are our next generation. In order for Dayton to survive, we have to make sure our children are set.”

Your Voice Ohio will be hosting more public forums in the region this week. They’ll be at the Kettering-Moraine Library at 6PM on Tuesday, and they’ll be at the Trotwood Community and Cultural Arts Center Wednesday at 6PM. They’ll be in Lebanon and Springboro soon, too. For more information, you can visit their website