By Ronda Watson Barber
OhioMBE Publisher
For years I have used the phrase “taxation without participation” when discussing public spending and economic inclusion.
The concept is simple.
Businesses in our community pay taxes that fund public institutions. When those institutions spend millions of dollars, the businesses helping fund those dollars should have a fair opportunity to participate in the work.
Yet that principle appears to be missing from the LEDE supplier diversity program at Columbus City Schools.
For months I have been raising concerns about the failures of the program. The silence from the administration has been deafening.
Phone calls go unanswered. Emails receive no response. Questions about vendor outreach, participation, and accountability continue to go ignored.
At some point the conversation must move beyond the administration and go directly to the elected officials responsible for oversight: the Columbus City Schools Board of Education.
The numbers tell part of the story.
During summer renovations and capital improvement projects, the district spent more than $80 million on school improvements.
Of that amount, approximately $17 million went to white LEDE vendors.
Meanwhile, Black LEDE vendors received about $4.6 million.
Those numbers should raise serious questions about how the program is functioning.
And yet, when vendors ask those questions, they are met with silence.
During recent board meetings, I have noticed something else.
When parents from affluent and white neighborhoods step to the podium, the tone in the room changes. Board members lean forward. Administrators respond. Their concerns are acknowledged and often followed by discussion about next steps.
Their voices clearly carry weight.
But when concerns are raised about the failures of the LEDE supplier diversity program, the response feels very different. The comments are heard, but the momentum stops. The issue is noted, redirected, or allowed to fade from the conversation.
Too often Black voices are thanked for their advocacy and then ignored.
Polite acknowledgments are offered. Gratitude is expressed. But meaningful action rarely follows.
People in the room can see the difference—even if no one is saying it out loud.
The businesses raising these concerns are not outsiders. They are taxpayers. They are members of this community. They are vendors who simply want a fair opportunity to compete for work funded by the very taxes they help pay.
It is also worth remembering that Columbus City Schools educates the largest population of Black students in the state of Ohio. The district frequently speaks about equity and opportunity, yet those values should not stop at the classroom door. If equity truly matters, it must also be reflected in how the district spends its money.
The businesses located in the same communities as the students attending these schools should have a fair opportunity to participate in the economic activity created by the district’s spending.
Columbus taxpayers supported the levy. Local businesses continue to fund this district through those tax dollars.
Yet many Black LEDE vendors say they are being shut out of the opportunities those dollars create.
That is why the phrase still applies.
Taxation without participation.
Supplier diversity should not be treated as a side issue. It is a commitment to ensure that public dollars create opportunity within the community that supports our public institutions.
Right now, many vendors believe that commitment is being ignored.
Which is why the community must speak up.
If the administration refuses to respond, the responsibility shifts to the board.
Call the Columbus City Schools Board Office at 614-365-5790.
Ask them why the LEDE program is failing.
Ask them why outreach to local vendors has disappeared.
Ask them what they are doing to ensure businesses in this community have a fair opportunity to participate.
Public officials respond when the public speaks.
The question is no longer whether the LEDE program is failing.
The question is whether the board intends to fix it.
Black taxpayers help fund this district.
Black businesses deserve the opportunity to participate in it.
Because right now, too many vendors are experiencing something that should never exist in a public institution funded by the community.
Taxation without participation.
just my thoughts…rwb
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