OEA, EGCCEA call for transparency, path forward for Eastern Gateway students, staff
“Eastern Gateway Community College has been an invaluable resource for our community, our students, and their families for nearly 60 years. Despite the challenges stemming from mismanagement and the changing landscape of this institution over the last several years, the 138 members of the Eastern Gateway Community College Education Association have remained steadfast in their commitment to providing all students – on campus and online – with the best education possible to prepare them for their future lives and careers,” said EGCCEA President Jim Corrin. “We want nothing more than to continue providing excellent education in this community, but we need answers from the Board about whether our positions will continue to exist after the spring semester, how long this “pause” in enrollment may last, and whether there will eventually be a college to return to here.”
“The Board’s vote to suspend EGCC operations and initiate another round of staff layoffs is truly a devastating blow to the college’s students and the faculty and staff who have dedicated their lives and careers to serving them. State leaders must rise to the challenge of this moment and provide meaningful support for the 40 EGCC staff who will need immediate job placement assistance, as well as for potentially countless others who have been left in limbo by the Board’s lack of transparency on its decisions and timelines,” OEA President Scott DiMauro added. “The Board’s vote on Wednesday started a countdown clock to the end of the spring semester. EGCC students and staff can’t afford to have leaders wait around or build layers of red tape and bureaucracy. They need a plan and a path forward today.”
OEA & NEA recommend Sen. Brown for re-election to US Senate
“Sen. Brown is a champion for public education and workers’ rights, and we are lucky to have him fighting for what our public schools and public school employees need every day,” said OEA President Scott DiMauro. “The OEA members who serve on the OEA Fund State Council emphatically recommend Sen. Brown for re-election, and we are pleased to give him our full support.”
Among his many priorities during his time in Washington, Sen. Brown has:
- Fought to make sure Ohio educators can retire with dignity by passing the Social Security Fairness Act which would ensure teachers, first responders, and other public sector workers and their families receive the full Social Security benefits they’ve earned.
- Secured millions to expand high-speed internet access for students and families across Ohio.
- Introduced the Educators Expense Deduction Modernization Act to quadruple the amount educators can deduct from their taxes for out-of-pocket classroom expenses.
- Led the fight to help educators become homeowners so education can remain a sustainable career path that can attract the best talent to serve our state’s students.
- Introduced the Full-Service Community School Expansion Act to help students succeed by helping schools and districts implement wraparound supports – including medical, mental, and nutrition health services, mentoring and youth development programs, technical assistance and continuing education courses.
- Spearheaded the passage of the SMART Act to reduce excessive testing that robs students and teachers of valuable instruction time.
- Secured nearly $300,000 to support training programs that prepare Ohio educators to teach life skills.
- Worked to level the playing field between workers and corporations to protect the right to organize and expand overtime pay for workers.
- Taken on Ohio’s private for-profit schools that take funds away from public schools and fought for charter school accountability.
“Ohio educators support our kids in and out of the classroom – we need to make sure their hard work pays off and they have the resources they need to create the best outcomes for students,” Sen. Brown said. “I’m honored to have OEA’s endorsement in my reelection and I look forward to working with them to make sure every Ohio student gets a high-quality education by protecting our educators’ right to unionize, lowering their out-of-pocket costs, and ensuring every educator can retire with dignity.”
OEA celebrates Public Education Matters Day with educators across the state
“Ohio’s public school educators have dedicated their lives and their careers to delivering the excellent public education that every child deserves – no exceptions. The Ohio Education Association was thrilled to be able to celebrate the passion and professionalism of our members at these regional rallies while strengthening our collective resolve to tackle the real issues facing our schools,” Ohio Education Association President Scott DiMauro said. “We must continue to use our united voice to demand the supports and resources our students, educators, and public school communities need to thrive, and we must ensure our educators are treated with the respect and dignity they’ve earned so education can be a sustainable profession that continues to attract high-quality professionals to serve our students.”
OEA launched the Public Education Matters initiative in spring 2023 as a galvanizing internal and public-facing campaign in its ongoing advocacy work to continuously improve Ohio’s public schools. “Together as one, Ohio’s educators, parents, and community leaders can achieve our vision for the excellent public schools Ohio’s students deserve,” DiMauro said. “Our strength is in our unity, and we will continue to speak in one strong, united voice because in Ohio, public education matters.”
In honor of the importance of public education in Ohio, the Ohio House issued a special commendation to OEA in recognition of its unfaltering commitment to continuously improving public education in our state. Additionally, the Ohio House Democratic Caucus approved a resolution recognizing September 30, 2023, as Public Education Matters Day in Ohio.
Images of OEA’s Public Education Matters Day rallies and member celebration events at the Columbus Zoo, Cleveland Zoo, Toledo Zoo, and Newport Aquarium are available on the Ohio Education Association Facebook page. A video with more information about the aims of the Public Education Matters initiative is available here.
OEA stands with the United Auto Workers
“The Ohio Education Association Board of Directors recognizes the critical role that the UAW plays, along with the commitment of its’ members who have shaped the auto industry and set standards for worker’s rights across the state. We express deep support and solidarity with our brothers and sisters in the United Auto Workers as they work for fair contracts with the American car manufacturers,” OEA President Scott DiMauro stated.
The Ohio Education Association passionately believes that a fair and equitable workplace is the foundation for a thriving economy and better communities. We encourage everyone to show their support for the United Auto Workers and join the fight to make things right at the Big Three.
Finally, the OEA Board of Directors urges the automotive industry stakeholders to engage in productive and fair negotiations that lead to a mutually beneficial resolution. “It is our hope that an agreement can be reached soon, and UAW members can return to their jobs with fair treatment and improved working conditions,” states Mr. DiMauro
OEA celebrates Student Opportunity Profile metrics in state report cards
“We know our students are much more than just their scores on high-stakes standardized tests, and the quality of teaching and learning in our classrooms is much more than what an overall star-rating can reflect. The new Student Opportunity Profile information in the state report cards goes a very long way toward providing a fuller, more useful picture of what is actually happening in Ohio’s public schools,” said Ohio Education Association President Scott DiMauro. “Especially as our schools and students continue to make up for pandemic-related disrupted learning, the Student Opportunity Profile reports can also be important tools to direct specific supports and resources to specific schools that need them, so every child can receive the excellent public education they deserve – no exceptions.”
The Student Opportunity Profile reports include metrics like the student-to-teacher, student-to-counselor, and student-to-librarian ratios; percentage of early career educators and principals in the workforce; percentage of students participating in advanced placement or honors courses; the percentage of students enrolled in career technical education courses; and much more. OEA members voted unanimously at the OEA Representative Assembly in December 2019, to call on the General Assembly to overhaul the state report card system and include a Student Opportunity Profile in the new version. OEA’s advocacy helped lead to the adoption of the state report card changes, beginning with last year’s release. The Student Opportunity Profile section was included for the first time this year as part of the phase-in process.
“This is the information that’s most helpful to parents and caregivers who are trying to determine whether a school is a good fit for their child. Class sizes and the availability of learning opportunities to meet their child’s individual needs carries far more weight in parents’ decisions than a dissection of standardized test scores,” DiMauro said. “It is unfortunate, though, that parents still can’t make apples-to-apples comparisons with these report cards, because private schools taking public tax dollars through the state’s near-universal voucher expansion scheme still aren’t held to the same academic or financial transparency standards as public schools. It’s time for Ohio’s lawmakers to fix that.”
OEA congratulates 2024 Ohio Teacher of the Year Mark Lowrie
“Mr. Lowrie demonstrates clearly why public education matters so much in Ohio,” said OEA President Scott DiMauro, who attended Thursday’s event at Gahanna Lincoln High School to surprise Lowrie with the news of his award. “Great public schools open a world of opportunities for students from all walks of life, and exceptional educators like Mr. Lowrie make that possible.”
“His dedication to building outstanding broadcast journalism programs for his students – in both his current role at Gahanna Lincoln High School and previously at Marion L. Steele High School in Amherst – exemplifies the incredible work Ohio’s public educators do every day to help their students learn valuable life skills so they can follow their dreams,” DiMauro added. “Mr. Lowrie’s students over the past two decades are so lucky that he followed his own dream and found his calling in the classroom.”
Lowrie worked for 12 years in the broadcast television industry before returning to school to earn his master’s degree in education to become a teacher. He then spent 18 years in Amherst schools before coming to Gahanna Lincoln High School four years ago. The live newscasts he produces with his broadcast journalism students have earned many prestigious honors, including three National Student Production Awards, better known as the ‘Student Emmys’, in 2022 alone.
“The award-winning broadcast journalism programs that Mr. Lowrie has built over the years are a testament to his expertise in the field – not only from his valuable experience in his first career, but even more importantly from his commitment to embracing opportunities for professional growth and innovation in his career as an educator. Mr. Lowrie’s passion for education and for serving his students should be applauded,” DiMauro said. “Being named 2024 Ohio Teacher of the Year is a very well-deserved recognition for Mark Lowrie.”
OEA, Summit County reveal new historical marker
“The Ohio Education Association is so proud of its 175 year history as the voice for Ohio’s public school educators and students, and OEA is grateful for this partnership with Summit County that allows us to share our history with the community as we continue to fight for the excellent public schools every child deserves now and into the future,” said OEA President Scott DiMauro, who took part in Thursday’s unveiling ceremony alongside former OEA presidents Becky Higgins and Patricia Frost-Brooks, as well as educators from around the region.
“The legacy of public education in Ohio lives in accomplishments of our students, who become inventors, actors, scientists, athletes, engineers, public servants, firefighters, astronauts, and, of course, teachers,” said Summit County Executive Chief of Staff Brian Nelsen, “Congratulations to OEA on celebrating 175 years serving our teachers and students and we are proud to recognize the start of your story right here in the heart of Summit County.”
The full text of the new Ohio Historical Marker erected in Summit County is as follows:
“On December 30, 1847, six educators met at the Summit County Courthouse to organize the first convention of the Ohio State Teachers’ Association, now known as the Ohio Education Association (OEA). The organizers Josiah Hurty (Richland County), Thomas W. Harvey (Geauga County), M.D. Leggett (Summit County), Lorin Andrews (Ashland County), William Bowen (Stark County), and Marcellus F. Cowdery (Lake County) hoped to “elevate the profession of teaching” and “to promote the interests of schools in Ohio.” In 1853, the General Assembly enacted the new association’s entire slate of proposals into law, thus ensuring free, universal, public education in Ohio. For 175 years, the Ohio Education Association has advocated for fair terms and conditions of employment for Ohio educators and for the betterment and improvement of public education for all students.”
Photos of the new historical marker and the ceremony unveiling it outside the Summit County Courthouse are available on the Ohio Education Association’s Facebook page.
OEA thanks Ohioans who defeated Issue 1
“This all started last November with a bad idea from some special interests and politicians in Columbus, but something great came out of it. More than 200 organizations brought together tens of thousands of volunteers and over a million voters to say NO WAY are we letting Issue 1 pass,” Ohio Education Association President Scott DiMauro said during a gathering with other member organizations in the One Person One Vote coalition Tuesday night. “You did it. We did it. Ohio did it. And now we will continue to stand together because we’re only getting started.”
The Ohio Education Association was proud to take an active and leading role in the One Person One Vote campaign to ensure that critical public education issues can continue to be addressed through the citizen-led constitutional amendment process when necessary to ensure every student can receive the great public education they deserve – no exceptions.
“As we experience continuing legislative attacks, ongoing battles to secure constitutional public-school funding, teacher recruitment and retention challenges, local school board takeovers, the expansion of unaccountable private school vouchers, and difficult learning and working conditions, OEA is fighting for the respect and dignity of its members, and for supports and resources for all public schools, because Public Education Matters,” DiMauro said. “With a united voice, we will continue to stand up to the attacks from extremist politicians and their well-funded out-of-state backers who are using fear to divide our communities based on race, place, and gender identities and are working to break the public’s trust in Ohio’s public schools. Issue 1 would have made our work much harder to do.”
“OEA applauds the tireless work of the educators across the state who did what they do best over the last few months: educating their friends and neighbors about Issue 1 so they could make an informed decision to defeat it at the ballot box,” DiMauro added.
ALL IN FOR OHIO KIDS: Expansion of Unaccountable Vouchers Undercuts Progress on School Funding
Ohio Organizing Collaborative Co-Executive Director Molly Shack, Policy Matters Ohio Executive Director Hannah Halbert, Ohio Federation of Teachers President Melissa Cropper, and Ohio Education Association President Scott DiMauro released the following joint statement:
“Ohio students deserve fully funded, high quality, local public schools that help them reach their fullest potential, and it is the responsibility of our state legislators to enact a system that achieves this.
Legislators in the Ohio House took this responsibility seriously by passing a budget that increases state funding to public schools by nearly $1 billion and continues Ohio’s progress toward a full phase in of the Fair School Funding Plan – a funding formula based on what it actually costs school districts to educate their students. They also ensured that the data being used in that funding formula is current and accounts for the additional costs of educating students with disabilities and students who are learning the English language.
It is a monumental step forward that the House’s school funding commitment will be enacted in this budget, despite attempts by the Senate majority to cut more than $500 million from our schools. After decades of non-compliance with Ohio Supreme Court rulings, the legislature is on the brink of finally meeting its constitutional responsibility to fairly fund Ohio’s public schools.
Despite these gains, we have serious concerns with the General Assembly’s expansion of unaccountable private school vouchers. The legislature’s new universal private school voucher scheme will ensure that state support for our public schools will be diminished to pay for tuition for private school students, no matter how wealthy their family is or how their school performs. Priority should be given to fully implementing the Fair School Funding Plan so that our public schools, where 90 percent of students attend school, receive the resources they need instead of expanding unaccountable private school vouchers. As educators, parents, students, and taxpayers we will be unwavering in reminding Ohio’s elected officials where their responsibility lies.
We are also deeply concerned by the inclusion of SB 1 in this budget. This radical policy change puts more power in the hands of an appointed partisan official while taking away the ability to make important decisions that impact schools in Ohio from non-partisan, elected State Board of Education members. Ultimately, the changes in SB1 will silence the voice of educators and voters when making rules and policies that impact education policy in Ohio. When education issues become divisive partisan battles, Ohio students suffer the consequences.”
All in for Ohio Kids represents a broad group of concerned organizations and individuals who are working together to fully and fairly fund our schools.
Ohio Education Association deeply troubled with the Senate’s anti-public education substitute version of House Bill 33
The Senate’s budget includes provisions that will have a negative impact for Ohio’s public schools when compared to the budget passed by the Ohio House—including a school funding plan that will shift responsibility of funding our schools to local communities, the lack of a comprehensive plan to address the educator staffing crisis and pay gap, universal expansion of vouchers, allowing a test score to dictate when a student is retained under the Third Grade Reading Guarantee, eroding educator and community input on K-12 Education Governance, rolling back gains made in childhood nutrition, and issues related to licensure for educators.”
“We are also highly dismayed with the Senate’s inclusion of Senate Bill 83, the Higher Education “Destruction” Act. OEA is opposed to the addition of HB 83 into the Senate’s version of the budget as it represents the largest attack on collective bargaining rights since Senate Bill 5 in 2011. It will censor honest and truthful education in our institutions of higher learning.”
The following are OEA’s positions on some of the public policy proposals contained in the Senate’s amended substitute version of the bill:
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- Schools Funding– OEA continues to support the Fair School Funding as passed by the Ohio House. While we are still analyzing the Senate school funding changes, OEA has serious concerns with the Senate’s adjustment to the methodology in calculating the state/local share formula.
- Voucher Expansion– OEA is opposed to the expansion of the EdChoice voucher program to universal eligibility for K-12 students. OEA recommends returning to current law with eligibility for income-based EdChoice vouchers at 250% of poverty. Expansion of vouchers should only be considered once the legislature has fully implemented the Fair School Funding Plan.
- Educator Staffing Issues– Reinstate the state minimum teacher salary from $30,000 to $40,000 and provisions from HB 9 that created a “Grow your Own Teacher Program” and Ohio Teacher Loan Repayment program.
- Mandatory Student Retention– OEA opposes removing language in the House-passed budget that would eliminate mandatory student retention under the Third Grade Reading Guarantee. OEA firmly believes that high-stakes decisions about students should not be based on standardized test scores.
- School Meals– OEA opposes removing language in the House-passed budget to make school breakfast and lunch accessible to more children by having the state cover the cost between free and reduced-priced meals.
- Licensure– Reinstate teacher apprenticeship program leading to professional licensure, remove the provision allowing unlicensed military veterans to teach core subjects (ELA, Math, Science, Social Studies, Foreign Languages, Fine Arts), and remove the modification of teacher licensure grade bands to preK-8 and 6-12 and maintain current licensure bands (preK-5, 4-9, and 7-12).
- Graduation Requirements– Social Studies and Financial Literacy- The substitute bill could reduce student exposure to social studies. OEA requests the removal of the provisions that permit a student to substitute one-half unit of financial literacy instruction for a one-half unit of social studies instruction to meet the financial literacy requirement for graduation.
- K12 Education Governance– OEA opposes the inclusion of Senate Bill 1 into the budget bill. The language in the bill would neuter the role of the State Board of Education by shifting the vast majority of its powers and duties to a cabinet agency. There is not broad consensus or buy-in among key educational stakeholders about this change.
- Higher Education– OEA opposes inclusion of SB 83 into the Senate’s version of the State Budget. SB 83 will only serve to drive students, faculty, and staff away from Ohio’s institutions of higher learning, while ultimately harming the economic future of our state. Additionally, SB 83 represents the single largest attack on collective bargaining rights in Ohio since Senate Bill 5 in 2011. OEA urges the Ohio General Assembly to remove all provisions of SB 83 from the budget.
Finally, OEA urges the Ohio House to vote against concurrence with the changes proposed by the Ohio Senate to HB 33. We call on members of the General Assembly to work across party lines to craft a final budget that supports the needs of public schools that serve 90 percent of Ohio’s students.