2021 OEA Fall RA Review

Virtual 2021 OEA Fall Representative Assembly Focuses on Role of Advocacy in Leading Change for Public Education

Delegates to the Virtual 2021 OEA Fall Representative Assembly held December 4 focused on the important role of advocacy in leading change for Ohio’s public schools and on the legislative and political issues affecting public education and students in the state. The 637 participating delegates at the assembly discussed the 2021 election, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, current legislative efforts, organizing and advocacy successes, and more.

Those participating in the Zoom assembly applauded efforts by members and locals to support Ohio’s students and public schools. Delegates paused to remember those who died in 2021, including Jorge Gonzalez, a champion for public education and social justice dedicated to OEA and his local, Kings EA. Gonzalez recently passed away due to Covid-19 complications.

In his address, OEA President Scott DiMauro praised the work of members throughout Ohio who have persevered despite the extraordinary challenges of a global pandemic and community opposition to safety measures, along with manufactured outrage over the work educators are leading to ensure schools meet the needs of a diverse student population.

DiMauro highlighted member commitment to each another at the bargaining table and in the political arena. This fall, he told delegates, has seen more bargaining crises in OEA locals than any other year in recent memory. In local after local, solidarity has led to fair settlements that improve the lives of members and also benefit students. He also highlighted the overwhelming success of local affiliates across Ohio on Election Day that faced an unprecedented number of contested school board races with dozens of candidates running on anti-public education, anti-union agendas, funded by outside political interests and fueled by disinformation related to masks, vaccines, and critical race theory.

DiMauro welcomed Congressman Tim Ryan, calling him a “relentless advocate for Ohio’s working families.”

“Congressman Ryan has been a fearless fighter for public education, our students, and our members,” DiMauro said. “He’s fought side by side with many of you on collective bargaining, including walking picket lines He’s fought for us on fair funding, and he understands the critical role public education plays in all our lives.”

Congressman Ryan joined DiMauro in a discussion about the American Rescue Plan (ARP), Build Back Better Plan, charter school accountability and privatization, standardized testing, and support for public education.

Ryan called the ARP “an opportunity for us to go all in on schools and all in on local governments as well.”

“The plan has made a significant investment in the nation’s schools. As part of the ARP, the child tax credit is lifting millions of kids out of poverty in the United States. Coming in with the infrastructure bill, it is going to create millions of jobs across the country. These are investments we want to make.”

When asked how he would take on standardized testing in the Senate, Congressman Ryan said he would work with the Biden Administration to support steps being taken to streamline and reduce testing.

“The obsession has taken the joy out of teaching and learning,” Ryan said. “Teaching is an art, and it needs to be appreciated that way. We have to build out a lot of things that we got rid of—shop class, home economics, after school and summer school programs.

“We need to move away from our testing obsession and recognize that a kid may enter an understanding of math through music or through art. Every kid is different, and every kid is a genius in some way. But we’ve narrowed the entry points for those kids to find that genius and passion. Once you find it, everything else opens up and you understand why you need to learn other things.”

Presenting the Association’s financial report for Fiscal Year 2021, OEA Secretary-Treasurer Mark Hill noted that fiscal year 2021 was another strong financial year for the Association due to better than budgeted membership revenue, expenses favorable to budget, positive market results for OEA investments, and a significant decrease in the retiree benefit obligations.

As a result of approximately $21.3 million in net income from operations and a decrease in pension related changes of approximately $13.7 million, Unrestricted Net Assets (Assets less Liabilities) increased by approximately $35 million.“OEA remains in a strong financial position, ready for the challenges facing our members and public education,” Hill said.

Hill reminded delegates that dues are determined in OEA bylaws as a multiple of the average teacher salary two years prior as reported by the Ohio Department of Education. In fiscal year 2021, fulltime educator Membership Dues and the UniServ Service Charge decreased overall by $29 to $518, due to a 1.8% decrease in the Average Teacher Salary to $60,247 as well as the discontinuation of the additional $20 UniServ fee passed by the Board of Directors in February 2001. For the current fiscal year, full-time educator dues increased by $30 to $548 due to a 5.7% increase in the Average Teacher Salary to $63,709.

As of December 1, the OEA has 118,623 members, a number that reflects a 2,129-member reduction since the same last year. Numbers will continue to fluctuate for
a few weeks as locals update records. OEA has signed up 5,510 first-time members as of the end of November, an increase from 3,145 first-time members at the same point last year and a signal that the number of education positions in the state has increased. The over 5,500 new member additions are being offset by retirements, active drops, and reduced/unfilled positions.

Addressing the delegates, OEA Executive Director Patricia Collins Murdock said as another challenging year ends, it is essential to pause and celebrate victories, including the new school funding formula, historic federal investment in addressing equity and adequacy issues for all students and communities, the elimination of state takeovers of schools, the minimization of the role of high stakes testing in a new State Report Card system, and Election Day wins.

Collins Murdock spoke about OEA’s comprehensive review of its strategic priorities to ensure that the work the Association is engaged in is consistent and appropriate for each priority. OEA’s strategic priorities are:

• Building OEA and locals’ capacity to be more relevant to members
• Educating and organizing members to build support for quality public education
• Building OEA as a member resource for professional issues, and
• Educating and organizing OEA and its members to advocate for racial, social and economic justice

As part of the review, the OEA Board of Directors and OEA officers developed questions related to each of the priorities and collaborated with OEA districts to provide members with an opportunity to respond to the questions and to offer input and feedback. Feedback from these conversations has been used by the OEA Strategic Priorities Oversight Committee to refine and update OEA’s strategic priorities and the conditions of success for each priority. The information gathered will also inform the development of the two-year budget that will be brought to the Spring 2022 RA for action.

“OEA governance and staff will continue these conversations to ensure OEA is a member-driven and member-focused organization,” Collins Murdock told delegates. “The process begun in 2021 will provide OEA with more meaningful ways to connect with and to engage OEA members in the work of their Association. OEA will continue to be the voice of its members and public education.”

In his report, OEA Vice President Jeff Wensing touted 2021 election results, saying, “Our 120,000 members flexed some of their relevancy muscle on Election Day.”

Thirty-five OEA locals targeted 87 candidates for support in the election. OEA–member endorsed candidates won 85% of their school board elections, and in three out of four school districts in which OEA members endorsed candidates, every single candidate they endorsed won.

“Communities trust us and when educators get involved, good results happen,” Wensing said. “Most of our opposition in local school board races spent the better part of six months attacking our profession, our professionalism, and our educator voice. Generally, voters saw through the smokescreen and supported candidates who supported public education.”

Wensing shared an overview of legislative accomplishments including passage of the Fair School Funding Plan and American Rescue Plan; elimination of the state takeover bill, House Bill 70; elimination of the SAT/ACT requirement for students; and the elimination the punitive A-F report card system to replace it with a system that includes a student opportunity profile.

Wensing also discussed legislation under consideration including House Bill 322 and House Bill 327 to ban so-called “divisive concepts” from being taught in K-12 schools; House Bill 99 to allow school staff to carry guns in school; redistricting; House Bill 290, the so-called Backpack Bill that would give vouchers to every Ohio student; and House Bill 467 to ban for-profit charter schools in Ohio—a longtime OEA goal.

Wensing followed his legislative report with an introduction of the proposed 2021-2022 Legislative Policies for Achieving Excellence in Education. Delegates adopted the 2021-2022 Legislative Policies as proposed.

Vice President Wensing introduced a bipartisan panel of legislators—Representative Gayle Manning (R-North Ridgeville), chair of the Primary and Secondary Education Committee, and Representative Phil Robinson (D-Solon), who became in 2018 the first Democrat in almost 40 years and first African-American to ever win in the 6th district— who discussed legislative action on school funding, school report cards, state takeover, and testing.

Representative Manning told delegates, “No matter what, public school is the institution of the history of the United States. Ninety percent of our students choose to stay in public schools and many that have left often come back because of the great things teachers and staff do and the programs our schools have the ability to offer and continue to offer.”

The two lawmakers agreed that during the past 10-15 years of public policy and public education, the legislature has gotten some things right—such as the Fair School Funding Plan—but that other things need to be addressed.

“It is figuring out the importance of what didn’t work and being able to address it, the chance to go back and make sure the things we provide teachers, parents, and students are things that help build success in schools,” Representative Robinson said.

“We need to step back and think about a holistic approach to public education. At the heart of it, make sure that the government is providing a fair funded public education for all students in the state of Ohio.”

During the RA, delegates elected statewide candidates Kathy Abrahamson (Newton Falls ACE) to the position of OEA Board of Directors ESP At-Large with a term ending July 14, 2024, and Phyllis Carter-Bell (Mason EA) to the position of NEA Director #2 with a term ending August 31, 2023.

Delegates will vote via mail-ballot election for an OEA Board of Directors ESP At-Large seat with a term ending July 14, 2022. Election results will be emailed to delegates.

At the Fall RA, delegates contributed $33,024.95 to the OEA Fund for Children and Public Education. Winners of the FCPE giveaway were $500—Ashley Wiseman (Southeastern Local TA), $300—Susan School (Copley TA), and $100—Michael Rossetti (Alliance EA).

The following Constitution articles were read by title for amendment at the May 2022 RA: Article II— Membership, Article V—Board of Directors; Article VI—Officers; Article IX—Affiliates; Article XI— Indemnification.

Various segments of the RA can be viewed on OEA’s YouTube page using the links below.