Let me get right to the point – the election results were deeply disappointing.
We had a very good candidate for Governor in Rich Cordray who was with us on the issues and who pledged to give us a seat at the decision-making table.
We lost an opportunity to have a close partnership with the governor of Ohio.
While we are still diving into the data to understand what happened this year, we know that this was not a normal non-presidential election. The turnout exceeded expectations. It was the highest it’s been since 1994.
“We made important progress in the last General Assembly on such issues as reforms to the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System (OTES).”
As we analyze the election to inform future strategies, we’ll also be re-doubling our efforts to address the issues that our members care about. We made important progress in the last General Assembly on such issues as reforms to the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System (OTES).
Because of the relationships that we’ve built with key Republicans, and who we supported in their re-elections, we’re confident we can make further progress in the next General Assembly.
Here are some things you should know:
- Behind the scenes, outside the heat of the election, a bipartisan group of legislators, school district treasurers, and superintendents have been working on a sustainable school funding model that would adequately fund the cost of educating our students.
- There’s still a lot of important work to be done and hurdles to overcome, but we are excited about the potential for this proposal to create a constitutional school funding system in Ohio.
- We have a bipartisan consensus among legislators that the A to F report card system does not currently serve the needs of our students and must change.
- We have an urgent and immediate problem with graduation requirements and we need a fix this year to avoid having thousands of students denied a high school diploma.
- Now that OTES reforms have passed the legislature, we need to make sure that they get implemented right by the State Board of Education and at local levels.
- We will continue to work with the legislature to fix or eliminate the law (HB 70) that allows for the state to takeover local school districts.
Both candidates for governor talked about the importance of having school funding plans that include providing mental health services and dialing back on testing.
We are committed to making every effort to work with Governor-elect DeWine and the legislature to ensure that they implement policies to support our students on those issues.
Thank you for all that you do. By standing strong, together we will advocate for our students, our members and for public education.
Sincerely,
Becky Higgins,
President
Ohio Education Association
