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Ohio Education Association Urges Federal and State Lawmakers to Provide Relief in Face of Looming Budget Cuts

Ohio Education Association Urges Federal and State Lawmakers to Provide Relief in Face of Looming Budget Cuts

[May 6, 2020] As school districts across Ohio face the prospective loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in state aid due to the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ohio Education Association (OEA) calls on federal and state lawmakers to take urgently needed steps to provide relief so that Ohio’s students are not hurt.

“Parents and communities cannot count on being able to go back to work unless they can count on their kids going back to safe schools,” said OEA President Scott DiMauro. “It is going to be really hard to count on safe schools for our kids if we have massive cuts to education funding,” he said, adding that social distancing in classrooms and other safety measures will only be possible with adequate staffing to keep class sizes small.

“While we understand that state leaders have to make difficult choices, we have to make sure we are prioritizing education,” DiMauro said. “This is our future.”

DiMauro said the kids that are going to be most directly affected by budget cuts are the kids who are already suffering. “They’re the ones that don’t have technology access,” DiMauro said. “They’re the ones that come from communities that don’t have as many local resources to provide support to them.”

In order to make school districts whole for the remainder of the fiscal year, OEA is calling on state leaders to utilize funds from Ohio’s $2.7 billion rainy-day fund to preserve state funding that directly supports K-12 public education, the state share of instruction for public colleges and universities, and education services provided at adult and juvenile correctional institutions and County Boards of Developmental Disabilities. “As has been widely acknowledged, it is surely raining in Ohio now,” DiMauro said.

The OEA is also urging Congress to provide $175 billion in critical funding for the nation’s schools as part of the federal CARES Act for states and local communities.

“The federal government clearly has the ability to provide the resources that are needed right now,” DiMauro said. “It’s going to take those kinds of resources to make sure we don’t lose a generation of kids.”

OEA represents 122,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals who work in Ohio’s schools, colleges, and universities to help improve public education and the lives of Ohio’s children. OEA members provide professional services to benefit students, schools and the public in virtually every position needed to run Ohio’s schools.

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2020 Press Releases

OEA Supports Governor’s Decision to Extend School Closures

[April 20, 2020] The Ohio Education Association (OEA) believes Governor DeWine made the right decision today to extend the closure of Ohio’s schools for the remainder of the school year to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

The following statement can be attributed to OEA President Scott DiMauro:

“The OEA appreciates the Governor’s leadership in making decisions focused on the health and safety of all Ohioans as our state faces the continued challenge of dealing with the COVID-19 public health pandemic. While our members deeply miss interacting with students in person, OEA’s top priority is the health and safety of our students, members and the communities we serve.

OEA members will continue to do all that they can to ensure the wellbeing of students and to keep students creatively engaged in learning throughout the duration of the shutdown.

OEA is grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with state leaders and other education stakeholders, including superintendents, school boards, parents and community leaders, to address the deep inequities in our education system that this crisis has exposed and exacerbated. We’ll need time to assess the needs of all students—including students with special developmental needs; students with health challenges; and students whose circumstances deprive them of access to technology, adequate nutrition, or other essential supports—and work together to support them in the best way possible.

We call on Congress to provide additional relief to help us meet the needs of Ohio’s students and local school districts. Schools will reopen and when they do, we must welcome our students back to a more equitable, safe and dynamic learning environment that meets the promise of public education that all students, parents, families and educators deserve.”

The Ohio Education Association represents 122,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals in Ohio’s public schools, colleges and universities.

 

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2020 Press Releases

April/ May 2020 Ohio Schools

  • COVER STORY: OEA members focus on organizing and preparing for the future at 2020 Advocacy and Organizing Institute
  • FEATURE: OEA endorses Andrew Smith for election to the State Teachers Retirement Board
  • MAKING THE GRADE:
    • Maple Heights paraprofessional names 2020 NEA Education Support Professional of the Year
    • NEOEA celebrates 150 years
  • LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
  • ASSOCIATION

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OEA Welcomes Today’s Actions by State lawmakers

[March 25, 2020]  The Ohio Education Association (OEA) commends the unanimous votes today by both chambers of the General Assembly on a comprehensive coronavirus relief package that includes important provisions that impact Ohio’s public schools. In particular, the cancellation of state testing and elimination of state report cards for the current school year are welcome developments.

“Our members remain committed to doing all that they can to educate the students they serve,” said OEA President Scott DiMauro, “but it seems impossible to imagine how tests could be conducted in the current environment where schools are closed and the state continues to face the challenges posed by an unprecedented public health crisis. Today’s vote by state lawmakers was the logical step to take.”

While OEA would have preferred a long-term solution to fix the problem of a potentially explosive expansion in the number of EdChoice vouchers, freezing EdChoice eligibility affords more time to address the issue fully.

Additionally, OEA appreciates the extension of absentee voting for the primary election until April 28. The proposed delay until June 2 would not have allowed sufficient time for levy election results to be known before school districts need to make budget and staffing decisions.

The Ohio Education Association represents 122,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals in Ohio’s public schools, colleges and universities.

 

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2020 Press Releases

OEA and OFT express concern about possible adverse impact of proposed new 2020 primary date

[March 19, 2020] The presidents of the Ohio Education Association and the Ohio Federation of Teachers today sent a letter to the state’s elected leaders about the possible adverse impact on public schools of the proposed new date for the state’s 2020 primary. Following is the text of that letter:

Dear Governor DeWine, Secretary of State LaRose, President Obhof and Speaker Householder:

On behalf of the members of our organizations, we write to express concern about the proposed new date for the 2020 primary.  We certainly understand the pressing health and safety concerns that led to the decision to delay the election.  Protecting the health of Ohioans is of paramount importance.  However, setting a primary date as late as June 2nd presents potentially serious problems for school districts.  Many school districts had levies on the anticipated March 17th primary.  The results of these levies will have an impact on staffing decisions for the next school year. 

Current law has a June 1st deadline for notifying staff of the school board’s intent to non-renew a contract.  Having election results prior to this date is critical to allowing affected districts to plan their budgets and in making decisions about staffing.  If the primary election is not held prior to June 1, steps should be taken to move this statutory deadline for the current year.

Setting a date for the primary election prior to June 2nd would provide more timely election results.  Whatever date is set for the primary, we recommend allowing sufficient time for official results to be tallied before districts need to make budget and staffing decisions based on levy results. We also encourage that every effort should be made to push absentee voting as the preferred option. Holding the remainder of the election exclusively as vote by mail should also be considered. This would allow Ohioans to exercise their Constitutional right to vote in the safest manner available.

Thank you for your consideration of this important issue.  As you consider this and other vital issues our organizations stand ready to discuss alternatives that benefit Ohio’s students and our members while protecting the health and safety of all citizens.

Sincerely,

Scott DiMauro, President, Ohio Education Association
Melissa Cropper, President, Ohio Federation of Teachers

The Ohio Education Association represents 122,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals in Ohio’s public schools, colleges and universities.

 

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2020 Press Releases

Taking Comfort in What We Know: Surviving as a Type A Teacher in Times of Uncertainty

By Julie Holderbaum, Minerva EA/OEA

A week ago, I was trying to figure out how to rearrange my lesson plans to accommodate my trip to the State House on Wednesday to rally in support of public education. 

Today I’m in my empty classroom, trying to plan how to teach remotely for the foreseeable future. 

Last week, it was important to me to teach the classics. It was important to me that I checked every box in the common core standards. It was important to me that my students did well on their Student Learning Objectives (SLO) so my evaluation would show that I’m a good teacher. It was important to prepare for state testing.

What seemed so imperative last week seems so insignificant today. 

Still, while I’ve regained some perspective, I struggle. I’m a Type A teacher who thrives on planning. It’s difficult to plan when there are so many questions and so few answers. I can’t help but feel truly overwhelmed.

I have to take comfort in what we do know, and today, there are five things that I know with absolute certainty.

The world has not stopped. The sun will rise every day. The spring flowers will still grow. My trees will still blossom. There will be worms when it rains and that delicious smell of spring in the air. There will be rainbows.

This is temporary. While we do not know exactly when our classrooms will be filled with students, we know that there will come a day when our routines will go back to normal. Remote learning and teaching are not going to last forever. Someday we will once again stress over SLOs and state testing and jammed copiers and spotty wifi. Someday we will once again all be together under the Friday night lights cheering for our football team. The stormy waters we are being tossed about in will settle down.

This is an opportunity. It’s an opportunity for us to teach what really matters in our curriculum without worrying so much about the common core standards. I’m teaching my favorite poems and short stories and essays and I’m not worrying about whether or not they fit in with where we were in my prescribed and detailed and time-tested curriculum when we went on break. Not every content area lends itself to that freedom as much as English does, but surely in any grade and any subject, we can use this as an opportunity to teach the lessons and skills we are truly excited about, and we can get creative with this freedom. 

People need human connections. I’ve never wanted to be with strangers at a concert or a movie theater more in my entire life. I’ve never wanted to hug my friends and co-workers as much as I do right now. I hope that when this is over, we will remember not to take for granted the pleasure that comes from human contact, from being in the same place at the same time, whether we are high-fiving strangers at Ohio Stadium after a Buckeye touchdown or raising voices and signs on the steps of the State House, advocating for our profession. 

Our kids need us. They need us to maintain those human connections with them, because for many of them, school was the one place they felt safe and cared for. 

They need us to show them how to persevere through challenging times, how to be flexible, how to keep a positive attitude. They need us to let them know that we are still here, that we still care, and that they are not alone. 

So, in focusing on these five things I know, I hope to take action in ways that keep me from feeling too anxious in this time of uncertainty.

I will spend time outside, sun on my face, watching the progress of my tulips and letting my dog pull me along on a walk.

I will use this time to re-evaluate my teaching practice. This forced flexibility has made me realize that I’ve become too locked in to what I teach and how I teach it. I’m now able to search for new lesson ideas online and to try out the plethora of educational websites I’ve just never had time to explore. Most importantly, I am going to rethink whether spending so much time on the “classics” from the past (Paine, Poe, Emerson, Twain) is worth it when it means I never get time to teach more recent authors (Angelou, Atwood, Lamott, Allende). Someday we will be back in our classrooms with kids, but how I spend those days and what we study may not look the same at all.

I will do everything in my power to keep those human connections with my students, for my sake as well as theirs. I’m going to call and email and Remind and Google Classroom and Flipgrid until those teenagers I love are completely annoyed, but they will know I care and that is what matters. 

We know that academic and social development happens best in a school setting when students are engaging with their peers and teachers, and we just cannot provide that to them right now. But in the meantime, no one is better at meeting unexpected challenges than educators. Education has been derailed by state mandates in recent years, but this is a chance to get back to what it’s really all about, what it should always be about: the kids and their wellbeing. We didn’t go into teaching to provide politicians with data to determine if we have good schools or not. We went into teaching because we care about kids. If we keep that in mind, remote learning won’t feel so remote.

Maybe my students won’t get the exact same lessons they would have if we weren’t in this situation, but I have to be okay with that. I suspect that the lessons we all learn during this unplanned hiatus might be the kind that mean far more and last much longer than anything a perfectly planned unit can teach anyway. 

— Julie Holderbaum is an English Instructor and an Academic Challenge Advisor at Minerva High School, Minerva, Ohio.

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Ohio Education Association Supports Governor’s Decision on School Closures

[March 12, 2020] The Ohio Education Association (OEA) stands ready to work with state leaders and local school districts to ensure that all students and staff are in a healthy and safe environment, as we grapple with the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. The well-being of our students, educators and staff is our top priority.

“OEA commends Governor DeWine’s decision to close schools beginning next week. Although we have not yet seen the official order, OEA understands the sacrifice this is going to entail for all Ohioans but agrees this is the best action at this time,” said OEA President Scott DiMauro.

The Ohio Education Association represents 122,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals in Ohio’s public schools, colleges and universities.

 

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2020 Press Releases

OEA votes to support $13 minimum wage ballot issue

[February 25, 2020] Members of the Ohio Education Association (OEA) Board of Directors voted unanimously to support a ballot proposal that would raise Ohio’s minimum wage to $13 by 2025, an increase that would benefit more than 1.4 million workers.

“An Ohioan working full time for minimum wage now earns just $18,000 a year—an income that falls $3,600 short of the poverty level and does not cover even the most basic needs,” said OEA President Scott DiMauro.

“With minimum wage so low, too many parents can’t make ends meet, and too many students are forced to make do without the very basics,” DiMauro said. “When our students have economic stability at home, they can flourish at school and fulfill their full promise to become leaders, innovators, and caring members of our community.”

The proposal would raise Ohio’s minimum wage, currently $8.70 an hour for non-tipped employees, to $9.60 an hour on January 1, 2021. It would then increase it each year until stopping at $13 an hour in 2025.

The OEA is a member of Ohioans for Raising the Wage, a coalition of community, faith and labor organizations backing the ballot issue. Coalition members are working to collect roughly 443,000 valid voter signatures from 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties by July 1 so the measure can appear on the November 2020 ballot.

The Ohio Education Association represents 122,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals in Ohio’s public schools, colleges and universities.

 

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2020 Press Releases

OEA supports House Plan for EdChoice Vouchers

[February 24, 2020] The Ohio Education Association (OEA) strongly supports the Ohio House of Representatives’ plan for EdChoice Vouchers.

There has been overwhelming support from Ohio educators who back Senate Bill 89 as passed by the Ohio House that addresses the EdChoice Voucher Program. Over 9 days, the Senate heard more than 50 hours of public testimony concerning the private school vouchers. OEA members came out in force to testify, write letters, and call legislators and the Governor to support the House passed bill.

OEA President Scott DiMauro said, “We applaud the leadership shown by the House on this issue.  They’ve recognized the need to invest in the 90% of Ohio’s students who attend public schools while still offering meaningful choice. In OEA’s view, the language in SB 89 as passed by the House represents the best path forward. SB 89 moves away from the blame game of a failing school model; maintains support for current voucher recipients through grandfathering; orients the program towards one that puts Ohio’s neediest families first in line; and moves toward direct state funding of vouchers to preserve funding that supports Ohio’s public school children.”

Ohio educators reject the Senate plan (HB 9) that would continue to have hundreds of schools deemed “failing” and eligible for EdChoice vouchers based on a flawed report card system.  SB 89 which would eliminate most new EdChoice vouchers and shift the program to one based on family income and paid for directly by the state.

The Ohio Education Association is optimistic that the voices of Ohio’s educators have been heard and that a resolution to the still looming voucher crisis is forthcoming.

The Ohio Education Association represents 122,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals in Ohio’s public schools, colleges and universities.

 

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2020 Press Releases

Conference Committee Testimony by Dan Heintz

 

By Dan Heintz, Chardon LSD

Distinguished members of Ohio’s 133rd General Assembly,

Dan HeintzMy name is Dan Heintz. I am happy to share that I am a K-12 product of Ohio’s great public schools. I am also proud to say that I am a public school teacher at Chardon High School. Finally, I am honored to serve my neighbors as a member of the Cleveland Heights – University Heights Board of Education. As you can see my friends, public education flows through my veins and animates my spirit.

Our Cleveland Heights – University Heights Schools have suffered under the burden of EdChoice in a way that few other districts have. Currently, 33% of our state funds are being diverted as a result of EdChoice. Our schools have fallen victim to a well-intentioned, but poorly conceived cult of accountability. Nowhere perhaps are these measures more inappropriately punitive than in Cleveland Heights – University Heights.

Cleveland Heights High School is an EdChoice school for one reason: Graduation Rate. Given this, one would expect our graduation rate to be low. It’s not. For the past 2 years in fact, our graduation rate has been higher than the state average, yet the state’s formula has nonetheless labeled ours as an underperforming EdChoice High School.

The College Board is the non-profit organization behind the SAT test, as well as all of the Advanced Placement coursework that many of our students take advantage of. Distinguished members of the General Assembly, four weeks ago, The College Board identified nine Ohio High Schools as AP Honor Roll High Schools. Cleveland Heights High School, labeled by the State as EdChoice eligible school, was one of these nine.

So, contrary to the State of Ohio’s label, the College Board doesn’t seem to think that ours is an underperforming high school at all, but what do America’s colleges and universities think? Are they confident that the graduates of Cleveland Heights High are prepared for success? You bet they are, and they put their money where their mouth is. My friends, Cleveland Heights High’s class of 2018 was offered a combined 10.4 million dollars of college scholarships. 10.4 million dollars. And the class of 2019 beat them! Our class of 2019 (roughly 350 students) was offered 12.1 million dollars in scholarship offers.

So, our graduation rate is above the state average, The College Board identifies us as an AP Honor Roll School, and our grads pulled in over 22 million dollars in scholarship offers over the past 2 years. But our own state government has determined that this is such a disappointing school that we need to provide a financial escape hatch in order for students to attend a private school. I simply cannot imagine that this is what we had in mind as the EdChoice system was being designed.

The pundits tell us that vouchers improve education by introducing competition. The narrative they promote is that families use vouchers to leave low performing public schools in order to attend higher-performing private schools. This narrative is pure sophistry. Facts are stubborn things, and the facts simply don’t support the narrative.

First, the overwhelming majority of our EdChoice voucher recipients are not leaving our schools at all, because leaving our schools would require them to have entered them in the first place. Committee members, 94% of our EdChoice vouchers are being used by students who have never been enrolled in one of our public schools. 94%. Furthermore, the private schools that receive this windfall of Ohio tax dollars are not always higher performing. According to the Ohio Department of Education, 61 of our students use EdChoice vouchers to attend a school whose 5th grade scores are lower than those of our district. That’s nearly a quarter of a million dollars! So let’s be clear, these people are not running from a failing school, they’re running from a tuition bill. Again, I cannot imagine that this is what we had in mind as the EdChoice system was being designed.

Ladies and gentlemen, my two-part request very simple: First, please rethink how we measure our public schools. And as you think that over, please come visit Cleveland Heights High. Second, if vouchers are to remain in the mix, please fund them directly from the state’s operating budget. The work that districts like mine do is hard enough without the additional challenges of depleted state aid.

Committee members, I thank you for your service to our state, and for your time today. If you have any questions, I am at your service.

— Dan Heintz is a Social Studies teacher at Chardon High School, Chardon, Ohio.

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