Ohio Education Association Urges Federal and State Lawmakers to Provide Relief in Face of Looming Budget Cuts
“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.
OEA Supports Governor’s Decision to Extend School Closures
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.
OEA Welcomes Today’s Actions by State lawmakers
“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.
OEA and OFT express concern about possible adverse impact of proposed new 2020 primary date
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.
Ohio Education Association Supports Governor’s Decision on School Closures
“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.
OEA votes to support $13 minimum wage ballot issue
“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.
OEA supports House 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.
OEA applauds House vote to fix voucher problem
“The Ohio House took an important step to transform the voucher program in a way that moves away from the blame game and toward meeting the needs of ALL students,” said OEA President Scott DiMauro. “I’m hopeful that the broad, bi-partisan support in the House is indicative of a new course in education policy -one that addresses the needs of the 90% of Ohio students who attend our public schools.”
OEA very much welcomes the strong bi-partisan recognition that the grading system Ohio uses to determined performance-based vouchers doesn’t accurately reflect how well a school is educating its students, and that the state report cards and the over-reliance on standardized tests to measure student achievement need to be fixed.
OEA also strongly supports the amendment added to the bill that would end Academic Distress Commissions that are part of the failed state takeover law and restore local control to Lorain, Youngstown and East Cleveland.
OEA urges the Senate to pass SB 89 immediately to give families and educators in both public and voucher schools ample time to plan for 2020-2021.
The Ohio Education Association represents 122,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals in Ohio’s public schools, colleges and universities.