OEA denounces House Bill 616
“These politicians are continuing to use race and sexual orientation as wedge issues to score cheap political points, and they should be ashamed of themselves,” OEA President Scott DiMauro said. “Rather than persisting with these disingenuous attacks on educators and public schools, we need pro-public education policies that enable students to think critically about the world around them and empower them to be proud of who they are, regardless of where they come from, what they look like, how they express their gender identities, or who they – or their parents – love.”
“House Bill 616 represents yet another example of how a national network of extremists is seeking to hijack the education conversation in our state to control a political narrative and distract Ohioans from the real issues facing our public schools,” DiMauro added. “The architects of this bill, who have decided to copy and paste some of the most damaging parts of Florida’s ultra-divisive legislation, are targeting some of Ohio’s most vulnerable students and families and setting Ohio up for a Florida-like showdown with the businesses our state leaders have been working so hard to attract.”
“Why would Ohio want to follow in Florida’s footsteps after it forced a showdown with Disney, one of the state’s biggest employers?” DiMauro questioned. “HB 616 is exactly the kind of legislation that could send Intel and other major employers running, hurting our students’ future job prospects for decades to come.”
HB 616 would also have a serious chilling effect on Ohio’s education profession, which is already facing a recruitment crisis. At a time when it has become increasingly difficult to attract new educators to our classrooms to ensure the adequate staffing levels our students need to receive a world-class education, Ohio lawmakers are sending exactly the wrong message to the state’s education workforce. “Our students and educators cannot be pawns in these ongoing political games,” DiMauro said. “House Bill 616 would have grave consequences for Ohio’s children, public schools, and wider economy. We all deserve better.”
March 2022 OEA Retirement Systems Update
VICTORY: STRS Board Votes to Pay a 3% COLA, Improves Retirement Eligibility
On Thursday, March 17, 2022, the STRS Board voted to approve a 3% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to eligible retirees for the 2022-2023 fiscal year and remove the age 60 requirement for retirement eligibility with full benefits that was scheduled to take effect in 2026. OEA members on the STRS Board championed these changes and OEA and its members have advocated for them. OEA welcomes this action that benefit both active and retired teachers in the system.
After the Great Recession, the STRS fund was projected to run out of money. This required changes for both active and retired members to improve the funding status of the plan so that reliable benefits would continue to be available for all current and future retirees. Because of the stewardship of OEA members on the STRS Board, the fund is in a healthier financial position, enabling the restoration of some benefits now.
The cost-of-living adjustment of 3% will be calculated on a retiree’s base benefit and will be added to each monthly payment beginning on their anniversary date during the next fiscal year (July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023). Under Ohio law, STRS members who have been retired for 60 months are eligible for the COLA. STRS Board member Rita Walters proposed costing out a COLA amount of 3% rather than 2%. The STRS actuary stated that this change coupled with the change in retirement eligibility would not materially impair the fiscal integrity of pension leading to its approval by the Board.
The change in retirement eligibility will provide some needed relief to teachers who saw their possible retirement date pushed out by seven or eight years by pension reform legislation. Under current law, in addition to being eligible to retire at age 65 with at least five years of service, STRS members are eligible to retire with 34 years of service at any age. On August 1, 2023 through July 1, 2026 eligibility will be 35 years of service at any age. Prior to this change by the Board, a requirement of having 35 years of service and being at least age 60 was set to go into effect August 1, 2026 and thereafter. The Board removing the age 60 requirement means that the eligibility for full benefits with 35 years of service and beyond will be in effect from August 1, 2023 and thereafter.
STRS Board Election is Approaching: OEA Recommends McFee, Rhodes and Walters
There is an important election for the STRS Board coming up. OEA’s recommended candidates are Robert McFee and Jeffrey Rhodes for two seats on the Board representing active members and Rita Walters for a seat representing STRS retirees. Each of them currently serve on the STRS Board and are seeking re-election. As demonstrated by their time on the Board and by their recent vote on benefits, they are committed to ensuring the long-term stability of our pension plan as well as restoring benefits for active and retired teachers when finances of the fund allow.
Rita Walters, Robert McFee, and Jeffrey Rhodes were selected as OEA’s member-recommended candidates for the STRS Board seats based on a screening interview by OEA active and retired members and a vote of the OEA Board of Directors. They are proven leaders who are looking out for the best interests of their fellow educators. Ballots will be mailed out in early April, with all active employees – those currently paying into STRS – eligible to vote for the active seats; retired OEA members are eligible to vote for the retired seat.
OPERS Reports 15.3% Investment Return in 2021
The Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS) received an investment return of 15.3% for the pension fund during the 2021 calendar year. The pension fund ended the year with $109.3 billion in assets.
OPERS has an annualized investment return of 14.9% for the past three years, 11.4% for the past five years, and 10.1% for the past ten years.
The investment return for the OPERS health care fund was 14.3% for calendar year 2021. The health care fund has a different asset allocation than the pension fund based on taking on less risk due to the expected solvency of the fund. The health care fund ended 2021 with $14.5 billion in assets.–
Click here to download a copy of this March 2022 Report to the OEA Board of Directors. Previous Retirement Systems Updates can be viewed under the Affiliate Resources tab on the OEA website.
Ohio Education Association celebrates STRS Board decision to restore some benefits
“The steps by the STRS Board to restore some benefits is a welcome step forward for all, which was made possible because of the improved funding level of the pension plan,” OEA President Scott DiMauro said. “It is absolutely essential to ensure reliable retirement benefits for current and future STRS retirees. The promise of a solid pension is a critical incentive to attract and retain high-quality, experienced teachers our students deserve in their classrooms.”
While celebrating the news that some benefits will be restored, OEA also acknowledges the active and retired teachers whose sacrifices over the years, including higher contributions and suspended COLA payments, have helped to return the STRS fund to a healthy position, enabling the restoration of some benefits now. “After the Great Recession, STRS was projected to run out of money, which would have been devastating for Ohio’s teachers and our public schools,” DiMauro said.
“Like many of our members, OEA’s ultimate wish is to have the COLA permanently restored when the fund is able to manage that. Unfortunately, at this point, that would add more than a $13 billion unfunded liability and would put future benefits at risk. Active teachers could again be asked to work longer, pay more and receive less in retirement, and that would not be fair,” DiMauro added. “OEA has high hopes for continued growth in the fund that will allow adjustments that benefit both active and retired teachers.”
February – March 2022 Ohio Schools
- COVER STORY: Pathways to Success – Educational Pathways program aims to set future teachers up for success.
- MAKING THE GRADE
- Ohio Paraprofessionals Honored as Ohio’s Nominees for National Recognizing Inspirational School Employees (RISE) Award
- OEA Members Recognized as Top NEA Cyber-lobbyists
- A Typical American Teacher’s Brain on Any Given School Day
- POLITICAL ACTION
- Biden Administration Delivers Results for Public Education and America in First Year
Moved recently? Contact the OEA Member Hotline to update the address on file at 1-844-OEA-Info (1-844-632-4636) or email, membership@ohea.org. Representatives are available Monday-Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. | OhioSchools — Past Issues
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OEA condemns latest version of House Bill 327
[February 16, 2022] The Ohio Education Association (OEA) stands with the majority of Ohioans who believe all children deserve the opportunity to receive an honest and reflective education that empowers them to become critical thinkers and strong future leaders.
OEA is appalled by the continuing efforts of certain politicians to force through House Bill 327, which would force educators to whitewash our history and distract from the real issues facing Ohio’s schools. OEA calls on the Ohio House of Representatives to end consideration of the bill.
The revisions included in substitute HB 327, as introduced Wednesday, do nothing to address the irreparable harm this legislation would cause to Ohio’s students. And it actually makes the potential dangers to educators and administrators more confusing. The current version replaces the bill’s original and undefinable “divisive concepts” language with vague references to the 1964 Civil Rights Act, apparently requiring Ohio educators to become constitutional law experts in order to understand what the bill’s sponsors don’t want them teaching.
“Make no mistake, this latest version of HB 327 is just another exercise in smoke and mirrors by some state leaders to deflect their constitutional responsibility to fully fund all of Ohio’s public schools and provide Ohio’s children with the resources they need to succeed,” OEA President Scott DiMauro said. “The lawmakers behind this horrendous bill can dress it up anyway they want as they continue to do the bidding of a national network of extremists who are looking to control the political narrative at any cost. But this new version is just as outrageous and inexcusable as the prior version. And in some ways, it’s worse.”
OEA will continue to stand up for honesty in education and against government censorship in the classroom. Ohioans must come together and call on their elected leaders to do better for Ohio’s students.
“Educators and parents know children must have the opportunity to reckon with the mistakes of our past in order to create a better future for all of us,” DiMauro said. “Instead of anti-freedom state censorship laws, let’s work on pro-student policies like fair funding and better access to learning opportunities for all students.”
Backpack Bill would come at enormous cost
“Ohio lawmakers have a constitutional responsibility to fund Ohio’s public schools and ensure a high-quality education for all of Ohio’s kids. HB 290 would force local communities to rely even more heavily on local property taxes to fund schools for the 90 percent of Ohio children who attend public schools. There’s evidence under our current voucher system that public schools out-perform the private schools,” OEA President Scott DiMauro said, citing a Cincinnati Enquirer investigation that found nearly 90% of all voucher students do worse on state tests than students in traditional public schools in the same zip codes.
“Dumping precious resources into a universal voucher system that provides zero auditing requirements for the private schools that would rake in the taxpayers’ cash is just wrong,” DiMauro added. “This is especially true now, when Ohio finally has a public school funding system worth investing in after the adoption of the Fair School Funding Plan in the last state budget. Our lawmakers must hold up their end of the deal to fully fund that system before going off on yet another ideological misadventure with our hard-earned tax dollars. Taxpayers don’t need another ECOT-level disaster and scandal.”
Disturbingly, even with these vouchers, most families still couldn’t afford tuition at the private schools in their communities, and this exponential expansion of a vouchers system in the state would only further contribute to racial segregation in our schools. In Ohio, only about 50% of the subsidies currently being taken are being taken by non-white parents, even though the communities where about 95% of the vouchers come from are nearly 70% non-white. Only 37% of students in Lima City Schools are white, yet Temple Christian School gets $242,000 in taxpayer tuition subsidies and took 100% white students. Likewise, Lima Central Catholic takes more than 70% white students, St. Gerard and St. Charles take about 80% white students. Simply put, these private schools do not reflect the racial makeup of the communities that are forced to pay their bills.
“Ohio taxpayers can’t afford to shell out more money for voucher programs that weaken the public schools that serve the vast majority of Ohio’s kids,” DiMauro said. “We’ve been down this road before and we know it is a dead end in Ohio’s budget. When only 74% of students were eligible for government subsidized private school tuition in 2017’s SB 85, the non-partisan Ohio Legislative Service Commission estimated the cost as high as $1.2 billion. And that was with lower subsidy amounts. This bill will cost (conservatively) two or even three times that amount. Asking Ohioans to pay for that at the expense of their neighborhood public schools is irresponsible and wrong.”
OEA Hopes Court Decision on Maps Will Be Lesson Learned
“The Ohio Education Association celebrates the courage of the four State Supreme Court justices who have demonstrated their steadfast commitment to upholding the law and defending the will of the people. Ohio voters have spoken and have overwhelmingly demanded fair maps to ensure they will finally have a real voice in the Statehouse. It’s clear the state’s highest court will not let that voice be ignored any longer.
The Redistricting Commission reminds me of students I’ve had at times who spend more time creatively cheating than doing their work. Like those students, if the Redistricting Commission had put as much time into actually following the instructions of the Constitution as they did into coming up with creative ways of sidestepping the rules, they would have passed with flying colors. Moreover, if they had put as much work into following the will of the people rather than trying to get around the will of the people, we’d all have the maps we deserve.
The Commission members must understand that Ohioans have a constitutional right to choose their politicians, not the other way around, and Ohio’s broken mapmaking process must finally come to an end.
OEA looks forward to seeing the Commission’s third attempt at district maps and continues to put its faith in the State Supreme Court to ensure Ohio finally has fair maps if the Commission again fails to deliver on that promise.”
OEA applauds court decision striking down gerrymandered maps
“The Ohio Education Association (OEA) applauds the wisdom of the Ohio Supreme Court in striking down the gerrymandered maps that would have denied Ohioans a real voice in the Statehouse. This is a huge victory for Ohio voters and for Ohio schools, which are greatly impacted by the decisions of the state’s elected lawmakers.
OEA looks forward to seeing newly drawn, fair maps that will reflect the will of the two-thirds of Ohio voters who demanded an end to Ohio’s broken mapmaking process. Ohio voters deserve to choose their politicians, not the other way around. Today’s Ohio Supreme Court decision represents a major step toward making that a reality.”
December – January 2022 Ohio Schools
- COVER STORY: Stepping Up for Schools
- Educator voice key to successful school board races in Ohio
- NOTEBOOK
- OEA Local Associations Stand in solidarity for Members and Students
- MAKING THE GRADE
- Findlay Paraprofessionals Form OEA’s Newest Local Association
- OEA Members Receive Top Educator Awards from Martha Holden Jennings Foundation
Moved recently? Contact the OEA Member Hotline to update the address on file at 1-844-OEA-Info (1-844-632-4636) or email, membership@ohea.org. Representatives are available Monday-Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. | OhioSchools — Past Issues
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A Typical Teacher’s Brain in an American Public High School on Any Given Day
By Julie Holderbaum, Minerva EA/OEA
Is Michael acting off today? Is he tired or just depressed? Should I pull him out into the hall and ask him if he’s okay or would it be worse to draw attention to him? Should I call home? Have his grades been slipping? Did he do the assignment that was due for me today?
Does Becky have her cell phone in her lap? Why isn’t it in the slot with the others? Is it worth calling her out on it? Right now or later, privately? Either way, do I want to risk setting her off when she’s been doing so well and we seem to be forging a tentative relationship? Is it a big deal if she isn’t actually using it? Has she been using it and I just haven’t seen it happen?
Why isn’t the Chromecast working? Why would it work last period and not this period? Is the internet down?
Why are we either freezing or frying? Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to regulate the heat in our own rooms?
Will I be accused of teaching divisive concepts if I lead a discussion about why we are not going to say the N word out loud when we read Of Mice and Men? Will the kids go home and tell their parents what we talked about? Do kids still do that? Do parents still ask? Is this book worth the battle it might lead to or should I just teach Fahrenheit 451 instead? Wouldn’t that be ironic? Isn’t this exactly what those who scream about CRT being taught want? For teachers to fear the repercussions and give in to temptation to just teach “safe” material instead? So that the status quo will keep on keeping on and generations of kids will continue to grow up in the dark about so much of the ugly side of America’s history? Is it worth the fight this might bring? Well, it’s obviously worth the fight, but am I mentally and emotionally up for this battle, this year especially?
More importantly, will my black students be uncomfortable if their white teacher leads this discussion in class? I know enough not to ask a Black student to speak on behalf of an entire race, but would it be okay to privately ask a Black student how they would feel about this book or that sort of discussion?
Should I grade these 45 quick 10-point responses first or 25 longer essays? Go back and forth between the two? Am I fair to every student when I don’t grade an assignment all at once? Do I grade the first essays harder or easier than the last ones?
Why do I feel guilty when I take points off for not capitalizing “I” or proper nouns? Why don’t they click on the squiggly lines and fix their typos/spelling/grammar errors when the computer is literally marking them for them? Why are they still making these basic mistakes when we have gone over them so many times? Do they just not care about their grades? Do they even go back and read my comments and look at why they lost points? Is this an academic issue or a motivation issue or a self-worth issue? Do we need to do more lessons on catching these mistakes or do I need to talk with them about the importance of the impression of themselves they put out into the world? Is it unfair for a student to earn a C for a grade when the content of their work is probably at a B or even an A level, but their spelling and grammar mistakes are so ubiquitous and egregious that they lose points on every assignment? Is it asking too much of them to CLICK ON THE DANG SQUIGGLY LINES?
Am I becoming the old cranky English teacher who nitpicks and loses sight of the big picture? Am I too tired for this job? Am I becoming too cynical? Are my standards too high? Haven’t I lowered them since I began teaching all those years ago, though? Should I have?
Should I work through lunch or head to the workroom? Will I feel better if I have a half-hour of adult conversation or if I get more of these papers graded? Do I need to make any hard copies of the handout for next period? Did I remember to upload the video and Google doc to Google Classroom for the kids who are absent?
Is that yelling in the hallway? What’s going on? Did one of you just call the other a bitch?
Why are the kids behaving like this this year? Is it COVID-related? Or just the stress of COVID plus all the other division and dissension in society that we are all contending with?
Does that kid who just smiled at me and said “Hey, Ms. H!” have any idea how much I needed that friendly smile right now?
Why is the office calling down that long list of kids? Are they getting quarantined and sent home? Wait, they don’t have to stay home anymore, but they have to wear masks now, right? Will we get a list of kids who are supposed to be wearing masks for two weeks? How will I keep track of that? How many more times can I say “pull your mask up over your nose” before I start inserting curse words into that sentence?
Do I have time to run to the bathroom between classes? Risk someone being in the single-stall teacher bathroom or go to the student bathroom further away? Is that crying in the next stall? Hey, are you all right? Do you need to talk? Which class do you have right now? Can I walk you down to the guidance office? (Will my class of freshmen be okay if I get there a little late?)
Can we settle down and get started, please? Where is your chromebook? Why isn’t it charged? Where is your charger? Why haven’t you borrowed one from the library then?
Is this email for real? Are they kidding with this? Another meeting? A new book study? This year of all years? Don’t we have enough to do? Can’t they just give us more time to plan or collaborate with each other on the ACTUAL work that needs done?
Am I getting sick or am I just exhausted? Is my throat sore from talking so much today or because I’m coming down with something? Will they be able to find a sub if I stay home tomorrow? What am I teaching tomorrow? Is it something I can adapt easily for a sub or will I need to come up with something new? How much will that impact my plans for the rest of the week? (Why can’t I be more of a Type B teacher?) Isn’t it just easier to suck it up and go to school with a cold? But what if it’s COVID?
Is that an email from a parent? Do I have the energy to deal with that tonight? Why are they emailing me so late?
Where is that info about the poetry contest? When was the deadline? How did I not know until now what a great writer Jane is?
Oh no, Michael didn’t do the assignment; is it too late to call home tonight or should I wait and call from school tomorrow? Do his parents work during the day? Do they support his use of he/him pronouns? Do I need to refer to him as Michelle when I talk to them?
Why am I watching the news? Is the legislature seriously going to try to pass that? Do they have any clue how that will impact teaching and learning? Why do the people with the power to address some of the problems always seem to arrive at “solutions” without asking educators for feedback? Don’t they realize that only leads to more issues?
Oh my God, another one? How many school shootings does that make this year?
Are all teachers as overwhelmed and exhausted as I am?
Does anyone care what teachers are going through in this country?
When is someone going to do something about it?
— Julie Holderbaum is an English Instructor and an Academic Challenge Advisor at Minerva High School, Minerva, Ohio.