OEA Announces First Lobby Day of the 136th General Assembly
OEA’s first Member Lobby Day of the 136th General Assembly is Wednesday, March 19, 2025. The upcoming lobby day will focus on member advocacy at the Ohio House of Representatives. Members participating are encouraged to speak with their representatives about the Fair School Funding Plan and other important provisions in House Bill 96 (the state operating budget bill for Fiscal Years 2026 and 2027).
The lobby day will start with a briefing from OEA Officers and staff at 9:30 AM at the OEA HQ, 225 E. Broad St., Columbus, OH 43215. Light refreshments will be provided. OEA will also cover the cost of parking in a nearby parking garage and a voucher for lunch.
RSVP for lobby day HERE. If you have questions about OEA’s upcoming lobby day, please contact Lisa Simpson in OEA Government Relations at simpsonl@ohea.org or 1-800-282-1500, extension 3056.
To download a copy of the lobby day flier, please click here.
OEA Summary of House Bill 96 K-12 Education Policy Review
OEA Government Relations continued its review of House Bill (HB) 96, sponsored by House Finance Committee Chair, State Representative Brian Stewart (R-Ashville). HB 96 is the state operating budget proposal for State Fiscal Years 2026 and 2027 (July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2027). This document, available here, contains additional summaries on various policy changes within HB 96 related to public education. For additional information on how HB 96 impacts public education in Ohio, or other issues to OEA’s membership, please refer to the Legislative Watch released on February 7, 2024.
School District Funding Spreadsheets Released
The Ohio Legislative Services Commission (LSC) recently produced funding spreadsheets for school districts under House Bill 96, the Governor’s budget proposal for Fiscal Years (FY) 26 and 27. The spreadsheets for school district estimates, available here, and for JVSD estimates, available here, are total aid including additional funding outside of the formula funding (i.e. preschool special education and special education transportation).
When looking at traditional school district formula funding, not including the additional funds, it decreases over the biennium by approximately $103 million compared to FY 25 funding. Approximately 343 school districts (56%) experience a decrease in state formula funding from FY 25 to FY 26 and 360 districts (59%) in state formula funding from FY 26 to FY 27. JVSD’s see an overall increase of $43.6 million in FY 26 and an additional $29.1 million in FY 27 primarily because their local share mechanism differs from that of local public schools. It is important to note that these spreadsheets will change as modifications are made to the bill throughout the budget debate.
OEA believes the Ohio General Assembly must prioritize state funding for public schools. While the proposal in House Bill 96 continues the phase-in (years 5 and 6) of the Fair School Funding Plan, it does not provide the needed updates to the base cost components. The salary inputs in the budget bill are from FY 22 while the property and income values are based on more current data. This results in the local share of funding education unfairly increasing and the state responsibility decreasing. OEA is urging legislators to make necessary updates to the funding model and fully implement this biennium.
For an archive of past Legislative Watch releases, visit the Legislative Watch archive.