COLUMBUS — May 6, 2010 — The Ohio Education Association recognizes Governor Ted Strickland as the recipient of OEA’s 2010 Friend of Education Award. The Friend of Education Award honors a person and/or organization whose leadership, acts, and support have contributed to the improvement of public education on a statewide and/or national level.
“When the economic crisis crippled Ohio, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland faced down a budget crisis and partisan opposition to fund and transform Ohio schools – including universal all-day Kindergarten and smaller K-3 class sizes,” said OEA President Patricia Frost-Brooks. Politicians neglected Ohio’s unconstitutional school funding system for 14 years, but Strickland re-created the funding system with an unprecedented commitment to fairness, innovation and creativity. He led a multi-state coalition that secured an unprecedented $100 billion in emergency federal education aid nationwide, preserving 11,000 educator jobs here in Ohio, not to mention countless programs and choices for students. He has proven himself an incomparable friend for schools in Ohio – and the nation.”
Governor Strickland received the award in person on Friday, May 7, 2010, during the Spring Representative Assembly at Vets Memorial in Columbus. The Representative Assembly is OEA’s governing body, with more than 1,300 delegates from local associations across Ohio.
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The Ohio Education Association (ohea.org) represents 121,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals in Ohio’s public schools, colleges and universities.
CONTACT: Michele Prater
614-227-3071; cell 614-378-0469, praterm@ohea.org
