OEA, citing data, calls for school districts to issue temporary mask mandates
“We are now seeing a record numbers of kids with COVID-19 and hospitalized in ICUs throughout Ohio and the nation,” said OEA President Scott DiMauro. “It is clear from the data we have gathered that the Delta variant poses far greater risk for our students, especially those who have not been vaccinated,” he continued, adding that more than half of all Ohio students aren’t even eligible for vaccinations.
Across the state, there are a growing number of districts in which large numbers of students, teachers, and staff – even entire grades have had to stay home from school because they have contracted COVID-19 or must quarantine due to their close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. However, Ohio Department of Health guidance allows for unvaccinated individuals to remain in school if they have consistently worn a mask and maintained social distancing. Therefore, had there been a mask wearing policy been in-place at the time of these exposures, it is likely that many of these quarantines could have been avoided.
On September 2, the state reported 4,446 new COVID-19 cases among Ohio school students, and 873 cases among school staff. So far this school year, there have been 7,705 cases involving students and 2,254 cases among school employees. The number of cases is increasing daily.
“We want in-person learning to continue unabated,” DiMauro said. “However, without widespread student vaccinations, the only way for that to happen safely for students is temporarily requiring masking in schools.”
COVID-related school disruption data compiled by OEA show that 16 of the 17 disruptions OEA has tracked were in districts that made masks optional. Delta has hit districts of all shapes and sizes from Huber Heights in Montgomery County to Shelby City in Richland County to Bethel-Tate in Clermont County. Typically, when these spikes do happen, districts immediately call for masking. Unfortunately, that may be too late to slow the spread of the incredibly contagious Delta variant.
“No one. And I mean no one wants to be back to normal more than our educators, students and parents,” DiMauro said. “But this pandemic is not over yet. Temporarily requiring masks in school buildings will allow in-person learning to continue.
“Our focus is to ensure students remain learning in school the whole year,” DiMauro said. “We believe the data show that mask requirements give us the best chance to see that happen. Without them, we fear we’d be looking at another school year of disrupted learning for an entire generation of Ohio students. And no one wants that.”
Action Alert: Ohio Education Association Urges Members to Call on Congress to Provide Critical Funding for Schools
“Communities across the country are hurting. More than a million Ohioans are out of work. We know lawmakers at every level have to make very difficult choices, but education must remain a priority and Congress must act now,” OEA President Scott DiMauro said.
The financial plight of Ohio’s schools has garnered national attention and DiMauro has been asked to speak on a national telephone town hall, sponsored by the National Education Association, on Thursday, May 14, 2020 at 7 p.m. with NEA President Lily Eskelsen Garcia, CA Senator Kamala Harris and CT Congresswoman Jahana Hayes, a former national teacher of the year. The event is intended to mobilize the nation’s educators to contact Congress.
Anyone who wishes to participate can register for the event at nea.org/actiontownhall.
OEA members are calling on Congress to earmark $175 billion for education in the next federal coronavirus relief package to help mitigate the harm to students caused by budget cuts at the state and local levels. That funding is urgently needed in Ohio, particularly in the wake of Governor DeWine’s intention to cut $465 million in education funding in the current fiscal year which ends in June.
“Teachers have been heroic in their efforts to engage and educate their students while schools are closed, but there are tremendous challenges,” DiMauro said. “Many families don’t have internet access or enough devices for their children; many parents can’t help their children through the school day because they are frontline workers who must be out of the home. The challenges are especially great in the state’s poorer school districts,” he explained.
The OEA, Ohio’s largest teachers’ union, has been in touch with the offices of Ohio Senators Brown and Portman to urge their support for federal action. “Only the federal government has the resources to stabilize education funding in the country right now. Our federal lawmakers have a duty to provide the funding our kids need,” DiMauro said.
OEA members can contact their representatives in Congress at https://www.ohea.org/actions/action-alert-april-14/
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.
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.