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: Should We Believe What DeWine Says About Education or What He’s Actually Done?
Gubernatorial candidate Mike Dewine outlines his flawed education plan
“We welcome some of the good ideas on education offered today by gubernatorial candidate Mike DeWine – ideas with which we agree, such as reducing standardized testing and getting more state funding into our schools,” said Ohio Education Association President Becky Higgins.
As a member of Congress, he voted was voting against funding programs that would have benefited Ohio’s public schools! …. Where was DeWine to rein in ECOT?
“But, unfortunately, his record tells another story. As a member of Congress, he voted against funding programs that would have benefited Ohio’s public schools. In addition, his call for more accountability for Ohio’s e-schools begs the question of where he’s been all these years when he could have done something to rein in the abuses of the state’s most notorious e-school, ECOT.”
We think a better bet for ensuring that every student and educator in Ohio has the resources and support they need to succeed is to vote for Richard Cordray for Governor.”
Related Items
• Countdown to Campaign 2018 — OEA Endorsed Candidates
• Ohio Education Association Endorses Richard Cordray for Governor
• 08.06.2018 Columbus Dispatch: Under fire for ECOT, DeWine wants to reduce student testing in Ohio schools and establish a pay-for-performance mode