Public Education Partners

On Wednesday, March 9, the Honesty for Ohio Education coalition hosted a press conference in the Ladies Gallery of the Ohio Statehouse. The coalition was there to defend Ohio students’ freedom to learn and educators’ freedom to teach a full, honest history of our nation. Public Education Partners fully supports the work of the coalition, which opposes HB 327, a bill that seeks to divide Ohioans, censor teachers and threaten schools’ funding.

Ohio hosts some well-funded “political action committees” that spread propaganda about public schools “indoctrinating” Ohio’s children.

That assertion is simply not the case.

• Ohio school districts are not teaching white children they should hate themselves or telling children of color that they are inferior and being held down.
• Children are not taught that meritocracy or traits such as a hard work ethic are racist or sexist.
• Public schools do not require a student to advocate for or against a specific topic or point of view.

This divisive rhetoric has led to nationwide bills, like House Bill 327, that have been created and promoted by extreme ideological organizations, like the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the Heritage Foundation, and the Freedom Foundation, and advertised by their supporters in the media like FOX News, One American News (OAN), and other biased news sources.

These extreme groups have built an elaborate campaign of lies and fear, planning to weaponize the mistrust they’ve created to further diminish and privatize our public school system.

In response to this negative campaign, the American Association of University Professors, the American Historical Association, the Association of American Colleges & Universities, and PEN America published a joint statement of their firm opposition to legislation that would restrict the discussion of “divisive concepts” in public education institutions.

“The clear goal of these efforts is to suppress teaching and learning about the role of racism in the history of the United States,” the letter explains. Education proceeds from exploration, facts, and civil debate. “These legislative efforts,” on the other hand, “seek to substitute political mandates for the considered judgment of professional educators, hindering students’ ability to learn and engage in critical thinking across differences and disagreements. Americans of all ages deserve nothing less than a free and open exchange about history and the forces that shape our world today.”

So far, 155 learned organizations have signed the statement, including the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, ACPA-College Student Educators International, African American Intellectual History Society, African Studies Association, Agricultural History Society, Alcohol and Drugs History Society, American Academy of Religion, American Anthropological Association, American Association for State and Local History, American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, American Association of Community Colleges, American Association of Geographers, American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education, American Catholic Historical Association, American Classical League, American Council of Learned Societies, American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, American Counseling Association, American Educational Research Association, American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO, American Folklore Society, American Humor Studies Association, American Library Association, American Philosophical Association, American Political Science Association, American Psychoanalytic Association, American Society for Environmental History, American Society for Theatre Research, American Society of Criminology Executive Board,  American Sociological Association, American Studies Association, Anti-Defamation League, Association for Ancient Historians, Association for Asian American Studies, Association for Asian Studies, Association for Counselor Education and Supervision, Association for Documentary Editing, Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies, Association for Spanish and Portuguese Historical Studies, Association for the Study of African American Life and History, Association for the Study of Higher Education, Association for the Study of Literature and Environment, Association for Theatre in Higher Education, Association of Academic Museums and Galleries, Association of African American Museums, Association of College and Research Libraries, Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, Association of Research Libraries, Association of University Presses, Association of Writers & Writing Programs, The Authors Guild, Berkshire Conference of Women Historians, Business History Conference, Center for Research Libraries, Central European History Society, Chinese Historians in the United States, ClassCrits, Coalition of Urban & Metropolitan Universities, College Art Association, Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender History, Comparative and International Education Society, Conference on Asian History, Conference on Faith and History, Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes, Contemporary Freudian Society, Coordinating Council for Women in History, Council on Social Work Education, Czechoslovak Studies Association, Dance Studies Association, Executive Committee of the American Comparative Literature Association, Forum on Early-Modern Empires and Global Interactions, Freedom to Read Foundation, French Colonial Historical Society, German Studies Association, Higher Learning Commission, Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, Historians for Peace and Democracy, Historical Society of Twentieth Century China, Immigration Ethnic History Society, International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation, Italian American Studies Association, John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education, Keats-Shelley Association of America, Labor and Working Class History Association, Middle East Studies Association, Middle States Commission on Higher Education, Midwestern History Association, Modern Language Association, NAFSA: Association of International Educators, NASPA: Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, National Association for College Admission Counseling, National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education, National Association of Dean and Directors Schools of Social Work, National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, National Association of Graduate-Professional Students, National Association of Social Workers, National Coalition for History, National Council for the Social Studies, National Council of Teachers of English, National Council on Public History, National Education Association, National Prevention Science Coalition to Improve Lives, National Women’s Studies Association, Network for Public Education, New England Commission of Higher Education, North American Conference on British Studies, Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, Ohio Academy of History, Organization of American Historians, Pacific Coast Branch-American Historical Association, Peace History Society, Phi Beta Kappa Society, Popular Culture Association, Radical History Review, Rhetoric Society of America, Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, Scholars at Risk, Shakespeare Association of America, Society for Austrian and Habsburg History, Society for Classical Studies, Society for Community Research and Action, Society for Ethnomusicology, Society for French Historical Studies, Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations, Society for Historians of the Early American Republic, Society for Historians of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, Society for Historical Archaeology, Society for the Study of Early Modern Women and Gender, Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States, Society for the Study of Social Problems, Society for US Intellectual History, Society of American Historians, Society of Architectural Historians, Society of Civil War Historians, Society of Transnational Academic Researchers (STAR Scholars Network), Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, Southern Historical Association, United Faculty of Florida – University of Florida, NEA/AFT/FEA, AFL-CIO, University Film and Video Association,  Urban History Association, WASC Senior College and University Commission, Western History Association, Western Society for French History, and the World History Association.

Yes, the list is lengthy, but please note that these esteemed groups are not extremist groups; rather, many are subject area experts. They are exactly the type of scholarly organizations that legislators should acknowledge, instead of extreme ideological associations carrying out some destructive political strategy.

It’s important to understand that Ohio school district diversity/equity/inclusion (DEI) programs seek to provide students with multiple perspectives around historic events, help them make connections, and provide context around those events. HB 327 would make it much harder for school districts to initiate programs to encourage DEI in school districts.

Legislators who endorse this outrageous policy need to know that they make it harder to set our students up for success when they ignore real issues and fixate on a disinformation campaign for political gain.

For that matter, how could any compassionate adult speak out against promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in public schools?

Ohio children deserve honesty in education- they must be provided an accurate understanding of our nation’s history and governmental institutions. Our students are worthy of a culturally responsive curriculum that reflects their collective ancestry and backgrounds to empower them to value every culture.

The path to equity begins with an unbiased understanding of the past based on factual evidence, and educators need to be able to help students honestly explore American history without being accused by extremists who mislabel their teaching as “divisive.”

The Board of Public Education Partners absolutely rejects the false narrative of HB 327 and encourages all Ohioans to TAKE ACTION now against this dangerous policy!

School vouchers hurt voucher students, district students, school districts, other political subdivisions, public retirement systems, and school district employees.

How Do Vouchers Affect Municipalities?

1. When vouchers extract money from the funds for public schools, the school district must ask residents to pass levies to provide increases in property taxes to make up for the loss. Ohio residents are responsible for 72.5% of property taxes with businesses being responsible for the other 27.5%. Citizens get weary of the many tax increases and, in some cases, refuse to pass new levies. This is one of the big factors families consider when making a change in housing.

2. Inflationary rises for other needed services, such as fire and police protection, infrastructure updates, like sewer and water maintenance and roads, may also require more money and more levies may be issued.

3. Schools still have the same costs for providing staff, maintaining buildings and providing transportation. They must also transport students to private schools adding a significant amount of money to provide that service as additional buses and drivers may be needed.

4. Vouchers often promote segregation and discrimination against students of color, those of a different religion and those with disabilities as private schools can choose which students they admit.

5. The extraction of money from the school district may reduce the extracurricular activities offered by the school and also require a student to pay a significant amount to engage in those activities. This may prohibit many students who would gain skills and knowledge not taught in the regular curriculum. These activities often develop personal and professional skills that truly make a difference in a student’s life.

6. All of these are things families consider when moving into an area or are simply looking for a different home.

I’ve often heard legislators make the statement, “Throwing money at an issue doesn’t solve the problem,” especially when it comes to school funding.

If not, why are they so fast to take it away from the public schools and “throw” it at “choice” families?

~Donna Wilson, former Fairborn, Ohio City Councilwoman

(Originally published by Bill Phillis on Monday, 1/24/22.)

#vouchershurtohio

There was nationwide support for the State School Board of Ohio’s Resolution 20 (P. 57-59) to advance equity and condemn racism in our schools, which was passed in 2020. Many agreed that we must all be dedicated to equity and to the thoughtful teaching of our children that racism, bigotry and hatred should have no place in our country, state, and system of schools and that our children are worthy of a culturally responsive curriculum that reflects their collective ancestry and backgrounds- one that empowers them to value every culture.

According to the Columbus Dispatch, “the resolution became a lightning rod in the debate over teaching about race in Ohio classrooms, drawing dozens of protesters and counter-protesters to state board meetings in recent months. Opponents of Resolution 20 said its wording intentionally opened the door for districts to teach ‘disturbing’ and ‘divisive’ material about racism and identity and that lesson plans would go against America’s founding principles and divide kids into oppressors and the oppressed.”

Regrettably, Ohio’s State Board of Education repealed its anti-racism resolution in October 2021 and replaced it with Resolution 13 that condemns “any teachings that seek to divide.”

Cheers for the Akron Public Schools Board of Education, which condemned recent action taken by the State BOE of Ohio to repeal its anti-racism resolution! Education advocates look forward to similar actions by other school boards around the Buckeye State.

Though the recommendations for Ohio schools were repealed by Resolution 13, state board member Christina Collins said she thinks a lot of that work will continue. “At the end of the day, it doesn’t prohibit anything,” Collins said. “it isn’t law, and it doesn’t force districts to do anything different.”

Ohio school districts can even copy/paste and personalize this template to pass their own anti-racism resolutions:

_________________________ Board of Education Resolution
(Language adopted from the Ohio State Board of Education’s Preamble and Resolution of July 14, 2020)

RESOLUTION TO CONDEMN RACISM AND TO ADVANCE EQUITY AND OPPORTUNITY FOR BLACK STUDENTS, INDIGENOUS STUDENTS AND STUDENTS OF COLOR

The _____________________ Board of Education hereby ADOPTS the following Resolution:

Whereas the Ohio State Board of Education passed a Resolution to Condemn Racism and Advance Equity and Opportunity for Black Students, Indigenous Students and Students of Color in 2020; and

Whereas the Ohio Educator Standards Board voted unanimously in June 2021 to support the Ohio State Board of Education’s Resolution to Condemn Racism and Advance Equity and Opportunity for BIPOC students; and

Whereas the Ohio Strategic Plan for Education: 2019-2024 Each Child, Our Future, adopted by a resolution of the State Board of Education in June, 2018 begins with the vision that in Ohio each child is challenged to discover and learn, prepared to pursue a fulfilling post-high school path and empowered to become a resilient, lifelong learner who contributes to society; and

Whereas a culturally responsive curriculum reflects the history and background of all students, and empowers students to value all cultures, not just their own; and

Whereas research has shown that a culturally responsive curriculum can motivate students of color to a higher level of academic achievement and in many cases increase the graduation rate of previously disengaged students; and

Whereas the ____________ Board of Education believes that public schools are fundamental to a democratic society, and we must be dedicated to equity and thoughtful teaching of future citizens that racism, bigotry and hatred have no place; and

Whereas, the path to equity begins with a deep understanding of the history of inequalities and inhumanity and how they have come to impact current society; and

Whereas the State Board of Education strongly recommended in 2020 that all Ohio school districts begin a reflection and internal examination of their own involving all members of their school community to examine all facets of the school’s operations; with a special emphasis on curriculum, hiring practices, staff development practices, and student discipline e.g., suspension/expulsion; therefore, be it

Resolved that the __________ Board of Education condemns, in the strongest possible terms, white supremacy culture, hate speech, hate crimes and violence in the service of hatred. These immoral ideologies and actions deserve no place in our country, state and school system. And be it

Further resolved, that the ___________ Board of Education will be led by our guiding mission and vision as we develop policy and advocate to serve our students from a perspective of equity, anti-racism, and anti-bias.

Public school districts are fundamental to our democratic society, so our children deserve a proper and accurate understanding of our nation’s history and governmental institutions.

The path to equity begins with a deep understanding of the history of inequalities and inhumanity and how they have come to impact society.

To: Linda Kohler- Board President, Members of the State School Board of Ohio, and Paolo DeMaria- Superintendent of Public Instruction

From: The Board of Public Education Partners

Date: June 12, 2021

The members of the Board of Public Education Partners wholeheartedly support the State School Board of Ohio’s resolution to advance equity and condemn racism in our schools. We stand with the State Board of Education against white supremacy culture, hate speech, and hate crimes.

The PEP Board agrees that our public-school districts are fundamental to our democratic society. We must all be dedicated to equity and to the thoughtful teaching of our children that racism, bigotry and hatred should have no place in our country, state, and system of schools.

Our children deserve a proper and accurate understanding of our nation’s history and governmental institutions. Students are worthy of a culturally responsive curriculum that reflects their collective ancestry and backgrounds- one that empowers them to value every culture.

Since the path to equity begins with a deep understanding of the history of inequalities and inhumanity and how they have come to impact society, PEP strongly agrees with the State BOE’s recommendation that Ohio schools must begin to examine all facets of district operations, with a special emphasis on curriculum, hiring practices, staff development practices, and student discipline.

The PEP Board would like to thank the members of the State School Board of Ohio for considering the needs of ALL children in the development of this groundbreaking “Resolution to Condemn Racism and to Advance Equity and Opportunity for Black Students, Indigenous Students and Students of Color.”

Sincerely,

The Board of Public Education Partners of Ohio

The Wilmington school board has endorsed Ohio House Bill (HB) 1 — also known as the Fair School Funding Plan.

In making the endorsement, board members passed a resolution stating Ohio’s current school funding system “lacks a rational basis for determining both the cost of educating students, and how the funding of education is shared between the state and local taxpayers.”

Ask your local school board if it has passed a resolution supporting HB 1- the Cupp-Patterson Fair School Funding Plan. If the BOE hasn’t done so, please share this easy-to-copy-and-paste text based on the Wilmington City School District’s statement:

A RESOLUTION TO ENDORSE THE FAIR SCHOOL FUNDING PLAN, AS CONTAINED IN HOUSE BILL 1, AND TO ENCOURAGE THE 134TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO EXPEDITE ITS PASSAGE

WHEREAS, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled in DeRolph v. State of Ohio (1997) that Ohio’s method for funding schools through the state’s school foundation program was unconstitutional under Article VI, Section 2 of the Ohio Constitution; and

WHEREAS, in DeRolph, the Ohio Supreme Court declared that Ohio’s school funding system was over-reliant on local property taxes, and as such, was inherently discriminatory to children based on where they reside for disparities exist between communities of affluence and impoverishment; and

WHEREAS, since the DeRolph decision, the Ohio General Assembly has failed to create a funding system that meets Ohio’s constitutional standard of securing “… a thorough and efficient system of common schools throughout the state”; and

WHEREAS, Ohio’s solution to satisfy the Ohio Supreme Court’s order has been to pass a series of biennial budgets containing politically expedient remedies that have not eliminated the over-reliance on local property tax or mitigated the discriminatory nature inherent in the series of “funding fixes” legislated over the last 23 years; and

WHEREAS, Ohio’s previous biennial budget crafted by the 132nd Ohio General Assembly, and effective July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2019, created a funding system with “capped” districts, and districts receiving a minimum level of funding referred to as the “guarantee”; and

WHEREAS, the previous biennial budget identified 503 school districts out of 610, or 82%, either “capped” in their funding, or on the “guarantee,” which is a testament that Ohio’s funding model is not effective; and

WHEREAS, Ohio’s current biennial budget crafted by the 133rd General Assembly, froze foundation funding for Ohio schools at 2019 fiscal year levels (effectively placing all districts on “the guarantee”), which funding levels have subsequently been cut due to the economic impact of the Coronavirus pandemic; and

WHEREAS, the current school funding system in Ohio lacks a rational basis for determining both the cost of educating students and how the funding of education is shared between the state and local taxpayers; and

WHEREAS, Representative Robert Cupp (R) and Representative John Patterson (D) convened a statewide workgroup, made up of eight practicing school district CFO/Treasurers and eight practicing Superintendents (the “Cupp-Patterson Workgroup”), to devise a new formula, and recognizing that Ohio needs an overhaul to its school funding system, have spent the last three years determining the inputs necessary to fund a “thorough and efficient system of common schools” that reduces the over-reliance on local property tax and creates equity in the state foundation system; and

WHEREAS, the Cupp-Patterson Workgroup carefully analyzed national research, best practices, actual Ohio school district spending data, and drew on their own extensive experience in educating students and operating school districts to make recommendations for a school funding system that meets the needs of all Ohio’s students in the 21st century; and

WHEREAS, the Cupp-Patterson Workgroup developed recommendations that laid out a rational, transparent, comprehensive and – most of all – fair system for funding schools based on the actual cost of providing a basic education for all students in Ohio (the “Base Cost”); and

WHEREAS, the Cupp-Patterson Workgroup developed a method of sharing the funding of the Base Cost between the state and local taxpayers that is easy to understand and based on a fair, defensible measure of the capacity to generate funds locally; and

WHEREAS, the Cupp-Patterson Workgroup identified and provided a framework for providing additional resources to meet needs beyond those of basic education, including the areas of the social, emotional, safety, and mental health of students, the additional challenges driven by students living in poverty, with special needs, with limited English proficiency, and who are academically gifted; and

WHEREAS, the Cupp-Patterson Workgroup developed recommendations for properly funding Career Technology Centers, Educational Service Centers, and Charter and Community schools; and

WHEREAS, based on the research and work outlined above, the Cupp-Patterson Workgroup produced and recommended the Fair School Funding Plan, which was introduced in House Bill 1; and

WHEREAS, the Ohio General Assembly and the Governor of Ohio have an opportunity to devise a funding formula, as outlined in the Fair School Funding Plan, that is an investment in Ohio’s children and Ohio’s future.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Education of_________________________ that:

It is necessary to formally endorse the Fair School Funding Plan, as introduced in House Bill 1 of the 134th General Assembly, to ensure that K-12 schools in Ohio are funded using a rational school funding system that meets the needs of all Ohio’s students in the 21st century. The school district treasurer should be authorized to deliver or cause to be delivered a certified copy of this Resolution to community leaders; to members of the Ohio House of Representatives and the Ohio Senate, including Reps. Jamie Callender and Bride Rose Sweeney; and to the office of Governor Michael DeWine.

Passing a resolution is important in educating citizens about the Fair School Funding plan, communicating the values of the community, and showing solidarity with the hundreds of other school districts that also expect this funding plan to pass. It also serves as a formal demand for Ohio legislators to get busy and pass HB 1, a rational, transparent, comprehensive and fair system for funding schools based on the actual cost of providing a basic education for all students in Ohio.

#OhioKidsCantWait

March 24, 2021 is the 24th anniversary of the DeRolph decision! On March 24, 1997, the Supreme Court of Ohio ruled that the state funding system “fails to provide for a thorough and efficient system of common schools,” as required by the Ohio Constitution and directed the state to find a remedy. The problems with Ohio’s school funding system remain to this day.

Instead of creating a system that is no longer overly reliant on the passage of local operating millage, some state leaders in Ohio continue to expand private and parochial school options. Charters and vouchers divert state funding out of school district budgets and force voters to replace this funding with additional local operating levies. How is that fair and equitable?

Ohioans were stunned by the failure of the Ohio Senate Finance Committee which did not even hold open hearings on the bipartisan “Fair School Funding” bill (SB 376) in late 2020 that would have finally addressed the state’s unconstitutional and inequitable school funding formula.

Public Education Partners (PEP) created this CHANGE petition asking Sen. Matt Huffman, Sen. Matt Dolan, Gov. Mike DeWine, and the 134th Ohio General Assembly to reintroduce the current Fair School Funding Plan when they reconvened in 2021. Over 600 people have signed so far.

MANY THANKS to Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney and Rep. Jamie Callender for introducing House Bill 1 in February 2021, a policy that is virtually identical to last General Assembly’s House Bill 305 and Senate Bill 376!

The re-introduced Fair School Funding Bill (HB1) may be undergoing some revisions that are not needed, nor beneficial. It does not make sense for legislators to think that they have the knowledge and expertise to change a funding plan that was created and vetted over the course of three years by a bipartisan team of elected leaders, school treasurers, and education finance experts.

As for the Ohio Senate, PEP has heard that some senators will want a high price in return for supporting the bill by demanding even more school voucher expansion. “School choice” distractions have been the major hindrance to the development of a thorough and efficient system of common schools as required by the Ohio Constitution.

Derek Black, author of Schoolhouse Burning, summarizes trends about the lack of adequate and equitable school funding- many that have occurred here in Ohio: “Public education cuts initially looked like a response to the recession—overzealous and foolhardy, but understandable. In retrospect, the cuts look sinister. They came while states exponentially grew charters and vouchers—and remained in place well after the recession passed and state revenues were booming. To add insult to injury, various legislative mechanisms driving charter and voucher growth come at the direct expense of public schools. The contrasting reality of public schools and their private alternatives looks like a legislative preference for private school choice over public school guarantees… The most troubling thing is that it doesn’t take a constitutional scholar or education historian to recognize that something strange has happened. Politicians and advocates have taken on an unsettling aggressiveness toward public education.” (Schoolhouse Burning, pp. 226-227)

It is time to fix the school funding system. House Bill 1 satisfies Ohio’s obligation to provide every public school in the state with the resources it needs to deliver a high-quality education to every student.

Please ask your state leaders to support HB1 as written to ensure that no student or public school is disadvantaged because of income level or location. Find your legislators’ contact information here. Call and/or email them to let them know that House Bill 1, the FAIR SCHOOL FUNDING PLAN, will provide an equitable, comprehensive, and transparent funding model that will change the face of public education for 600+ School Districts and 1.7 million students across Ohio.

OHIO KIDS CAN’T WAIT any longer for Fair School Funding.

#OhioKidsCantWait

Ohio’s 24-year quest to find a constitutional school-funding formula appears headed for yet another roadblock – this one courtesy of the state’s powerful casino interests.

Back in 2009, the casinos drafted themselves a constitutional monopoly, then paid for the campaign to get voters to approve that monopoly by making promises they never kept. The biggest broken promise: Casinos would bring in $4 BILLION in revenues during their first five years of operations. After 6 years, however, the revenue had barely topped $1 billion.

Casinos have their hands out again, this time asking to oversee legal sports betting.

Advocates for public education should be opposed to this idea for several reasons. One big reason: If casinos get their way, Lottery profits – which go to education – would likely be adversely affected.

According to research from Pew Charitable Trust, states have seen their lottery profits suffer with the arrival of competition from new forms of gambling.  The explosive growth of casinos hurt some lotteries especially hard, such as ones in West Virginia, where gamblers are drawn to the state’s own casinos, as well as new ones in nearby Maryland and Pennsylvania.

William Phillis, Ohio’s premier expert on school funding, cited Pew’s studies that show casinos tend to pirate Lottery profits during his 2019 testimony in favor of making sports betting a Lottery product – rather than put casinos in charge.

“If Ohio chooses to allow sports betting, it must be structured in way that provides a sizeable and sustainable funding stream for primary and secondary education. To achieve that goal, sports betting must be a lottery product, so the net proceeds help fund public schools,’’ testified Phillis, the long-time Executive Director of the Ohio Coalition for Equity & Adequacy of School Funding, the entity that successfully sued to declare Ohio’s funding plan unconstitutional.  “I see no public purpose in allowing the casinos to oversee sports betting,’’ he said. “While I am not crazy about lotteries either, at least the Ohio Lottery helps pay for public schools.’’

Money from the state Lottery represents just a small percent of Ohio’s spending on primary and secondary education but it still transferred about $1.2 billion to the Lottery Profits Education Fund in fiscal year 2019. If Lottery profits suffer, it is very unlikely that legislators would make up the difference.

The fight over who should control sports betting comes amid a promising new school -funding formula – but one that requires a multi-year phase-in.  Early last year, Ohio appeared eager to try and fund it. The new formula was crafted under the leadership of Republican Bob Cupp, Ohio’s new House Speaker, and Democrat John Patterson, a former state representative.

For about three years, the two sought input from all interested parties, planned to determine a base cost for educating a student based on school district demographics and even proposed direct funding for the always controversial topics of charters and school vouchers.  Their so-called Fair School Funding Plan gained the support of several educational organizations who, in a joint letter, described the plan as “a school funding system that meets the needs of all Ohio’s students in the 21st century.”

Then  COVID19 caused an economic downturn that resulted in cuts to education.

With Cupp holding the Speaker’s gavel and Patterson gone from the Ohio House, a new team is taking over the task of searching for a way to pay for the promising new formula. Gov. DeWine told reporters said his budget proposal intentionally did not propose a new funding formula, “knowing that both the House and Senate both had significant ideas and were well along in their process of developing a new formula.”

In addition to finding money to pay for schools with the virus still raging, the legislators’ task is complicated by the similarities between those who favor allowing casinos to oversee sports betting and those who supported the nuclear bailout law that is at the center of an on-going FBI investigation.

ProgressOhio released a memo that said, “casinos appear to be poised for a big win with help from the same policymakers, lobbyists and consultants who supported the nuclear bailout law now at the center of the FBI’s ongoing bribery investigation.’’

The ProgressOhio list includes:

Lobbyist Leah Pappas represents both FirstEnergy and casino interests; and lobbyists Brooke Cheney and Victor Hipsley who represent casino owners and developer Jacobs Entertainment and bailout beneficiaries the Ohio Coal Association. (It overlooked lobbyist Adam Hewitt who represents Penn National Gaming and unions that backed the casino ballot issue and the nuclear bailout).

Former House Speaker Jo Ann Davidson sits on the Ohio Casino Control Commission. She also served on the board of Empowering Ohio’s Economy, a dark money group financed mostly by AEP. It funneled money to another dark money group, Generation Now, which entered a guilty plea last week to federal racketeering charges that it was the vehicle through which the bribes to Householder flowed that helped to finance the nuclear bailout.

Former state Sen. John Eklund served as lead sponsor of a Senate bill to put sports betting under the Casino Control Commission. He is senior counsel at the law firm Calfee Halter & Griswold that also employs Pappas. The firm also worked for Partners for Progress, FirstEnergy’s dark money entity.

Gov. Mike DeWine – while still a candidate – appeared reluctant to allow sports betting. Then he teamed up with Jon Husted as his lieutenant governor. DeWine now wants to bring sports betting to Ohio – and put the casinos in charge.

This is the same Jon Husted who has the distinction of being the ONLY person to receive an honorary degree from ECOT. While serving as Ohio House Speaker, Husted led a successful effort to eliminate the Legislative Office of Education Oversight – the ONLY independent agency tasked with evaluating education programs. Husted recruited long-time ally Sam Randazzo for the job of chair of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, but Randazzo stepped down after the FBI raided his condo. And Husted convinced the governor to tap former FirstEnergy lobbyist Dan McCarthy to be his chief lobbyist.

If you don’t want to hurt public education and don’t want to hand casinos yet another monopoly, please contact Gov. DeWine. He’s clearly listening to the wrong people.

Public Education Partners (PEP) is a statewide nonprofit that was created to connect and unite advocates that support public school districts and the children and families they serve. The Ohio Coalition for Equity & Adequacy of School Funding (OCEASF) was organized to challenge the constitutionality of the Ohio school funding system and to secure high quality educational opportunities for all Ohio school children.

PEP and OCEASF request that all Ohioans join state, county, city, and school district leaders across Ohio in officially recognizing February 22 – February 26, 2021 as PUBLIC SCHOOLS WEEK, which will bring together educators, parents, business and community leaders, and many others across the state to show the strength—and potential—of our public schools and our students’ futures.

Issuing proclamations provides an opportunity for all to shine a positive spotlight on the K-12 public education available for children and families in Ohio. Participants should then GO PUBLIC, and proudly (and loudly) proclaim this celebration of public education with the traditional, as well as social, media!

For everyone’s convenience, PEP and OCEASF have provided some suggested proclamation language found below.

GO PUBLIC, and share the following template with state, county, city, township, and school district leaders:

WHEREAS, Ohio’s 610 public school districts serve more than 1.8 million students and employ more than 250,000 Ohioans; and

WHEREAS, the Ohio Constitution guarantees all children a free public education of high quality; and

WHEREAS, an education citizenry is essential to our democracy; and

WHEREAS, Ohio citizens recognize the important role that an effective education plays in preparing all students to be successful adults; and

WHEREAS, public education contributes to the economic vitality of the Buckeye State and to vibrant communities; and

WHEREAS, Ohio’s public school district administrators, teaching professionals, and support staff are committed to educating all of our children; and

WHEREAS, public education is celebrated across the country by millions of students, parents, educators, schools, and organizations to raise awareness of the need for effective public schools;

THEREFORE, I (or WE), ______________, do hereby recognize February 22-February 26, 2021 as PUBLIC SCHOOLS WEEK and call this observance to the attention of all Ohioans.

It “takes a village” to create strong schools, and we know our PUBLIC SCHOOLS are our children’s second homes. In addition to passing the official resolutions, school districts can use these excellent resources from Learning First Alliance for  their celebrations of Public Schools Week 2021.

#PublicSchoolProud

What a busy year for public education advocacy in the Buckeye State!

There’s an “Ouch” in Every Voucher: Early in 2020, Public Education Partners (PEP) led a series of actions to push back against continued school voucher expansion in Ohio, which allows parents to use tax dollars for private and parochial schools through the EdChoice Program. The pro-privatization contingent in the Ohio legislature had widened the definition of a low-performing school to the point of absurdity, expanding the list of districts with “under-performing” schools from 40 in the fall of 2018 to 139 in 2019 and around 400 — nearly two-thirds of all districts in the state — by 2020.

Celebrate Public Education: In late January, Public Education Partners and the Ohio Coalition for Equity & Adequacy of School Funding requested that all Ohioans consider joining state, county, city, and school district leaders across the state in officially recognizing January 26 – February 1, 2020 as PUBLIC EDUCATION WEEK in Ohio with official proclamations. The 3rd annual “CELEBRATE PUBLIC EDUCATION” event was presented in the Statehouse Atrium – it was a wonderful experience with talented, hard-working students and teachers sharing their music, drama, literature, poetry and videos “LIVE!” from all around our state.

Teamwork is Dreamwork: Following the lead of our contacts at the Wisconsin Public Education Network, PEP worked with friends of public education Senator Teresa Fedor and Rep. Phil Robinson in the spring to organize a formal request of Ohio’s Congressional Delegation to get Congress to increase the Education Stabilization Fund investment by $100 billion for K-12 education. Forty-four members of the Democratic caucus of the Ohio Legislature signed a letter calling on their U.S. Congress counterparts to bring more funding to the state’s public school districts in the next appropriations bill related to COVID-19.

Respect Science: In mid-summer, PEP wrote a position paper and had an op-ed published in the Columbus Dispatch concerning schools during the pandemic. PEP urged Ohio to embrace a statewide commitment to remote learning until the pandemic was brought under control, adding that the return to school buildings for on-site teaching and learning should be reassessed quarterly following science-based evaluations of the containment of the virus.

Oppose School Privatization: PEP teamed up with edu-blogger Jan Resseger to create the “Four Education Goals for Political Candidates,” which we sent to the Biden campaign and the Trump campaign. The goals included advocating for adequate and equitable school funding, opposing school privatization, pushing for the elimination of high-stakes standardized testing, and heeding the advice of experienced certified public school teachers.

Vouchers Hurt Ohio: Ohio’s traditional public school systems have seen state lawmakers drain $20 billion from their budgets over the years to support charter and private schools, and PEP Board member William Phillis, executive director for the Coalition for Equity & Adequacy in School Funding, said in mid-December that public school districts hired a Cleveland law firm to sue the state. The basis would be that Ohio’s elected officials are failing to meet their constitutional duty to fund a “thorough and adequate” system of public schools. Instead of setting up a system based on inequitable property taxes, state lawmakers and governors have robbed public schools in the name of school choice.

Ohio Kids Can’t Wait: The rest of 2020 was devoted to getting the Fair School Funding Plan (SB 376/HB 305) passed. The comprehensive efforts involved in the formulation of SB 376/HB 305 gave many legislators confidence that future legislatures could build on its framework. The Ohio House of Representatives passed the proposed new plan (HB 305) by a huge margin early in December, but the Ohio Senate Finance Committee didn’t even hold open hearings on the Senate’s companion bill, introduced as Senate Bill 376. PEP and the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers hosted an event in Columbus called “How the Grinch Stole the Fair School Funding Plan from Ohio Children.” Public education advocates met in front of the Ohio Statehouse to deliver stockings filled with coal, failed report cards, and some holiday songs to Statehouse “Grinches” – highlighting how Ohio’s children have once again been failed by legislators in the Statehouse. A petition, asking that the current Fair School Funding Plan be reintroduced and passed in January 2021, already has well over 500 signatures. Please sign and share!

Public Education Partners looks forward to continuing to lead Ohioans to effectively advocate for public education in 2021!