For Immediate Release
July 1, 2025
Contact: Neil Bhaerman, nbhaerman@oft-aft.org
OFT President Cropper: Ohio Budget Chooses to Move Us Backward
COLUMBUS — Ohio Federation of Teachers President Melissa Cropper released the following statement in response to Governor DeWine signing Ohio’s biennial budget:
“It is clear from the policy choices made in this budget that Governor DeWine, Ohio House Speaker Huffman, and Ohio Senate President McColley value profits over people and stadiums over students.
It was a choice to dismember the Fair School Funding Plan and underfund public schools by more than $2 billion. It was a choice to slash public library funding. It was a choice to starve the state budget and give more money to the wealthy through a flat tax. It was a choice to eliminate all elected State Board of Education positions. And it was definitely a choice to strip enough elected representatives from the State Teachers Retirement System Board to give partisan political appointed members a voting majority.
Governor DeWine did veto some of the most atrocious parts of the proposed budget, including: censorship for public libraries; a new voucher program for unaccountable, unregulated non-chartered private schools; removal of funding from youth shelters that practice gender affirming care; restrictions on carryover funding for school districts; and some restrictions on local funding levies for schools and libraries. We appreciate that the Governor listened to parents, educators, library workers, school administrators, and taxpayers about these important issues.
Regardless of these vetoes, Governor DeWine failed, through multiple steps in this process, to propose and fight for full and fair funding for Ohio’s schools. Underfunded public schools and the elimination of an elected State Board of Education will be Governor DeWine’s education legacy.
Much of this budget – including parts that were vetoed by the Governor – was written behind closed doors or in the middle of the night. As educators, school support workers, library workers, social workers, public employees, Ohioans, and voters, we are going to remember – and shine a light on – each and every anti-education, anti-labor, and anti-freedom policy that legislators and Governor DeWine tried to jam into this budget.”
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