Media Contact: Neil Bhaerman, nbhaerman@oft-aft.org
Senate Budget Rewards Wealthiest, Punishes Public Schools
COLUMBUS, OHIO — The All In For Ohio Kids (AOK) Coalition formed in 2021 to fight for fully funded public schools for every Ohio child, regardless of race, income, zip code or ability. The coalition is anchored by the Ohio Education Association, Ohio Federation of Teachers, Ohio Organizing Collaborative and Policy Matters Ohio. In light of the Senate Budget passed Wednesday, AOK released the following statement:
“The 23 Senators who voted for the budget chose to give a generous boost to the incomes of Ohio’s wealthiest residents. Yet they failed to provide the necessary resources to properly educate the 90% of students – about 1.6 million children – who attend our public schools. They figured out a way to give $600 million to a billionaire political donor for a football stadium, but abandoned the Fair School Funding Plan they promised would be fully implemented in this budget. The budget passed by the Ohio Senate is a betrayal of the bipartisan work that went into the creation of the Fair School Funding Plan, which requires lawmakers to include up-to-date costs and fully account for the needs of every child in every community. What the Senate passed this week is a cheap knock-off of the original Fair School Funding Plan.
Without proper funding from the state, our schools will be forced to cut staff, electives, or enrichment programs, increase class sizes, and reduce support services for students with special needs. Our schools will be forced to continue to overly rely on local tax levies, which the budget also makes more challenging for districts to pass. Our coalition is grateful for the Senators who stood up for Ohio’s children, families, and educators, but it’s difficult to see this budget as anything but an attack on public education.”
Click here to see Policy Matters Ohio’s analysis of the impact of all three budget proposals on schools in each legislative district in Ohio.
The All in for Ohio Kids coalition urges Ohioans to join together for a rally at the statehouse on June 25 to demand full and fair funding for Ohio’s public schools. Click here to RSVP.
###