[May 6, 2020]\u00a0As school districts across Ohio face the prospective loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in state aid due to the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ohio Education Association (OEA) calls on federal and state lawmakers to take urgently needed steps to provide relief so that Ohio\u2019s students are not hurt.<\/p>\n
\u201cParents and communities cannot count on being able to go back to work unless they can count on their kids going back to safe schools,\u201d said OEA President Scott DiMauro. \u201cIt is going to be really hard to count on safe schools for our kids if we have massive cuts to education funding,\u201d he said, adding that social distancing in classrooms and other safety measures will only be possible with adequate staffing to keep class sizes small.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile we understand that state leaders have to make difficult choices, we have to make sure we are prioritizing education,\u201d DiMauro said. \u201cThis is our future.\u201d<\/p>\n
DiMauro said the kids that are going to be most directly affected by budget cuts are the kids who are already suffering. \u201cThey\u2019re the ones that don\u2019t have technology access,\u201d DiMauro said. \u201cThey\u2019re the ones that come from communities that don\u2019t have as many local resources to provide support to them.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019s $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,<\/strong>\u00a0and education services provided at adult and juvenile correctional institutions and County Boards of Developmental Disabilities. \u201cAs has been widely acknowledged, it is surely raining in Ohio now,\u201d DiMauro said.<\/p>\n The OEA is also urging Congress to provide $175 billion in critical funding for the nation\u2019s schools as part of the federal CARES Act for states and local communities.<\/p>\n \u201cThe federal government clearly has the ability to provide the resources that are needed right now,\u201d DiMauro said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to take those kinds of resources to make sure we don\u2019t lose a generation of kids.\u201d<\/p>\n OEA represents 122,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals who work in Ohio\u2019s schools, colleges, and universities to help improve public education and the lives of Ohio\u2019s children. OEA members provide professional services to benefit students, schools and the public in virtually every position needed to run Ohio\u2019s schools.<\/p>\n