Fair School Funding Plan Integral for Rural Public Schools
COLUMBUS – The League of Women Voters of Ohio and Ohio Farmers Union held a Statehouse rally today, billed as a “Tailgate for Rural Public Schools.”
Several speakers, including two educators from rural and small-town public-school districts participated. The speakers included, Bryn Bird, president of the Ohio Farmers Union; Jen Miller, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio; John Patterson, former state representative and an original author of the Ohio Fair School Funding Plan; Daniel Murphy, an Ironton teacher and football coach and Alex Myers, a public school teacher from Marietta.
Those gathered asked the Ohio Senate to enact the Ohio Fair School Funding Plan which passed in a recent General Assembly. Advocates also are asking the State Senate to not punish public school districts for having carry-over funds related to COVID-19 and other federal government programs from the past few years – the so-called 30 percent carryover cap from the House budget.
“Today, we are calling upon the Ohio Senate to fully fund our rural public schools, Miller said.
“As a rural public school graduate, I can tell you that our public schools put the heart in the heartland. Not only are public schools major employers and a source of multi-generational pride, but they also educate the next generation of voters and civic leaders. Shortchanging public education harms us all.”
“The question of funding Ohio’s public schools is not just a constitutional mandate, but it is also a moral litmus test. Does the Ohio legislature have the desire, the courage, and the will to take such a stand? Their actions will be judged now and by future generations for the FSFP the right approach, and the right time, for the right reasons,” said Patterson.
“The 30% carryover suggestion is misguided. Who among us does not, in good financial stewardship, create a rainy-day fund? If such a fund is good enough for the State of Ohio, it is good enough for local school districts,” Patterson added.
Bryn Bird said, “I am proud that my first event at the Statehouse as OFU president is for fair public school funding.”
“Rural Schools are the heart of a community. It’s not just a place where kids go to school – You are generationally a Viking, a Bulldog, a Bearcat or a Golden Gale, Bird said.”
