As the 135th General Assembly begins its work on the next biennial budget, your involvement and advocacy is more important than ever. Please take time this week to schedule a meeting with your legislators. One of most effective things you can do is to welcome them into your school buildings and share the wonderful things students, teachers, and staff are doing in Ohio.
Your connections and advocacy will be critical to ensuring the Fair School Funding Plan remains in place for Ohio schools and is fully funded in the next biennial budget.
When you meet with your legislators, one of the purposes of your outreach is to contact the representative or senator to open the door for communications as we move forward with the budget and letting them know that you are a resource as they deliberate the budget and other education policies.
There are several other ways you can join us in working together to ensure the full implementation of the Fair School Funding Plan. First, you will find a “talking points” document with details and key facts about the Fair School Funding Plan here.
After sharing the details and key facts with invested partners in your school district, you can:
- Inform your parents and staff about the Fair School Funding Plan.
This plan provides a predictable and fair school funding formula and can be funded with zero increase in state taxes. We need parents and staff to join the effort to urge legislators to invest in education!
Find a template letter you can use here - Please make it your own and share how this plan will impact YOUR district, students and taxpayers.
- Reach out to business leaders and key community partners.
We need our partners to understand the importance of stable, predictable funding for schools. The Fair School Funding Plan not only helps educate students for college and career but will also bring stability to the local economy and likely reduce reliance on local taxes in many districts.
Find a template letter you can use here.
- Author an OpEd to your local papers.
We have created a template for you to use as a base letter. Please make it your own and localize your support. Send your legislator your OpEd letter and offer to meet and answer any questions they may have.
- Engage your local reporters to discuss your support.
Set a meeting with your local reporters that often cover your district to make sure they fully understand the need to completely implement the Fair School Funding Plan in the next biennial budget. Share with them the impact this plan will make on the future of Ohio education and your students. During the conversation, be sure to mention who your state senator and representative are and how they can reach him/her for comment on their story.
- Provide testimony to the Ohio House and Senate.
When the opportunity presents itself, please consider providing testimony either in-person or written only to the House and Senate. While we will not know the details of the hearings for some time, you can prepare your testimony now.
Find a template letter you can use here - Please make it your own and share how this plan will impact YOUR district, students and taxpayers.
We will continue to share resources throughout the budget process to make it easy for you to share your support and inform your community.
Please contact us with any questions.
Important Resources
Legislator Lookup Resources:
Legislator Contact Information