On March 19, educators, students, parents, and community members marched to Tappan Square to demand better funding for Oberlin’s public schools. The rally, organized by Oberlin Ohio Education Association, aimed to raise awareness about challenges facing public schools while simultaneously centering around a specific and looming piece of legislation: the Ohio General Assembly’s biennial budget.
“Public education is at a crossroads, and we need to make our voices heard,” OOEA President Margo Trinter said. “This rally is about showing our unwavering support for our students, our schools, and the future of education in our community. In a state in which 90 percent of all students and 95 percent of students with disabilities attend public schools, it is essential that the General Assembly fully fund our schools.”
Substitute House Bill 96, Ohio’s version of a state operating budget, was introduced by Ohio House Republicans on April 1. The proposed budget slashes funding to public schools in the state. According to the Fair School Funding Plan from 2021, Ohio schools would need $666 million in order to be fully funded. The proposed budget offers up about a third of that amount, at $226 million.
“[Funding public education] includes teacher salaries, it includes paper to make copies, it includes buying curriculum, it includes supporting special needs, it includes cleaning schools, running buses, stuff like that,” Trinter said. “That’s scary because that makes it where you may not have as many teachers as you have been having, you may not get the Title I support that you should be getting, you may not get the resources that you’re able to have because we only have so much in the budget.”
Trinter, who is a music teacher, expressed concern over the fact that music education is often one of the first areas to be cut in times of budget constraint. She also pointed out the importance of funding to the ability for schools to meet the needs of students who may need more support.
The rally began at the end of the school day. Participants gathered at their respective school buildings and then walked to Tappan Square, wearing red and holding signs with statements such as “Protect Public Education” and “Students Matter.”
Speakers at the rally included Trinter; two school board members; Carol Correthers, a member of the Board of Directors of the National Education Association; and Oberlin High School’s Kurt Russell, who was named National Teacher of the Year in 2022.
“I was proud to stand with my fellow educators at the Oberlin City Schools Walk-In for Public Education!” Correthers wrote in an email to the Review. “There’s something powerful about seeing teachers, staff, parents, and community members united for students and schools. It was an honor to address the crowds about why we must protect public education now more than ever. [The] walk-in may have been in Oberlin, but our message echoes across the state: We will not stand by while public education faces unprecedented challenges.”
