Region 2 – UPAC Update�

Dominic Mendiola, Political Advocacy Consultant

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TODAY'S SESSION

What We'll Cover

Where things stand in the 136th General Assembly — June 10 actions, STRS, the November ballot, and the lame-duck outlook.

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Legislative Update

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Competitive Districts & Races

How to research legislators, find your legislative district, take action this election cycle!

Political Member Organizer Program

Overview, impact on Locals, future outlook, and how you can help as leaders.

Universal Expansion of Ed Choice Vouchers 2023 Budget

• HB 33- 2023 Budget - Increased the eligibility for the income-based EdChoice voucher program from ($75,000 for a family of four) 450% of poverty ($135,000 family of four).

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• $6,166 for K-8 and $8,408 for grades 9-12

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• Ohio now spends over $2 billion a year on vouchers—public money to pay for private school tuition.

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Voucher Accountability: Two Paths

OEA SUPPORTS OVERSIGHT

• HB 715 (Manning/Odioso) modifies chartered nonpublic schools' EdChoice scholarship reporting requirements.
• SB 443 (Blessing/Smith) — the “Take the Dough, We Gotta Know” Act — would require voucher schools to submit audits showing how taxpayer dollars are spent, report discipline and school-climate data consistently, meet accountability requirements similar to public schools, and improve student-record transfers.

• Vouchers Hurt Ohio — a growing coalition of public school districts suing the state over the EdChoice program.
• EdChoice was ruled unconstitutional; the state has appealed. Districts must re-vote annually to join the coalition.
• These accountability bills advance against the backdrop of the pending appeal.

The campaign: the Voucher Accountability Project (with the 80+ partner Honesty for Ohio Education coalition) has built local fact sheets for 609 of Ohio's 611 districts — searchable by county and legislative district at vouchersarentfree.org. Public dollars deserve public accountability.

LITIGATION

LEGISLATION

Fair School Funding Formula - 2025 Budget

• The bipartisan funding plan was adopted in House Bill (HB) 110 from the 134^th General Assembly (2021-2022). Known as Cupp-Patterson.

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• HB 33 of the 135^th General Assembly (2023-2024) phased in years three and four of the plan.

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• HB 96, (2025 Budget) “completes the phase in” of the Cupp Patterson school funding formula with base cost components remaining at FY 2022 levels.

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• Revenue from the state is flat. Many districts left in need.
• $11.27 billion in FY 2026 and $11.53 billion in FY 2027

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Ohio Public School Funding, 2024 - 2025

Historic State Limits on �School District Property Tax Revenue

• H.B. 920
• Tangible Personal Property (TPP) tax (business machinery, inventory, and equipment) was phased out in the 2000s.
• Energy deregulation lowered electricity and natural gas assessment percentages
• Property tax abatements
• Districts can no longer appeal property values in most cases (2022)

Recent 20-Mill Floor Changes

• Fix-sum levies are added to the 20-mill floor calculations
• Depending on whether they have an emergency and/or substitute levy, and the amount of revenue collected from these levies, the district may no longer be on the 20-mill floor
• Effect: HB 920 reduction factors go into play, stalling future revenue growth on all outside (voted) mills

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• Growth in 20-mill floor is now tied to GDP deflator (price of all goods and services produced)

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• HB 335 caps revenue growth to inflation for inside millage (0-4 mills) for all entities

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Fiscal Effect of 20-Mill Floor Changes

• Tax Year 2025
• $65 million reduction; 174 districts;
• Tax Year 2026
• $342 million reduction; 367 districts;
• Tax Year 2027
• $456 million reduction; 470 districts;
• Total Decrease: $863 million reduction
• Estimates for state aid (FSF) increases:
• $32.5 million increase next year;
• $109 million increase the following year
• Total Increases: $141.5 million
• Net Funding Outcome: -$721.5 million

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New Levy Restrictions

New Property tax levies:

• <100% or more of the prior year general fund expenditures
• Includes new permanent improvement and renewal levies with a decrease in revenue

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New Fixed Sum/Emergency Levies

• Only proposed by school districts only if formal fiscal distress or state of emergency declared by the State.
• Existing emergency levies prior to 2026 can only be renewed for 5 years (used to be 10 years).

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Replacement and Substitute Levies have been completely eliminated.

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New State Limits on �School District Property Tax Revenue

• HB96 granted counties the authority to allow homeowners to double up the Homestead Exemption and Owner Occupancy property tax credits at the county level.

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• Had to decide by October 31 for Tax Year 2025 (paid in 2026)
• Likely to see more districts opt-in in subsequent years.

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Old Problem, New Threat

• Ballot Initiative – Ax the Tax
• Creates a $24 billion hole in the state budget
• 65% loss of revenue for local governments
• Property taxes don’t just support educators
• Loss of any semblance of local control; gives control to the State of Ohio and thus the legislature.
• Would need to be replaced by an 18% sales tax or a 10% income tax
• Continuing to collect signatures to put on the ballot

Ohio Public School Funding, 2024 - 2025

State Teachers’ Retirement System (STRS)

• Any proposal that diverts resources from or limits state funding to public schools will have an impact on the ability for districts to recruit and retain staff.

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• The current ratio of active contributing educators to retiree beneficiaries is currently 1:1.

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• As staffing shortages expand, while more staff retire, and the declining population of Ohio continues the future solvency of state pension plans will come into question.

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HB 96 – STRS Composition – HB 719

• A conference-committee budget amendment adds four political appointees to the 11-member STRS Board — taking away the teacher majority.
• Four elected members (three active, one retired) would be removed as their terms end; STRS members could no longer serve as Board Chair or Vice Chair.
• Done literally in the middle of the night — no hearings, no public testimony, no actuarial study.
• An attempt to strip educator voice from the direction of their own retirement system.

A lawsuit blocked the restructuring. The appellate court affirmed the injunction (Oct. 2025) and the State's appeal was rejected (Nov. 2025). No changes have been implemented — elected members still serve. But a final adverse ruling would let HB 96 take effect, which is why a legislative fix matters.

STATUS: ON HOLD — INJUNCTION IN PLACE

Governor acts on the June 10 bills; effective dates and implementation follow.

General election — governor, SJR 10 voter ID, every Ohio House seat, 17 Senate districts, local levies.

The decisive window for HB 719, HB 523, and SB 144 — and the period of peak amendment risk.

The 136th General Assembly expires — all pending bills die.

The Road to December 31

Now – Summer 2026

November 3, 2026

Post-election lame duck

December 31, 2026

The post-election lame duck is where OEA's priority bills succeed or die — and where surprise amendments appear.

A lawsuit blocked the restructuring. The appellate court affirmed the injunction (Oct. 2025) and the State's appeal was rejected (Nov. 2025). No changes have been implemented — elected members still serve. But a final adverse ruling would let HB 96 take effect, which is why a legislative fix matters.

STATUS: ON HOLD — INJUNCTION IN PLACE

• Undoes the HB 96 budget change and restores the STRS Board to 7 member-elected seats plus 4 appointees.
• Five bipartisan cosponsors. First hearing held March 2026 — no further hearings before recess, making this a likely lame-duck item.
• Answers a process failure: a last-minute amendment enacted with no hearings, no testimony, and no actuarial study.
• Provides certainty, while litigation can't: enacting HB 719 moots the dispute and locks in the current board structure.

HB 96 – STRS Composition – HB 719

Bills OEA Supports – Licensure and Pipeline

Financial support for student teachers and designates teaching an in-demand job, unlocking workforce-development funding. Passed the House 91–0 — rare bipartisan consensus. Senate action, likely in lame duck, is the remaining hurdle.

Restores three licensure grade bands — pre-K–5, 4–8, 7–12 — reversing HB 33's two-band structure and narrowing out-of-band assignment. Passed the Senate unanimously; needs the House.

Requires every high school to offer, and students to complete, a computer-science course. Passed the Senate 33–0; now in the House. Raises staffing, licensure-area, and assignment questions for districts without CS-licensed educators.

Strengthens penalties for illegally passing a stopped bus; authorizes fleet-wide stop-arm cameras and civil citations. A win for driver, ESP, and student safety (16,000+ OSHP citations, 2018–23). Passed the Senate 31–2; House concurrence expected this fall. Bargaining note: camera footage use in driver discipline.

Future Educators Support Act

Licensure grade bands

HS computer science

School Bus Safety Act

HB 3

SB 326

SB 144

HB 523

PUSH TO PASS

Competitive Districts and Races

U.S. Senate: Sherrod Brown

• NEA has endorsed Sherrod Brown
• Voted in favor of the Social Security Fairness Act (Repeal of GPO/WEP).
• Sherrod Brown has always demonstrated strong support for collective bargaining, the rights and voice of working people against special and corporate interests.

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Competitive Districts and Races

U.S. Senate: Jon Husted

• Supported restructuring the Ohio Dept. of Ed.
• ECOT scandal happened on his watch
• Proponent of the Ed Choice Voucher Expansion & more charter schools

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Strategy to Win: Competitive Districts and Races

Governor: Ramaswamy vs. Acton

• Vivek Ramaswamy
• Ramaswamy has vowed to eliminate:
• teachers’ unions
• implement merit- based pay
• Promoter of school choice vouchers
• He is a billionaire who has made his

money in the pharmaceutical and tech

industry

• He did not fill out a questionnaire and

did not screen with OEA

Competitive Districts and Races

Governor: Ramaswamy vs. Acton

• Amy Acton
• Is married to an educator
• Bexley Schools
• Had a rough upbringing and public schools

saved her life

• OEA has endorsed Dr. Acton

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Competitive Districts and Races

Nested Priorities (SD 27) (NE Ohio – Akron Area):

• SD 27: Mike Roberto (D) vs. Steve Demetriou (R) - PICK-UP
• HD 31: J. Noah Spinner (D) vs. Mike Kahoe (R) – PICK-UP
• HD 35: Samantha Salamon (D) vs. Vik Sandu (R) – PICK-UP

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Ohio House of Representatives (NE Ohio – Akron Area)

• HD 34: Derrick Hall (D) vs. Craig A. Shubert (R) - HOLD

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Competitive Districts and Races

Ohio House of Representatives (NE Ohio – Greater Cleveland):

• HD 17 – Megan Coy (D) vs. Mike Dovilla (R) – PICK-UP
• HD 14 – Sean Brennan (D) vs. David J. Morgan (R) – HOLD
• HD 23 – Dan Troy (D) vs. Julie A. Belich (R) – HOLD
• HD 19 –Nicole Sigurdson (D) vs. Ed Hargate (R) – HOLD

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Competitive Districts and Races

Ohio House of Representatives (Canton Area):

• HD 49: Krista Allison (D) vs. Jim Thomas (R)
• Jim Thomas defeated Krista Allison in 2024 – 52%/48%
• Jim Thomas OEA Legislative Scorecard = 24 Lifetime, 0 for 2025
• DPI – 49.8%/50.2%

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Campaign 2026:

• Targeted Mail: Issues & Candidates
• Targeted Digital Ads via cord cutting and banner
• Targeted Phones and Text
• Organic Relational Organizing Mine +9 Program
• Organic Social Media through Sosha (Media Storms)
• OEA Influencer Program – Long term
• Political Member Organizer Program
• Meet the Candidate Nights
• Canvassing w/ Candidates
• OEA Fund fund drives
• Issues Briefings

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Political Member Organizers (PMOs) - Impact in Locals

• 16/36 onboarded; February & June & July
• Local Organizing Plans in conjunction with their local.
• Built to suit the local and builds long term capacity. Many options.
• Formation of legislative committees and political action committees
• Political Surveying, 1:1 Conversations, Issues Briefings, 10 min meetings.
• Levy Assistance - Pilot
• OEA fund drives
• Endorsed candidate events
• Social media storms, relational organizing, influencer program, canvassing

SD 27 & HD 35: Mike Roberto & Samantha Salamon

Townhall

Wednesday, September 30th @ 6:30-8:00 PM

Twinsburg High School Auditorium

10084 Ravenna Rd. in Twinsburg

• OEA members only event
• Light refreshments
• Q&A event

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https://www.mobilize.us/ohea/event/1009689/

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SD 27 & HD 31: Mike Roberto & Noah Spinner

Meet & Greet the Candidates

Thursday, October 8 @ 4:30-6:00 PM

The Winery at Wolf Creek

2637 S Cleveland Massillon Road in Barberton

• OEA members only event
• Attendees are invited to this mixer with complimentary hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar
• Limited to 100 attendees

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https://www.mobilize.us/ohea/event/1017642/

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HD 72: Jeff Clapper

Townhall

Wednesday, September 23rd @ 5:00-6:15 PM

Tower Lodge in Ravenna City Park

165 Oakwood St. in Ravenna

• OEA members only event
• Light snacks & refreshments
• Limited to 85 attendees

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https://www.mobilize.us/ohea/event/1019181/

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PMOs - Future Outlook

• Program is rumored to be continuing…
• Shift into work around legislative advocacy for lame duck and the budget cycle via lobbying in-district and in Columbus, local PAC formation, OEA Fund fundraising, school board and levy support in 2027.
• If you have applicants or want to learn more reach out and we will follow-up, post Nov. 3^rd.
• Best way to be supportive is to assist in coordination with local leaders & be involved in the planning process.
• This was a pilot program. Open to feedback and suggestion.

CAMPAIGN 2026 · SCHOOL FUNDING

Elections Decide Everything We Just Covered

School funding, STRS governance, vouchers, and bargaining law are all set by the people we elect. Two ways to act before November 3:

Allies, not parties: OEA recommends candidates from both parties based on one thing — their record and commitment on public education. Electing pro-public-education majorities is how HB 719 passes, the FSFP gets funded, and vouchers get accountability.

OEA’s Campaign 2026 Website

JOIN CAMPAIGN 2026:

VOTE PUBLIC EDUCATION

GET INVOLVED

Find My District:

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OEA Legislative Scorecard

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