In January, the Ohio Conference AAUP Board interviewed and subsequently endorsed Pat Davidson, a candidate for the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS) Board. We believe that he is a much-needed addition to the board to advocate for responsible change to the pension system.

Pat Davidson is a member of the Ohio Federation of Teachers (OFT)/American Federation of Teachers (AFT). He is a 22-year business and computer teacher in the Berea City School District. For the majority of his career, he has taught Personal Finance to high school students.

Pat is running for STRS board because he has seen and heard how the 2012 and 2017 STRS reforms have dramatically affected both active members’ and retirees’ personal financial plans.

He has served on the OFT Retirement Committee for seven years. As a Retirement Committee member, he has engaged in civil discussions with STRS staff about actions STRS has taken and how they drastically affected members. He pledges to continue to pursue those types of constructive conversations as an STRS board member.

Pat believes that board members should challenge the system to address the needs of active and retired members without risking the system’s stability. If elected, he pledges to work toward restoring the promises that were made to current and retired teachers and to increase STRS transparency.

Ballots will be mailed to all active educators in the STRS system in early April. Members will have the ability to vote by mail, phone, or online. We strongly recommend voting either by phone or online.

There are two ways you can take action to fight SB 83:

1) Attend SB 83’s First Hearing

What: SB 83 First Hearing

Date: Wednesday, March 22

*New* Time: 11:30 am (arrive by 11:00 am)

Where: North Hearing Room (2nd Floor), Ohio Statehouse, Columbus

For this first hearing of SB 83, we are going to pack the committee room with people to show just how strongly this bill is opposed. We will be joined by allies from other unions and organizations that would be affected by SB 83 or simply want to show their support. Wear AAUP clothing or a pin, if you have it.

This hearing is for sponsor testimony, meaning that only the bill’s sponsor will be delivering testimony. This is the not the opportunity for the public to testify.

There also is a first hearing on HJR 1–the resolution that would make it harder to amend the state constitution–at 9:00 am the same day in Hearing Room 017 (Ground Floor) of the Statehouse. Join us for that, too, if you are able!

Parking beneath the Statehouse likely will be full. The next best option is the Columbus Commons Parking Garage, and there also are many metered spots in the area that accept credit cards.

2) Write to State Senators

We have created this Action Network page through which you can easily send emails to the State Senator who represents you, as well as members of the Senate Workforce and Higher Education Committee (the committee hearing the bill) to tell them you oppose SB 83. For your convenience, there is a sample letter, but you can edit it as you see fit.

To read about SB 83, click here.

On Tuesday, State Senator Jerry Cirino (R-Kirtland) introduced Senate Bill 83, dubbed “The Higher Education Enhancement Act,” which is co-sponsored by seven other Senate Republicans.

The bill attempts to micromanage public–and to an extent, private–colleges and universities on a variety of issues, most of which are rooted in the culture wars.

The following pieces are of particular concern to faculty:

-Prohibiting faculty (and other employees of public institutions of higher education) from striking.

-Creating new annual performance evaluations of all faculty with one of three results: “exceeds performance expectations,” “meets performance expectations,” or “does not meet performance expectations.”

-Requiring boards of trustees to adopt post-tenure review processes, which are to be used if a tenured faculty member receives a “does not meet performance expectations” result on their annual review.

-Creating new standardized evaluations of faculty by students, the aggregate average numerical results of which are to be published on institutional websites.

-Requiring written peer evaluations of faculty with emphasis on professional development related to teaching responsibilities.

-Requiring institutions to update faculty workload policies by July 1, 2024 and then every three years after, and mandating what elements the workload policies must contain.

-Mandating certain components of course syllabi (including biographical information about the instructor) and requiring that syllabi are made public on institutional websites.

The legislation also contains troubling mandates effectively banning any activity on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and creates parameters around addressing “controversial matters” and “specified concepts” in an attempt to promote what is referred to as “intellectual diversity.”

If you would like to read more details about the bill, you can view a more complete synopsis here.

So what is OCAAUP doing about this legislation?

First, we created the abovementioned synopsis to help boil down the pieces of the bill in order to make it more digestible for our members. Second, we have been collaborating with various allies, including other faculty organizations and unions, to coordinate talking points and strategy on dealing with the bill. Third, we are working with AAUP leaders from around the state to develop responses at the local and state levels. Fourth, we have placed a request with Sen. Cirino’s office that the AAUP be included in any interested party meetings that may occur. Fifth, we have been conducting interviews with newspapers around the state to respond to the various components of the bill. Sixth, we already are preparing opponent testimony, which we expect to be able to deliver to the Senate Workforce and Higher Education Committee later this spring.

Watch your email for more information in the near future, specifically, more ways for individual AAUP members to take action and help us pushback on this bill.

Click Here to Support Higher Education Funding in the State Budget!

As we reported previously, Gov. DeWine’s proposed funding for higher education in the state budget represents major strides in increased financial support for students and institutions.

However, the governor’s introduction of his executive budget is just the first step in the state budget process. Legislators are not necessarily committed to maintaining the higher education funding that the governor has proposed. In fact, some legislators have told us that they believe higher education would be getting “too much” funding in this budget bill.

We know that is not true. After decades of cuts followed by “increases” that fail to even keep pace with inflation, tuition and student debt are higher, enrollment is down, faculty and staff positions have been drastically reduced, and academic programs have been eliminated. Ohio’s colleges and universities desperately need real state support to deliver quality education.

We have put together this Action Network page through which you can easily send messages to your State Representative, as well as the members of the House Finance Subcommittee on Higher Education, to ask them to support the governor’s proposed funding. There is a form letter provided, but you can personalize it with specific information about what this funding would mean for your students and your institution.

Thank you in advance for your advocacy efforts!

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Here are funding highlights in the current version of the budget bill:

-A 9.5% increase to overall Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) funding in FY 2024 and an additional 9% increase in FY 2025

-3% increases to State Share of Instruction (SSI–the main funding stream from the state to public colleges and universities) in each fiscal year

-A significant increase over the current Ohio College Opportunity Grant (OCOG–the major need-based grant for students attending four-year public and private colleges) awards to $6,000 per student

-Creation of the Ohio College Access Grant (OCAG–a new need-based grant for students attending community colleges and university regional campuses), which would have approximately $41 million in available awards across both fiscal years

-A 6.7% increase to OhioLink in FY 2024 and an additional 5% in FY 2025

-9.5% and 5% Increases in the funding of the Ohio Supercomputer Center over the next two fiscal years

-Creation of the Governor’s Merit Scholarship, which would provide $5,000 renewable scholarships for four years to students who graduate in the top 5% of their high school classes

You can find more complete details about the higher education components of the governor’s proposed budget here, starting on page 333.