Last week, the Ohio House of Representatives passed a highly controversial state operating budget bill (Sub. HB 96), mostly along party lines.

The bill includes an earmark of $600 million in bonds to fund a new stadium for the Cleveland Browns–money that K-12 public school advocates argue is being siphoned away from the previously agreed-to, bipartisan Fair School Funding Plan.

If you’d like to contact lawmakers about supporting public schools and the Fair School Funding Plan, you can use this online action tool from the Ohio Federation of Teachers (OFT).

In terms of higher education in the budget, the only significant change since we last reported to you about the budget bill is an amendment that would require private colleges and universities to comply with SB 1, if they want to be eligible to receive funding from the Governor’s Merit Scholarship (GMS). The GMS is a $5,000 annual (up to four years) award available to students who graduate in the top 5% of their high school classes. It can be used at public or private institutions in Ohio. Currently, about 20% of GMS recipients attend a private institution.

The General Assembly is currently on “legislative spring break,” but the Senate will return at the end of April to begin budget deliberations. OCAAUP will provide testimony to the Senate Higher Education Committee when there is an opportunity for public testimony in May. We will address the continuous underfunding of public higher education, the provision that attempts to sideline meaningful faculty input into curricular matters, and other problematic pieces of Sub. HB 96.