Local teachers and elected officials turned out at Cleveland's Memorial School Tuesday morning to protest threats from the Trump administration to end the U.S. Department of Education as well as various state legislative actions impacting public education in Ohio.
It was part of a national "Protect Our Kids" rally organized by the American Federation of Teachers. Shari Obrenski, president of the Cleveland Teachers Union, said the U.S. Department of Education oversees funding for special education and other specific groups of students.
"Just in Cleveland, we have almost 8 ,700 students who would be facing cuts to special education if we lose the Department of Education and funding to the Department of Education," Obrenski said. "We have over 4 ,300 students in Cleveland who would be facing challenges with bilingual education. We have students in career and technical education programs and career tech education is funded in part by the Department of Education, and so any of those things could hurt us."
President Donald Trump's pick for Education Secretary, Linda McMahon, was confirmed by the Senate on Monday; Trump has repeatedly threatened to dismantle the Department of Education, although officially closing it would require an act of Congress. McMahon during confirmation hearings said Trump's goal is to make the department of education run more "efficiently," not end all funding for programs.
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb said federal support for public education is critical for Cleveland.
"So we have to fight for our kids, we have to fight for public education, and we need to protect the Department of Public Education to keep our country competitive and to keep Cleveland going on the right track," Bibb said.
Ohio Rep. Eric Synenberg (D-Beachwood) noted many public schools, including Cleveland, would receive less funding under the state budget proposed by Governor Mike DeWine, while Ohio Senate Bill 1 would pose sweeping restrictions on higher education, including prohibiting a faculty's right to strike and barring diversity, equity and inclusion programs in higher education.
"We're trying to move forward and educate our kids better," Synenberg said. "But at the state ... federal level, they're making it harder. So we need to fight."
Obrenski noted Ohio has drastically boosted funding for vouchers for private schools in recent years.
"They want to cut public education and defund public education. while increasing the dollars that are going to private schools, we don't think that's right," Obrenski said. "90% of the students in Ohio go to public schools. And so public schools need to be our priority."
The Ohio Legislature and Governor DeWine have supported the "fair school funding plan" since its rollout four years ago, which has modestly increased funding for public education. House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) has suggested continued expanded funding for public schools is "unsustainable."
