Action Alert: Urge legislators to restore funds

The state budget bill, as passed by the House and Senate and signed by the Governor, cut $59 million over the biennium in aid to students attending chartered nonpublic schools.
 
The cuts were in:
• Direct reimbursement to our schools (Administrative Cost Reimbursement)
• Resources and services such as guidance counselors, remedial assistance, and textbooks (Auxiliary Services).

As a result, a Catholic school of 350 students is now receiving, on average, $43,500 less in state-funded assistance in 2009/2010; a high school of 800 students is receiving, on average, $99,000 less in 2009/2010.

The Catholic Conference of Ohio has issued an Action Alert urging Catholics to contact state legislators to urge them to restore the cuts.  Click on the Action Alert for details.

Contact information for state legislators:

27th Ohio Senate District
Kevin Couglin (R)
Senate Building
Room #222, Second Floor
Columbus, Ohio 43215
Telephone: 614/466-4823
Email: SD27@senate.state.oh.us

28th Ohio Senate District
Thomas Sawyer (D)
Senate Building
Room #049, Ground Floor
Columbus, Ohio 43215
Telephone: 614/466-7041
Email: senatorsawyer@maild.sen.state.oh.us

45th Ohio House District
John Otterman (D)
77 S. High St
13th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111
Phone: (614) 644-6037
Fax: (614) 719-6945
Email: district45@ohr.state.oh.us

Catholic schools have a long track record of excellence.
• Many have been in existence since the 1800s.
• Almost 100 percent of the students graduate.
• Over 90 percent of their students pass the Ohio Graduation Tests in reading, writing, math, science, social studies on the first try.
• There is a high rate of parent involvement and parent satisfaction.
• There is a long history of educating low-income and immigrant families in economically challenged neighborhoods.
• Catholic school students on EdChoice scholarships, who have been tracked by independent researchers, show steady academic gains, and these gains increase for every year students remain in a Catholic school.

Ohio claims that education is the state.s #1 priority . . . but not for its nonpublic school students.

Ohio used to be committed to supporting the education of all of its students -- no matter where they went to school. By restoring funding, Ohio can once again become a model for other states.