Joel O’Dorisio, candidate for Ohio State Senate District 2 and professor at BGSU, has endorsed HB 305, or the Ohio Cupp-Patterson Bill, on education funding reform. This bill attempts to correct Ohio’s system of education funding, which has been ruled unconstitutional on multiple occasions by the Ohio Supreme Court.
“I’m an educator, and I’ve seen the effects of our inadequate, unequal education funding firsthand,” O’Doriso said. “The quality of K-12 public education has fallen substantially as a result of relying so heavily on local property taxes. This system abandons our rural and urban districts. We need to completely rethink how we pay for such a necessary public service, and the Cupp-Patterson Bill is the first step.”
Now that Bob Cupp has replaced Larry Householder as Speaker, HB 305 could see movement in the Ohio Legislature.
“We’ve known since 1991 our system is unconstitutional, and we’ve had years to correct the issue, but nothing has happened. My opponent, Theresa Gavarone has had four years in the legislature to address this issue and has not.”
Candidates were specifically asked about the constitutionality of Ohio’s public-school funding at the League of Women Voters Candidate Forum on October 4, 2020. Gavarone cited additional funds passed by the General Assembly in the last budget but did not make a commitment to any long-term solutions, the Cupp-Patterson Bill, or a new funding formula.
Afterward, O’Dorisio commented, “A million-dollar check to our school districts is of course a helpful measure, but it’s the equivalent of putting a band-aid over a bullet hole. Hoping to pass funds year-to-year is not a long-term solution, nor does it achieve constitutional compliance.”
Joel O’Dorisio is a teaching professor at Bowling Green State University, and a union organizer for the American Association of University Professors. He has advocated for educational funding reforms for over a decade.
