LOVELAND MAGAZINE

News and Events from the Loveland, Ohio Area

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Since 2004

Tag: K-12 education

  • Groups fighting hunger in Ohio disappointed by Senate budget draft

    Groups fighting hunger in Ohio disappointed by Senate budget draft

    BY:  – OHIO CAPITAL JOURNAL

    Those on the ground trying to eradicate hunger in Ohio say the new budget proposal from the state Senate would only exacerbate the problem.

    After finding out that many of Ohio’s foodbank clients are forced to choose between paying for food and things like utilities and medicine, the Ohio Association of Foodbanks urged the state legislature to include increased funding to the Ohio Food Program and Agricultural Clearance Program (OFPACP), along with hopes that the federal government would make positive changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

    “Clearly (the study’s) findings had the reverse impact on the Senate Republicans,” OAF executive director Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, told the OCJ. “If enacted, (the Senate’s budget proposal) will make hunger, insecurity, and poverty worse than it is now.”

    The Ohio Senate’s version of the budget, headed to the chamber’s finance committee, would reduce the OFPACP funding and added a request for the Department of Medicaid to establish work reporting requirements for Medicaid.

    The House version of House Bill 33, the official title of the budget bill, included $15 million per year for the next two years to the food and agricultural clearance program, and created free-lunch eligibility for any student who qualified for the reduced lunch program as well.

    Neither of those are included in the Senate version.

    “Eliminating increased funding to help workers, families, older adults, disabled Ohioans and marginalized people put food on the table, when the state of Ohio has incredible resources at its disposal, is cruel and short-sighted,” the OAF said in a statement.

    The Hunger Network in Ohio disparaged the GOP version of the budget for cutting funding not only to the hunger efforts, but also to K-12 education and free and reduced lunches in schools.

    “We cannot continue to balance our budget on the backs of hardworking and hungry Ohioans,” said Nick Bates, director of the network. “This proposal will leave Ohioans hungry, our schools under-resourced, and families without the resources to get ahead.”

    According to Hamler-Fugitt, the association of foodbanks provided take-home groceries to more than 3 million state residents in the last quarter, over 30% more than the same time last year.

    In the research study by the OAF, two in three Ohio households who come to the foodbanks have had to cut the size of meals or skip meals due to a lack of money, which could be attributed to rising food costs and a reduction in SNAP monies boosted during the pandemic.

    The association study also found that only 5% of SNAP participants’ benefits lasted a full month since the end of the pandemic-expanded program, which stopped in March.

    Ending the program resulted in a monthly loss of about $90 per person on average, according to the OAF.

    The Senate Finance Committee will hold hearings on the budget and conduct a floor vote on the bill. The deadline for passage is the end of June.

    Susan Tebben
    SUSAN TEBBEN

    Susan Tebben is an award-winning journalist with a decade of experience covering Ohio news, including courts and crime, Appalachian social issues, government, education, diversity and culture. She has worked for The Newark Advocate, The Glasgow (KY) Daily Times, The Athens Messenger, and WOUB Public Media. She has also had work featured on National Public Radio.

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  • DeWine lays out K-12 reopening plans

    DeWine lays out K-12 reopening plans

    By Susan Tebben – The Ohio Capital Journal
    Columbus, Ohio – Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine laid out reopening guidelines for state K-12 schools on Thursday, including a mask requirement for teachers, but no such mandate for students.

    DeWine said it is “the state’s strong recommendation” that children from the third grade on wear face masks, but maintained that local control for school districts will be in place as reopenings begin. 

    “A great deal of flexibility is allowed, as it should be,” DeWine said in his Thursday COVID-19 press conference.

    Ohio Department of Education’s 36-page planning guide

    The governor announced that the Ohio Department of Education published a 36-page planning guide that includes recommendations on everything testing to field trips and recess precautions.

    The guidance is specifically noted as “not mandatory” in the documents and emphasized the need for schools and districts to develop and implement their own protocols, while using the information provided by local and state health departments.

    “Planning teams should include school leaders, local health department officials, local school board members, educators, education support professionals, school health professionals, parents, students, community partners and local business leaders,” the planning documents stated.

    In developing coronavirus related-protocols, DeWine said before anyone enters a school facility, parents and school officials should “vigilantly assess” symptoms, and take the temperatures of everyone coming into the schools. In the guidance, outside individuals such as delivery personnel, student teachers and faculty of student teachers are all treated the same as official school personnel. 

    The Loveland District is currently working on models for reopening school in the fall, “which can be adjusted based on the pending guidance from state and local health agencies.”

    The planning guide said flare-ups are considered “expected” by state officials, and warns that school buildings may need to close in the event of said flare-up.

    Schools were told to work with local health departments to develop a testing strategy, thoroughly clean and sanitize schools, and teach and practice social distancing and hand-washing.

    Social distancing in places like school buses will be more difficult, and DeWine said as much distance as is possible will benefit students and staff.

    “(Specific measurements of distance is) all relative and it’s somewhat arbitrary,” DeWine said. “But the more distance you can have the better.”

    COVID 19 Health and Prevention Guidance for Ohio K-12 Schools

    Face coverings are required by staff unless it is unsafe or if doing so “could interfere with the learning process,” DeWine said on Thursday.

    Ohio Federation of Teachers Executive Director Melissa Cropper appreciated the moves by the governor, but said the OFT worries about the financial demands of the new protocols.

    “We are concerned that local governments and school districts will have to make decisions about the governor’s recommendations at a time when they are anticipating budget crunches and beginning to make spending cuts,” Cropper said in a statement.

    DeWine said it “is not right for me or (other departments) to micromanage” school buildings or districts.

    The governor did say he plans to meet with House Speaker Larry Householder, Senate President Larry Obhof, and minority leaders to discuss extra funding, along with the use of CARES Act funding.

    Cropper said schools would benefit from HEROES Act funding as well, a bank of about $2 billion in monies for K-12 education, but the act is still awaiting U.S. Senate consideration after passing the House.

    The guidance comes as the state faces continual growth in coronavirus cases, and data showing that cases are passed through the individuals within the area. DeWine noted that 80% of confirmed cases in Montgomery County have been linked to community spread.