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Ohio's public schools serve 1.6 million children - 90 percent of students in the state! What happens in the classroom has impacts far beyond the walls of the K-12 school building or higher ed lecture hall. So, on behalf of the 120,000 members of the Ohio Education Association, we're taking a deeper dive into some of the many education issues facing our students, educators, and communities. Originally launched in 2021 as Education Matters, Public Education Matters is your source for insightful conversations with the people who shape the education landscape in Ohio. Have a topic you'd like to hear about on Public Education Matters? Email us at educationmatters@ohea.org
Various student voices 0:08
Public education matters. Public education matters. Public education matters.
Scott DiMauro 0:15
This is Public Education Matters brought to you by the Ohio Education Association.
Katie Olmsted 0:26
Thanks for joining us once again for Public Education Matters. I'm your host, Katie Olmsted, and I'm part of the communications team for the Ohio Education Association and the nearly 120,000 public school educators OEA represents across the state as we head into the final stretch before election day. These OEA members are going to play an incredibly important role in determining the future of public education in Ohio as they cast their ballots and advocate for the pro-public education candidates from both parties who are on the ballot this fall. Just think about it: Ohio's population is about 12 million people, so we're talking about one in every 100 people in Ohio being an OEA member. That is a lot of power if we all use our united voice at the ballot box to make sure people who support public education have a seat at the table in policy decisions. OEA members who sit on the OEA Fund Screening and Endorsement committee say Representative Joe Miller should have a seat at the table in the Ohio House again. The Democrat is a former high school teacher who still teaches at the college level while representing District 53 in the Ohio House - that's northern Lorain County - and as Representative Miller tells us, he's seeking reelection for one more term, so he can get some of the many important public education-related bills across the finish line.
Katie Olmsted 2:06
Representative Joe Miller, thank you so much for joining us on this podcast, and thank you for all of the work that you do on behalf of Ohio's public schools, public school educators and public school students every single day. You have a unique background that makes you the perfect person to champion our public schools. Talk to me a little bit about your journey from the public school classroom to our state house.
Rep. Joe Miller 2:33
Thanks again for having me. Katie, yes, I was a former public educator, and even still, part time, a little bit here and there with the higher ed scene, I teach a government class. But, you know, I've really been fortunate enough to have a lot of experience and a lot of opportunities to learn, as we say, as we grow about education, business, you name it. And going to the General Assembly, that background as an educator has given me a real good window into what is happening in the General Assembly, and truly, is the legislation that is being brought forth helpful for students and teachers, parents, community members, or is it harmful? And what I've come to find out here in Ohio is what I already assumed by being a teacher and watching a lot of unfunded mandates come down that really put pressure on educators to take away from teaching, that much of the legislation was written by those who have never been in the classroom, and it's good to have a teacher in the in the room, at the table, instead of on the menu, for sure.
Katie Olmsted 3:43
And because you've been in the room, you have really been able to accomplish a lot for our public schools in your time in the General Assembly. What are some of those highlights?
Rep. Joe Miller 3:51
Well, I think that one of the first things I needed to focus on we got down to the General Assembly back in 2019 was the fact that there was this nonsensical idea that you could go ahead and take control of a school district away from the constitutionally chosen board members by the community and assume control of it by the state, put in leadership, put in teachers, make financial decisions in that community school, and you could do that from Columbus. And that Columbus knows best idea was very disruptive. It was causing more problems than it was helping. So my goal, right off the bat, was to end state takeover of school districts and really get them the assistance that they need, that these students deserve. And that comes in many forms, as we all know. But I think that was my first biggest endeavor, and it did happen. They put a moratorium on state takeovers. There is talk now by a senator of the other party that is saying, 'well, maybe we need to review that and look back into that, because we have poor performing schools and the tests are showing it, and we base everything on tests, so therefore we should take over schools and disenfranchise community members, parents and the school board.'
Katie Olmsted 3:51
Yeah, that's - we've been there, tried that. Did not help anything. It's amazing to see how short the memories are sometimes.
Rep. Joe Miller 5:20
And then, of course, as we came down there, at the same time, Representative John Patterson and others were working on a Fair School Funding formula. We know that the school funding in Ohio was unconstitutional, putting more of a burden on homeowners, and so that has come out, we've been able to pass that, but now we just have to push for it to get truly funded properly, and that is a fight every General Assembly since. And that, what I mean by that fight is making sure that when we set aside money and we appropriate it out of our general operating budget that is going to public schools, students, teachers, staff, and those who are going to impact the lives of our public school children. Well, what did they do? They didn't fully fund it, but they did choose to put a billion dollars into charter schools, private schools, basically saying that these schools that are unaccountable very little transparency within them, they can go ahead and receive, sometimes more than what others public schools are receiving if they choose to leave the public school and go to a private school.
Katie Olmsted 6:34
And as a reminder to everyone, the money for private school vouchers is the same line item in our state budget as the money for public schools. So money for those private schools is less money for our public schools that serve 90% of students in our state. I cannot stress enough how important it is going to be to get the Fair School Funding Plan across the finish line in the next state budget, and we need the right people there who understand the impact of public school funding, who are able to really champion that cause. And that's you, Joe.
Rep. Joe Miller 7:06
Well, thank you very much. I sit on Finance, and I also sit in both Primary, Secondary and Higher Ed. So I've seen a lot of education, a lot of education finance. And what I will say is, first off, we don't, we're not fully funding it. And second in the budget, the last budget, we push for a minimum teacher salary, beginning salary of 50,000 and they bumped it from 30 to like 34 I believe, or 36, I apologize. It's so low that it really is inconsequential. Anybody on that low of a salary could make the same at Cedar Point or McDonald's. So we have to do better there. I have a bills I'm working on to increase the base teacher salary House Bill 411. That's not getting any traction yet, and but not much is getting traction because we are in a very interesting time in the General Assembly, where we have a speaker battle going on. We have elections that are looking to be even more consequential, since we have a presidential ticket, we have a senator ticket here in Ohio. And I expect that we won't go back till after election and really start in a lame duck session to see what they're willing to move.
Katie Olmsted 8:17
And hopefully they do move a lot of the bills that you've been working on. You were mentioning you are working on a ton of education related bills right now.
Rep. Joe Miller 8:24
Yes, I mean, I'm working on a state testing bill that really audits how much it truly costs us, dollar wise, for vendors' contracts for testing, and also how much it costs us from the teacher standpoint, from support staff standpoint and students standpoint, away from the learning environment for these standardized tests that really only get a small window into the total educational and learning process of a student. I also have a - I got a real good one here that an implicit bias training. So as you know, and many that are educators now, we have a lot of professional development that's expected for us to renew our license. And one of the things that I came across implicit bias training modules. I went through them, chose to take, to take an opportunity to learn what that was about. And was so impressed, and wish I had taken that before I entered schools or while I was teaching schools, I really believe that that's something that can truly improve a teacher's skill set and how they handle so many children of different zip codes, economic backgrounds, race, gender, you name it. If there's a difference between a child, understanding that gives you an advantage in how you can meet them where they are and help educate them. So that's a really good bill that I'd like to see move. And that's my joint sponsor is Rep. Darnell Brewer on that one.
Katie Olmsted 8:45
Honestly, that's what makes our public schools so great, hat it's for every child, regardless of race, background, gender, zip code, ability, all of those things. That that diversity is what makes our public schools stronger. Unfortunately, we're also operating in a time when you say things like implicit bias and you have people on the other side of the aisle from you who would want to shut that down. We see these attacks on public education. We see these attacks on honest education. How do you deal with that? It's, it's, it's got to have been frustrating over these last several years for you. And how do you keep hope?
Rep. Joe Miller 10:33
So, you know, like I say, my job is to try to find solutions for my constituents. But you know, one of the things that I'm proud of, most proud about, I think, is that I continue to find energy to push back against a lot of these nonsense bills, to hold them accountable, to bring truth to power when power is trying to crush the hopes and dreams of students and teachers and people that are in this industry. I have been able to continue that energy and motivation, and I will do that for another term, for sure. And that's probably where I get my energy from. But full disclosure, my wife is an educator still, and she's an intervention specialist in a high school, and I don't think she would let me not to keep the fight up, to be truthful with you.
Katie Olmsted 11:23
Yeah, there's no dog house like an angry wife who's also an educator.
Rep. Joe Miller 11:27
Yeah, but she does give me up to date feedback, and that's kind of nice. I do hear from superintendents all the way down to the students, and talk to them and and what I'm hearing is too much unfunded mandates that are focused on things that truly are not having the biggest impact on student learning and engagement in the classroom. We're driving teachers out of the industry. Nobody's, I wouldn't say nobody, but very few, and data has shown that we have less candidates in teacher programs throughout the state of Ohio's education teacher Programs in Higher Ed than we had in the past. Those numbers are being reduced. I believe it's due to the attacks on educators from our General Assembly, whether it be dismissing their pay as a part of their professional level of achievement. You get somebody comes out of college, right? They're going to make 60, 70 grand. Teachers start out in the 30s. That is just unheard of and unacceptable.
Katie Olmsted 12:28
What can you do? I mean, aside from what you've been doing, to be honest, what are the what are the big things that are actionable, that can be achieved in your next term to address issues like that?
Rep. Joe Miller 12:40
Well I believe it's just continuing to bring that data and that information into committee, in front of these members, in front of the committee members, in front of leadership. And I cannot emphasize enough, if you're an educator right now in Ohio and you're supporting the current establishment that's been in power - We have trusted Republicans to hold power for over 20 years, and they have squandered it, especially when it comes to education. We need more Joe Millers, teachers, public school supporters, people who just get it, who understand what government's supposed to do and how it supports, supposed to support institutions such as public education. More of them there gives us an easier road, makes it less challenging to push back against the nonsense that we've been seeing.
Katie Olmsted 13:36
We need to have the teachers in the room who who know what our classrooms are actually like
Rep. Joe Miller 13:41
Absolutely. So if you're out there and you're listening and you're looking at the possibility of leaving the classroom to be a legislator, or any form or fashion of government that is going to have an impact on public education, on the Department of Education, please, please consider it. We need you there.
Katie Olmsted 13:59
And we need you back in the statehouse for another term. Good luck with your reelection.
Rep. Joe Miller 14:04
I appreciate it. Thanks for having me.
Katie Olmsted 14:09
Representative Joe Miller is one of several candidates, Democrats and Republicans alike, who we are hearing from as we head into Election Day this year. Now is the time to make your plan to vote, whether that's early in person at your county's Board of Elections building, absentee by mail or in person on November 5. OEA members can find a full list of OEA member-recommended candidates in the OEA website, so you can learn more about the pro-public education choices that will be on your local ballot. Next week, on this podcast, will meet another OEA recommended candidate, Representative Justin pazuli, a Republican running for reelection in District 90 in the Ohio House. You don't want to miss that conversation, or any other conversation that we continue to have as we dive into the big issues shaping the public educationl andscape in our state, because in Ohio, public education matters.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai