YOUNGSTOWN  Youngstown schools and their teachers' union have joined a coalition of Ohio's largest urban school districts and teacher organizations, urging state lawmakers to uphold Gov. Mike DeWine's recent vetoes related to education funding and local control.

The Ohio 8 Coalition, which includes superintendents and teacher union presidents from urban districts like Youngstown, Akron and Cleveland, issued a statement Tuesday opposing any attempt by the Ohio General Assembly to override eight of DeWine's vetoes within House Bill 96. They argue that overriding these provisions would harm local schools and communities by undermining financial stability and local authority.

Jeremy Batchelor, Superintendent of Youngstown City Schools, and Jane Haggerty, President of the Youngstown Education Association, are part of the Ohio 8 Coalition's leadership.

The vetoed provisions the coalition wants to protect include measures that would cap school carryover balances at 40%, allow county budget commissions to control how non-debt levy taxes are used, and eliminate certain types of school levies such as replacement and fixed-sum emergency levies.

Superintendent Jeremy Batchelor warned these proposals would severely impact urban districts already stretched thin.

"There seems to be a push to try to dismantle public education, so I'm asking our public to pay attention and read legislation closely," he said, "We do believe that these are actually attacks on public education." 

Superintendent Damon Dohar said changing the 20-mill floor, a minimum amount of funding schools get without passing a new levy, alone, could gut his district's ability to stay afloat in the same way.

"The 20-mill floor one would take away about $850 thousand of our operating budget," he said, "From the lunch person to the bus driver to the school teacher to the school to the principal to the superintendent, those things and everything involved will be affected."

Other provisions would prohibit school districts from paying the employee share of retirement contributions for top administrators, require political affiliation on school board ballots, create an education savings account program for non-chartered non-public schools, and place restrictions on public library displays related to sexual orientation and gender.

Jeff Talbert, Ohio 8 Coalition Co-Chair and Superintendent of Canton City Schools, emphasized that overriding these vetoes would "strip schools, cities, counties, and communities of the funding they have already dedicated to local services." He criticized the Legislature for not addressing fundamental property tax reform, suggesting these measures would only lead to more frequent local levies.

Pat Shipe, Co-Chair of The Ohio 8 Coalition and President of the Akron Education Association, added that the proposed policies dictate how schools operate and divert significant funding to charter and non-public schools. She argued that true property tax reform requires legislators to fully fund public schools rather than forcing citizens to support two parallel school systems.

Gov. DeWine had vetoed these provisions earlier this month, stating that implementing them all at once would create "a huge, huge problem" for Ohio's school districts and critical services. While acknowledging the need for broader property tax reform, DeWine has also stressed maintaining local control and funding mechanisms for schools.

State Sen. Al Cutrona has expressed "concern" over DeWine's vetoes, arguing that some of the blocked measures would have helped contain property tax growth and add accountability.

Mahoning County Auditor Ralph Meacham has raised concern that some proposed changes could make passing necessary school and emergency service levies nearly impossible.

According to Ohio Public Radio, the Ohio House of Representatives has called a special July 21 session to override the vetoes.