It’s Back to School time, and OAPSE members across Ohio are ready to welcome students to a new year.

OAPSE is the most powerful voice for the hard-working women and men who serve Ohio’s school children, community and technical college students, those in early childhood education programs, children and adults with special needs and those who take advantage of our public libraries and other community services.

OAPSE is the union for 34,000 bus drivers, bus aides, secretaries, food service workers, custodians/maintenance, mechanics, paraprofessionals, groundskeepers, and head start, community and technical college and public library workers.

OAPSE members do the important work that makes a difference in the lives of children and their families every day.

All during the school day, our members touch the lives of students and their families in countless ways – on the grounds, in the cafeteria, in the office, in the classroom and on the buses. We are proud of the work we do. And we are proud to be members of OAPSE.

Because of the importance of our jobs and the people we serve, our union will never stop fighting for OAPSE members. And now more than ever, OAPSE members are sticking with our union!

Jessica Seeley is union strong! The 17-year member of Local 768 at Whitehall City Schools is a secretary at Etna Road Elementary School. President of her local union, Jessica is proud of the work she does to assist students, staff and families every day. And she is proud of her union – which is at 100 percent membership. Click on the video below to learn more about Jessica and why she is “Sticking With the Union!”

The childcare attendants and intervention aides in Columbus City Schools work with disabled students and are members of Local 336. They love the students they work with, and they love their union.

Local 336 Vice President Stephanie Wiley said she and her coworkers “take pride in everything we do,” including the summer work to clean harnesses, seat belts, vests and all the equipment used to keep students safe on buses.

Find out why these members of 336 are Sticking with Their Union by watching below!

Ohio has a new two-year state spending budget, even though it took legislators almost three weeks longer than state law allows to finalize it and have the governor sign off.

Among the highlights is good news for the free college program offered to OAPSE members. The budget provides a one-year phase-in to changing the SSI (State Share of Instruction) formula for community colleges. This will allow OAPSE’s partner, Eastern Gateway Community College, time to prepare for the change so that our members are not affected and can continue to enroll in the program that gives two years of free college.

The budget includes $675 million for wraparound wellness services for at-risk students, which can be utilized for things such as mental health treatment, counseling, tutoring and after-school programs.

The two-year deal creates a one-year moratorium on the creation of new Academic Distress Commissions (ADCs). The Ohio Department of Education is now  prohibited from creating new ADCs prior to October 1, 2020.
The three current ADC districts — Youngstown, East Cleveland, and Lorain —  remain under state control.

Governor DeWine vetoed 25 items in the budget, but the top lines of what he signed off on are:

• Establishes a report card study committee to be convened within 30 days. The committee must issue a report to the General Assembly by December 15, 2019.
• Modifies the grading scale used to determine letter grades assigned for the report card’s value-added progress dimension.
• Changes the grading scale for assigning letter grades for the overall score on the value-added progress dimension on the report card. The changes in the scale should result in higher scores for many districts.
• Establishes a study committee to study the calculation and weighting of performance measures, components, and the overall letter grade of the report card.
• Creates new graduation requirements are effective for the class of 2023. Students who fail to meet the requirements will have alternative options.
• Requires ODE to establish a program, under which higher-poverty public schools must offer breakfast to all students either before or during the school day, to be phased in over a three-year period.
• Institutes a 4 percent income tax rate cut across the board.
• Increases the Local Government Fund by 1.68%, resulting in an additional $5.2 million each year..
• Moves the Ohio presidential primary election to the third Tuesday after the first Monday in March, which next year will coincide with St. Patrick’s Day on March 17.

Donna Ragland has an important job. A 20-year OAPSE member, she is a food service manager at Columbus Downtown High School. Donna values her work and the impact she has on students everyday – students who often face food insecurity and even homelessness.

“Serving kids every day, that’s how we make a difference. That’s what we have to give, and we feel blessed to do this important work.”

Donna also values her union – Local 143, Columbus City Foodservice Workers. “My union is my family. And family sticks together.”

Donna would never drop out of her union and leave behind the solidarity of working together to solve problems and provide protections for workers at Columbus City Schools.

“In these uncertain times, our union is our strength. We need to stick together.”

For more about Donna and why she values her union so much, take a look at the video below. And be like Donna – stick with your union!