Saturday Stats
Posted May 20, 2023 in eNews
Numeric News from Policy Matters Ohio
150: If you’re a regular Saturday Stats reader, you know we’re never short on data-driven analysis and just plain good ideas. But smart, compassionate policy goes nowhere without champions. This past Wednesday, 150 leaders from all over the state came together in Columbus for OOC’s Lobby Day, and we were so happy to join them:
Photo by Loh. Left to right: Guille Bervejillo, Will Petrik, Zach Schiller, Hannah Halbert
Leaders from the Amos Project, Building Freedom Ohio, CEO Project, NOBLE, Ohio Student Association and All in for Ohio Kids came together to meet with lawmakers and make the case for a People’s Budget!
4 of 5: According to a recent Action for Children report, four out of five center-based child care providers reported staff shortages. With our friends at Ohio Organizing Collaborative’s CEO Project, we’ve identified some policies that could help, including a pretty simply one: Pay child care professionals better. Executive Director Hannah Halbert and CEO Project Director Tami Lunan laid out the plan in a Columbus Dispatch op-ed.
$37,569: Speaking of people we should pay more: Ohio’s teachers have a starting salary of less than $38,000 — well below the national average:
To celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week, State Policy Fellow Tanisha Pruitt, PhD, suggested Ohio’s leaders show real appreciation by fulfilling the promises of the Fair School Funding Plan.
7,000: The City of Cleveland employs roughly 7,000 people, every single one of whom should be able to take paid time off from work to care for and bond with a newborn or newly adopted child, care for a sick or dying family member, or recover from illness. That’s why we called on Mayor Bibb and Cleveland’s City Council to pass Paid Family Medical Leave for all municipal workers. The Mayor’s proposal is a big step in the right direction, signaling the opportunity to make even more progress in the future.
$216M, $346M: Gov. DeWine proposed increasing funding for the Ohio College Opportunity Grant program by $216 million in the next fiscal year, and $346 million in the one after that. It would be a much-needed investment in aid for students going to public and private four-year colleges and universities in Ohio. The House-passed budget would cut it drastically. With the budget now in the Senate, there’s an opportunity to restore that funding and help more Ohioans afford college, said Senior Researcher Piet van Lier in testimony to the Senate Finance Committee last week.
12: In the past 23 years, Ohio leaders have cut taxes 12 times—mostly benefitting the already wealthy. The corresponding cuts to critical services and programs continue to harm Ohioans, but legislators keep pushing more cuts, including in the latest version of the state budget. State Policy Fellow Guillermo Bervejillo again testified to the harm done already, the greater harm to come, and policy alternatives that would to do more good for all Ohioans.
48: HB 7 is an example of the good our leaders can do for the people they represent. It would improve economic and health outcomes of children in families with low incomes, in part by providing 48 months of continuous health coverage for Ohio babies and infants who qualify for Medicaid. Hannah cited this and other provisions in her proponent testimony last week.
Action items:
- Register to vote, Check your registration, and make a plan to vote no on Issue 1 in the August special election
- Sign the petition to bring Care Response to Cleveland!