Dear Solon Schools’ families: We are writing to ask for your support in urging our state senators to pass a pending bill that will help plug a multi-million gap in Ohio’s budget. This legislation must be enacted by December 31 to retain Governor Strickland’s plan to delay this year’s 4.2 % income tax cut for use in closing the budget hole. To date, no alternative major revenue sources have been identified to raise the needed funds. House Bill 318 has already been passed in the House and is pending in the Senate. Unfortunately, the Senate is considering adding provisions to the bill that are unrelated to the crisis at hand. These include criminal sentencing reform and providing additional funds for chartered non-public schools, among others. Attaching amendments such as those being discussed are complicating passage of the bill. We need to let our senators know that we approve of the solution outlined in HB 318 (foregoing a small 4.2 percent reduction in state income taxes) to avoid the inevitable cuts to education the budget gap would force. An analysis of the bill is attached and posted on our district web site from the publication On The Money to help you understand the issue better.
Please call or write our state senator, Tom Patton, as well as any other members of the Senate you can, and tell them to support HB 318. You may use the sample letter below and email it to Sen. Patton at SD24@senate.state.oh.us. You can also use the simple advocacy tool on the Ohio PTA web site (www.ohiopta.org). Just click on the advocacy link and the “Take Action” tab. You may paste the sample letter into the tool and send to as many senators as you like. Or, you can call the senators’ offices directly to urge them to support HB 318. The following senators who currently oppose the bill need to be contacted:
Tom Patton (614)466-8056 Steve Buehrer (614)466-8072
Mark Wagoner (614)466-8060
David Goodman (614)466-8064
Gary Cates (614)466-8072
Jon Husted (614)466-4538
Shannon Jones (614)466-9737
Bill Seitz (614)466-8068
Chris Widener (614)466-3780
Keith Faber (614)466-7584
Tom Niehaus (614)466-8082
Jim Hughes (614)466-5981
*John Carey (614)466-8156 (*Chair of Finance and Financial Institutions Committee)
Tim Grendell (614)466-7718
*Bill Harris (614)466-8086 (*Senate President)
Jimmy Stewart (614)466-8076
Bob Gibbs (614)466-7505
Tom Patton (614)466-8056
Karen Gilmore (614)466-8049
Kevin Coughlin (614)466-4823
Kirk Schuring (614)466-0626
Tim Schaffer (614)466-5838 Thank you for taking the time to impact this legislative action. Please feel free to forward this information to other Solon and Ohio citizens who are concerned about preserving education funding. SAMPLE LETTER
I am writing to you as an Ohio citizen concerned about education funding. With a deadline of December 31 looming, I urge you to vote for HB 318, which will close the state’s budget gap for now and provide funding for education. As I am sure you are aware, they have been no other major revenue sources identified to close the hole in the state budget besides the solution offered in HB 318.
Without swift action by you and your colleagues in the Senate, significant reductions will be enacted, negatively impacting Ohio schools, which are already dealing with school funding challenges. Many potential amendments to HB 318 that do not directly affect school funding are surfacing. I urge you to avoid complicating the passage of this bill with non-education provisions and keep the focus on filling the budget gap. I am certain you support education and the financial viability of Ohio’s schools. As a constituent, I support you taking action to freeze a small tax reduction. Please, take this opportunity to put Ohio schools first and restore the needed funding in the budget by casting your vote in favor of HB 318.
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