Bob Caldwell, superintendent of the Wolf Creek Local School District in Washington County, explained at the Tuesday, May 24 One Ohio Now meeting about the state budget proposal that the current budget plan takes away funding that was promised to schools and local governments, and also brings additional cuts for schools.
Here are a few links to articles about the May 24 meeting in Athens to discuss the potential impacts of the state budget proposal on Athens County and southeast Ohio. One Ohio Now and Athens County Job and Family Services helped to organize the meeting.
Click here to read the article in The Athens NEWS
Click here to read the article in The Post.
Click here to read the article posted by One Ohio Now.
Andrea Reik, director of Athens County Children Services, explained at the Tuesday, May 24 One Ohio Now state budget meeting that her agency is looking at a cut of $200,000 in the current budget proposal. Reik is concerned about the cut to her agency, as well as the cuts to many other social service agencies that local families depend on.
Ohio residents still have time to have an impact on the proposed state budget and can call on state leaders to take a balanced approach to the budget instead of just making further cuts to programs that help children and poor people.
That was one of the key messages of the One Ohio Now public meeting held at the Athens Community Center on Tuesday, May 24. The meeting featured representatives of local social service agencies, unions and a school district, all talking about how the proposed budget will affect the people they serve.
Local officials and area residents are all invited to take part in a public forum on Tuesday, May 24 to discuss the potential impacts of the proposed state budget.
The national magazine, The Nation, recently wrote an article about poverty in Appalachia and interviewed our director, Jack Frech for the article.
To read the article on the web site for The Nation, click here.
The two-year state budget proposal passed this week by the Ohio House of Representatives does nothing to help Ohioans in poverty and in many cases will just make things worse for poor children and families.
“At a time when we have seen an increase in wealth by the richest Ohioans and an increase in the number of people living in poverty, we have continued to grant tax cuts to the families who are living in luxury,” said Athens County Job and Family Services Director Jack Frech. “And at the same time, we are continuing to cut the programs that were put in place to help poor children and families, programs that provide food, clothing, shelter, job training, daycare, emergency utility assistance, medical care and services for the elderly.”
