Melissa Cropper
@mcropper.bsky.social
K-12 Library Media Specialist currently serving as President of the Ohio Federation of Teachers and Secretary-Treasurer of the Ohio AFL-CIO.
Reposted by Melissa Cropper
Voters showed up in record numbers to send a message that they want leaders who will tackle the kitchen-table issues they face every day—from education to soaring housing and healthcare costs to the price of groceries, child care and college. www.aft.org/press-releas...
AFT President Randi Weingarten on Election Results
WASHINGTON—AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement on the results of Election Day 2025:“Tonight, in race after race across the country, voters sent a clear message: They want the...
www.aft.org
November 5, 2025 at 3:59 AM
Voters showed up in record numbers to send a message that they want leaders who will tackle the kitchen-table issues they face every day—from education to soaring housing and healthcare costs to the price of groceries, child care and college. www.aft.org/press-releas...
This is what happens when politicians recklessly pass laws to advance their own anti-public education agenda. Longstanding local working relationships are destroyed. Educators and students are harmed. matternews.org/voices/the-w...
The Worker’s View: SB1 throws Central Ohio Technical College union contract into turmoil – Matter News
While the college and the faculty union have traditionally operated as partners, new state legislation ostensibly geared toward rolling back DEI initiatives has left the two groups at an impasse.
matternews.org
August 1, 2025 at 11:14 AM
This is what happens when politicians recklessly pass laws to advance their own anti-public education agenda. Longstanding local working relationships are destroyed. Educators and students are harmed. matternews.org/voices/the-w...
Please read this story! Sen. Cirino’s comments would be comical if they were not so blatantly tone deaf! Was he not listening when over 1,000 people testified about the negative impacts of SB1? Or did he just not care?!
An out-of-state university is exploiting state Senate Bill 1 to lure Ohio students to its campus:
This out-of-state university is advertising to Ohio since the passage of SB 1
The university's Meta ad campaign tells Ohio students they're "free to be you" while promising in-state tuition rates.
www.cleveland.com
July 9, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Please read this story! Sen. Cirino’s comments would be comical if they were not so blatantly tone deaf! Was he not listening when over 1,000 people testified about the negative impacts of SB1? Or did he just not care?!
Budgets are about choices. The Republican legislators and Gov chose to give tax breaks to the wealthy and money for a stadium while underfunding public schools and libraries. Shame on them! They should never win another election.
"We are going to remember – and shine a light on – each and every anti-education, anti-labor, and anti-freedom policy that legislators and Governor DeWine tried to jam into this budget.”
Read our full release on the harmful policies in the Ohio budget passed by legislators & signed by Gov. DeWine.
Read our full release on the harmful policies in the Ohio budget passed by legislators & signed by Gov. DeWine.
OFT President Cropper: Ohio Budget Chooses to Move Us Backward
“It is clear from the policy choices made in this budget that Governor DeWine, Ohio House Speaker Huffman, and Ohio Senate President McColley value profits over people and stadiums over students."
oh.aft.org
July 1, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Budgets are about choices. The Republican legislators and Gov chose to give tax breaks to the wealthy and money for a stadium while underfunding public schools and libraries. Shame on them! They should never win another election.
Reposted by Melissa Cropper
OFT Pres. @mcropper.bsky.social on the Ohio Senate's budget & school funding:
“By gutting essential components of the Fair School Funding Plan & using outdated cost inputs, the budget released today by the Ohio Senate fails to deliver what our students, communities, and taxpayers need and deserve.”
“By gutting essential components of the Fair School Funding Plan & using outdated cost inputs, the budget released today by the Ohio Senate fails to deliver what our students, communities, and taxpayers need and deserve.”
Senate Budget Bill Still Falls Short Of Fair Funding Promise
Statement from the All in For Ohio Kids coalition: Four years ago, lawmakers promised to fully implement the Fair School Funding Plan in the 2026-27 budget. Since then, we have been waiting for state ...
oh.aft.org
June 4, 2025 at 1:44 PM
OFT Pres. @mcropper.bsky.social on the Ohio Senate's budget & school funding:
“By gutting essential components of the Fair School Funding Plan & using outdated cost inputs, the budget released today by the Ohio Senate fails to deliver what our students, communities, and taxpayers need and deserve.”
“By gutting essential components of the Fair School Funding Plan & using outdated cost inputs, the budget released today by the Ohio Senate fails to deliver what our students, communities, and taxpayers need and deserve.”
Reposted by Melissa Cropper
Regardless of what you think about vouchers- which have been used to defund public schools- this version of is simply a redestribution of wealth -creating a new ideological tax cut for the wealthy while Trump is trying to strip not 4 profit status away from others. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/17/u...
School Vouchers Won in Texas. Next Up, the Nation.
Choice laws have now passed in every major Republican state. Congress and President Trump are now aiming at blue states that have resisted vouchers for decades.
www.nytimes.com
April 18, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Regardless of what you think about vouchers- which have been used to defund public schools- this version of is simply a redestribution of wealth -creating a new ideological tax cut for the wealthy while Trump is trying to strip not 4 profit status away from others. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/17/u...
Rural communities depend on strong connections between neighbors, local businesses, nonprofits and local government. Public schools are the glue that holds these connections together. We need to stand together to fight against voucher expansion that threatens funding to our public schools.
Melissa Cropper @mcropper.bsky.social, president of the Ohio Federation of Teachers @oftunion.bsky.social, explains how you can work to protect rural public schools amid the GOP’s efforts to push voucher programs across the nation.
Public Schools Build Connections in Rural Communities. Vouchers Tear Them Down.
We cannot stand by silently as voucher expansion is being pushed from a federal level to all areas of the country.
barnraisingmedia.com
April 7, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Rural communities depend on strong connections between neighbors, local businesses, nonprofits and local government. Public schools are the glue that holds these connections together. We need to stand together to fight against voucher expansion that threatens funding to our public schools.
Rebecca Bihn, from Oregon City Schools, shares how the district makes career awareness a part of students’ education starting in K and continuing through graduation. Great conversation at the Career ConnectED Learning Policy Discussion.
March 26, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Rebecca Bihn, from Oregon City Schools, shares how the district makes career awareness a part of students’ education starting in K and continuing through graduation. Great conversation at the Career ConnectED Learning Policy Discussion.
Reposted by Melissa Cropper
Education is our kids future. Education is our country’s future. Mr. President, we will see you in court. www.aft.org/press-releas...
March 20, 2025 at 12:45 AM
Education is our kids future. Education is our country’s future. Mr. President, we will see you in court. www.aft.org/press-releas...
Opposition to SB1 (Higher Education Destruction Act)continues to grow. The Majority party in the legislature continues to shut out their voices.
March 19, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Opposition to SB1 (Higher Education Destruction Act)continues to grow. The Majority party in the legislature continues to shut out their voices.
Defunding libraries? Is this really why people voted for this administration?
OFT Pres. @mcropper.bsky.social responds to Trump's plan to dismantle IMLS:
"Funding for libraries of all types is 0.003% of the federal budget…Revoking this meager support doesn’t make an impact on the federal deficit, but it does put a financial strain on institutions on which Ohioans rely."
"Funding for libraries of all types is 0.003% of the federal budget…Revoking this meager support doesn’t make an impact on the federal deficit, but it does put a financial strain on institutions on which Ohioans rely."
Trump Administration Brings Attack on Public Institutions to Your Local Public Library
“Whether it’s providing students with a quiet place to do homework and parents with a safe and enriching place to bring young kids, serving as a community hub for resources on social services, employm...
www.oft-aft.org
March 18, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Defunding libraries? Is this really why people voted for this administration?
Reposted by Melissa Cropper
OFT Pres. @mcropper.bsky.social responds to Trump's plan to dismantle IMLS:
"Funding for libraries of all types is 0.003% of the federal budget…Revoking this meager support doesn’t make an impact on the federal deficit, but it does put a financial strain on institutions on which Ohioans rely."
"Funding for libraries of all types is 0.003% of the federal budget…Revoking this meager support doesn’t make an impact on the federal deficit, but it does put a financial strain on institutions on which Ohioans rely."
Trump Administration Brings Attack on Public Institutions to Your Local Public Library
“Whether it’s providing students with a quiet place to do homework and parents with a safe and enriching place to bring young kids, serving as a community hub for resources on social services, employm...
www.oft-aft.org
March 18, 2025 at 4:53 PM
OFT Pres. @mcropper.bsky.social responds to Trump's plan to dismantle IMLS:
"Funding for libraries of all types is 0.003% of the federal budget…Revoking this meager support doesn’t make an impact on the federal deficit, but it does put a financial strain on institutions on which Ohioans rely."
"Funding for libraries of all types is 0.003% of the federal budget…Revoking this meager support doesn’t make an impact on the federal deficit, but it does put a financial strain on institutions on which Ohioans rely."
States & local school boards control schools but rely on federal funds:
🧑🦽 7.4M students with disabilities lose services
🎓 10M students lose federal aid for college/trades
🏫 26M low-income students lose Title I support
🌾 9.8M rural students lose critical funding
www.aft.org/column/robbi...
🧑🦽 7.4M students with disabilities lose services
🎓 10M students lose federal aid for college/trades
🏫 26M low-income students lose Title I support
🌾 9.8M rural students lose critical funding
www.aft.org/column/robbi...
Robbing Peter to pay for Elon’s tax cuts
Americans didn’t vote for deep cuts to services that we need—and our taxes pay for.Elon Musk will never need to look to the federal government for Social Security benefits, to apply for a student loan...
www.aft.org
March 16, 2025 at 8:24 PM
States & local school boards control schools but rely on federal funds:
🧑🦽 7.4M students with disabilities lose services
🎓 10M students lose federal aid for college/trades
🏫 26M low-income students lose Title I support
🌾 9.8M rural students lose critical funding
www.aft.org/column/robbi...
🧑🦽 7.4M students with disabilities lose services
🎓 10M students lose federal aid for college/trades
🏫 26M low-income students lose Title I support
🌾 9.8M rural students lose critical funding
www.aft.org/column/robbi...
Huge crowd on OSU campus rallying against SB1. The Senate ignored the over 1000 pieces of opposition testimony. Let’s make sure the House listens. #StopSB1 #ProtectOurKids
March 4, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Huge crowd on OSU campus rallying against SB1. The Senate ignored the over 1000 pieces of opposition testimony. Let’s make sure the House listens. #StopSB1 #ProtectOurKids
Reposted by Melissa Cropper
Protect—don’t wreck—our children’s futures. My latest column:
www.aft.org/column/prote...
www.aft.org/column/prote...
Protect—don’t wreck—our children’s futures
As President Donald Trump and Elon Musk swing a wrecking ball at the U.S. Department of Education, I’m wondering if it’s due to a lack of understanding of the department’s vital functions, or because ...
www.aft.org
February 16, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Protect—don’t wreck—our children’s futures. My latest column:
www.aft.org/column/prote...
www.aft.org/column/prote...
Reposted by Melissa Cropper
I suspect no one who voted for Trump thought he would let Musk invade their privacy. Right now, inside the Dept of Ed, the world’s richest man is rifling through 45M people’s private student loan accounts and feeding the data into AI. www.aft.org/press-releas...
apnews.com/article/trum...
apnews.com/article/trum...
Labor unions sue to block DOGE access to sensitive information at US agencies
A coalition of labor unions filed a lawsuit Monday asking a federal court to stop Elon Musk’s team from accessing private data at the Education Department, the Treasury Department and the Office of Pe...
apnews.com
February 11, 2025 at 12:37 AM
I suspect no one who voted for Trump thought he would let Musk invade their privacy. Right now, inside the Dept of Ed, the world’s richest man is rifling through 45M people’s private student loan accounts and feeding the data into AI. www.aft.org/press-releas...
apnews.com/article/trum...
apnews.com/article/trum...
Reposted by Melissa Cropper
NEWS: Read our joint statement with @ohioea.bsky.social and Ohio Conference of @aaup.bsky.social calling for amendments to SB 1 (The Higher Education Destruction Act). These amendments will mitigate harm by protecting workers' rights and academic freedom and reducing bureaucracy.
Ohio’s Education Unions Call for Amendments to SB 1
“As currently written, SB 1 will put Ohio’s world-class system of higher education at risk by stifling academic freedom, raising administrative costs, impeding recruitment and retention of talented fa...
www.oft-aft.org
February 11, 2025 at 2:41 PM
NEWS: Read our joint statement with @ohioea.bsky.social and Ohio Conference of @aaup.bsky.social calling for amendments to SB 1 (The Higher Education Destruction Act). These amendments will mitigate harm by protecting workers' rights and academic freedom and reducing bureaucracy.
"The worst effects [of private school vouchers] would be felt in Ohio’s rural communities because rural districts are more dependent on state funding and don’t have the density to support competing school systems." www.limaohio.com/columns/2025...
Melissa Cropper: Rural communities lose when vouchers replace public schools
School funding in Ohio is at a crossroads. One direction – fully funding the Fair School Funding Plan – leads toward adequate and predictable school funding that finally complies with our state consti...
www.limaohio.com
February 10, 2025 at 8:51 PM
"The worst effects [of private school vouchers] would be felt in Ohio’s rural communities because rural districts are more dependent on state funding and don’t have the density to support competing school systems." www.limaohio.com/columns/2025...
Reposted by Melissa Cropper
OFT President @mcropper.bsky.social in The Lima News:
"The worst effects [of private school vouchers] would be felt in Ohio’s rural communities because rural districts are more dependent on state funding and don’t have the density to support competing school systems."
"The worst effects [of private school vouchers] would be felt in Ohio’s rural communities because rural districts are more dependent on state funding and don’t have the density to support competing school systems."
Melissa Cropper: Rural communities lose when vouchers replace public schools
School funding in Ohio is at a crossroads. One direction – fully funding the Fair School Funding Plan – leads toward adequate and predictable school funding that finally complies with our state consti...
www.limaohio.com
February 10, 2025 at 5:02 PM
OFT President @mcropper.bsky.social in The Lima News:
"The worst effects [of private school vouchers] would be felt in Ohio’s rural communities because rural districts are more dependent on state funding and don’t have the density to support competing school systems."
"The worst effects [of private school vouchers] would be felt in Ohio’s rural communities because rural districts are more dependent on state funding and don’t have the density to support competing school systems."
The 28th amendment! Law of the land!
Yes!!!! Joe Biden announced the ratification of the ERA, enshrining the basic principle that men & women should be treated as equal under the law. It should have always been a foundational promise of our democracy, but it has taken generations of struggle to get us here www.aft.org/press-releas...
January 17, 2025 at 9:57 PM
The 28th amendment! Law of the land!
Millions of retirees and workers just got a raise in retirement income ohiocapitaljournal.com/2025/01/16/m...
Millions of retirees and workers just got a raise in retirement income • Ohio Capital Journal
Commentary: Social Security is not a handout; it’s an earned benefit paid into by workers and their employers. But for decades, millions of public employees, including more than 100,000 Ohioans, have ...
ohiocapitaljournal.com
January 16, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Millions of retirees and workers just got a raise in retirement income ohiocapitaljournal.com/2025/01/16/m...
Our children deserve better! Ohio needs to fully and fairly fund public education instead of diverting 1B+ to private school vouchers.
Ohio House speaker says change could be coming for public school funding
The legislature will begin discussing the budget in the next few weeks.
www.10tv.com
January 16, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Our children deserve better! Ohio needs to fully and fairly fund public education instead of diverting 1B+ to private school vouchers.
Chances are, you know someone impacted by the Social Security Fairness Act. This article mentions a few of the thousand Ohioans who are now going to get the retirement they earned. Thanks to @aftunion.bsky.social and all labor unions and activists who worked on this. And thank you Sherrod Brown!
The Social Security Fairness Act puts an end to the practice of stripping earned Social Security benefits from millions of public employee retirees. Working people and retirees, union members, and legislative leaders like Sherrod Brown made this happen!
2.5 million Americans were once denied Social Security benefits. A new law changes that
After decades of advocacy, public sector workers celebrate the repeal of laws that cut their Social Security benefits, thanks to the newly signed Social Security Fairness Act.
www.cleveland.com
January 13, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Chances are, you know someone impacted by the Social Security Fairness Act. This article mentions a few of the thousand Ohioans who are now going to get the retirement they earned. Thanks to @aftunion.bsky.social and all labor unions and activists who worked on this. And thank you Sherrod Brown!
” If the speaker thinks there isn’t enough education funding to go around, Ohio law is very clear. The legislature must fund public schools and make cuts to the costly and ineffective universal private school vouchers that were put in place…” bit.ly/409dkGo
Public school advocates take issue with new Ohio Speaker's claim that funding model 'unsustainable' • Ohio Capital Journal
As Ohio’s 136th General Assembly begins, the newly minted House Speaker has already taken a stand on education, saying spending for the state's public school funding model is “unsustainable.”
bit.ly
January 9, 2025 at 11:06 PM
” If the speaker thinks there isn’t enough education funding to go around, Ohio law is very clear. The legislature must fund public schools and make cuts to the costly and ineffective universal private school vouchers that were put in place…” bit.ly/409dkGo