FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 24, 2026
Contact: Neil Bhaerman, nbhaerman@oft-aft.org
Jerry Cirino Should Listen To Higher Ed Stakeholders, Not Mock Them
COLUMBUS— OFT President Melissa Cropper released the following statement on Senator Jerry Cirino’s press conference on the one-year anniversary of SB 1’s implementation:
“Jerry Cirino is a bully whose comments should be beneath the dignity of the Ohio Senate. Last year, he threatened to pull funding from school districts that testified about school funding. Earlier this month, he got a journalist arrested for sending him text messages. Now, he’s calling out individuals by name who had the temerity to testify against his biggest priority bill, which is supposed to be teaching civic literacy. These are people who took time out of their day (at short notice because that’s how this legislature operates), traveled to the statehouse and participated in the democratic process. Shame on him for using his public platform to belittle the people who were most impacted by his bad bill. His comments were not only unprofessional but also continue a pattern of using mockery and intimidation to silence the voices of Ohioans in order to pass unpopular policies that are detrimental to students, educators, and communities. Jerry Cirino needs to work on his own civic literacy before pushing his ideas on our students.
Holding a press conference to declare that your new law didn’t immediately kill off public higher education in Ohio in its first year is not the flex that Sen. Cirino thinks it is. Talk to faculty and you’ll learn how they actually feel about having fewer collective bargaining rights, less job security, and constraints on what they can teach and discuss in class. Talk to students and you’ll learn how they actually feel about the closure of institutions like campus women’s centers and the reduction in the courses and majors their college offers. Jerry Cirino talks a lot, but he never listens to ordinary Ohioans.”
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The Ohio Federation of Teachers is a state federation of 65 local unions representing more than 20,000 members who are active and retired public school teachers and staff, higher education faculty and staff, social workers, library workers, and public employees. OFT works to advance quality public education and higher education, intellectual freedom, and a voice in the workplace for Ohio’s education, public service, and social work professionals. OFT is affiliated with the 1.8 million member American Federation of Teachers.