Ohs State Budget General Advocacy

Tell the Senate to Restore Funding for What Helps Make Ohio Special! On Friday, the Ohio Senate slashed funding to the Ohio Historical Society, following years of state disinvestment in history and preservation. The Senate changes cut funding for the Society from $13.8 million two years ago to $10 million for Fiscal Year 2010. This represents the lowest allocation of state funding for the Society since FY 1994 ($9.6 million, or $13.8 million in inflation-adjusted funding)! Cut from the Society’s budget:
$750,000 funding reduction for the 58 historical sites under the care of OHS and its local site managers – necessary to increase summer access
Teacher training and educational programs that leverage federal funding
The Local History Office, which serves more than 800 local historical organizations
National History Day in Ohio - this national program originated in Ohio!
Staffing for the Civil War anniversary (2011-2015) initiative
Historical markers program – there are now 1,200 of them across Ohio These funding cuts can be restored, but only with your help. Grab your bullhorn, telephone, or whatever you can and contact your senator today to tell them to restore $750,000 for the state’s historic sites (line 502 in the Society’s state budget) and $703,000 (Line 509) for the Society’s Outreach and Partnerships (zeroed out in the Senate changes). Tomorrow may be too late, so please TAKE ACTION NOW! An e-mail or letter is good, a phone call is better. A personal visit is best. For more details, please contact Todd Kleismit, OHS Director of Government Relations, at (614) 297-2355 or at [email protected].