McCray calls for fully funded schools

VW independent staff/submitted information

Ohio House District 82 candidate Maddux McCray, a Democrat from Van Wert, is calling for full funding of Ohio’s public schools, action to address educator and school employee shortages, and protection of the local schools that anchor rural communities.

Through conversations with superintendents across the district and his experience as a substitute teacher, McCray noted he has heard and seen the pressures facing schools. In a press release, he said his priorities include fully funding the Fair School Funding Plan using updated costs, addressing staffing shortages, maintaining school buildings and confronting the expansion of private school vouchers.

Funding schools and protecting cocal communities

McCray believes Ohio must provide dependable funding that reflects the actual costs of educating students. Schools should have the resources to support classroom instruction, retain employees and maintain safe buildings.

“Schools should not have to choose whether to repair existing infrastructure or buy new textbooks and resources for learning,” he said.

He is concerned that inadequate funding, staffing shortages and uncertainty surrounding property tax proposals could increase pressure on rural districts to consolidate. In Putnam County and throughout the district, preserving local schools means protecting institutions closely tied to community life and identity.

McCray said he supports meaningful property tax relief but opposes eliminating that revenue without a suitable, dependable replacement.

“Eliminating property taxes without a suitable replacement threatens local schools, the communities, small businesses and cultural identities built around them,” he said.

His infrastructure priorities include helping schools address aging HVAC systems, boilers, roofs and other essential repairs before deferred maintenance becomes a larger and more expensive problem.

Recruiting and retaining school employees

McCray said supports recruitment incentives, competitive wages and benefits to attract new educators and retain experienced teachers and school employees. He added that particular attention is needed for intervention specialists, special education teachers, foreign language teachers and other hard-to-fill positions.

He also supports making the transition to Ohio licensure easier for qualified graduates of colleges in neighboring states. His approach would reduce unnecessary testing barriers and give greater weight to demonstrated classroom preparedness and supervised field experience.

According to McCray, substitute teaching should provide a stronger pathway into permanent education careers, especially for substitutes completing education degrees. McCray said he supports better pay, access to benefits and incentives that recognize their contribution to school operations.

He also supports educator-led retirement oversight, with former educators and school employees serving on the STRS board of trustees.

“Staffing policy must address the broader workforce schools depend on, including bus drivers, custodians and other essential employees,” he noted.

Making state requirements affordable and accessible

McCray said believes state education requirements must account for the costs districts face when replacing textbooks, technology and instructional materials. New requirements should come with adequate resources and realistic implementation timelines.

He supports protecting public schools from profiteering and ensuring purchasing decisions prioritize educational value, affordability and the needs of students and communities.

“Physical and digital materials each offer benefits,” he stated in the press release. “Digital textbooks can provide updates, annotation tools and convenient access, but those advantages depend on students having suitable devices and reliable access outside school. Schools need the resources and flexibility to ensure every student can use required learning materials at school and at home.”

Public dollars and public accountability

Public tax dollars should go to public schools, he stated. McCray supports reducing private school vouchers as a first step toward prioritizing public education. He respects parents’ ability to choose private education while maintaining that the state’s priority should be adequately funding the public schools that serve its communities.

If private schools receive public funding, McCray believes they should meet the same standards as public schools. Those expectations include accepting and serving students with IEPs, following the same state education requirements, and meeting equivalent accountability, accessibility and financial transparency standards.

McCray is running against incumbent Republican Roy Klopfenstein of Haviland and Christopher Elder, a Libertarian from Paulding.

The 82 District includes all of Van Wert, Paulding and Putnam counties and the southern half of Defiance County.