Public Education Matters

Educators who have worked private sector jobs before or during their time as public employees – and those who are counting on survivor benefits from a spouse who worked a private sector job – are getting shortchanged. The Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision mean these educators get a fraction of the social security benefits they should. As retired teacher Judy Novak and OEA Secretary-Treasurer Mark Hill tell us, it’s time to change the law.

• Judy Novak, OEA-Retired member
  • Judy Novak spent most of her 36-year career as a Special Education teacher in the Mansfield City Schools. She has been substitute teaching since 2014. Novak was recently appointed to serve on NEA's GPO/WEP advisory task force. 
• Mark Hill, OEA Secretary-Treasurer
  • Mark Hill, first elected in spring 2018, is currently serving his second three-year term as OEA Secretary-Treasurer. He is a 30-year educator with Worthington City Schools, serving as a middle school math teacher. From 2010-2018, he served as president of the Worthington Education Association (WEA). In his freshman year as WEA president, he led his local in joining the successful repeal of Senate Bill 5 (SB5), an attack to collective bargaining. It was during this period he was twice elected to the STRS Board. Again, he demonstrated strong leadership in his roles as vice chair and chair respectively. Along with the board, he worked to bring long-term sustainability to the pension fund. His second 4-year term with STRS concluded August 31. 2018. Mark has also served as a member of the OEA Board of Directors and as chair of numerous Central OEA/NEA committees as well as chair of the OEA Resolutions Committee. Mark believes it is critical that OEA supports its local associations and their leaders because they shape members’ impressions of the value of membership. In these dynamic times, Mark’s experienced leadership will be vital as he directs OEA’s budget priorities toward an even stronger association.
     

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• The Ohio Education Association represents about 120,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals who work in Ohio’s schools, colleges, and universities to help improve public education and the lives of Ohio’s children. OEA members provide professional services to benefit students, schools, and the public in virtually every position needed to run Ohio’s schools.
• Education Matters host Katie Olmsted serves as Media Relations Consultant for the Ohio Education Association. She joined OEA in May, 2020, after a ten-year career as a television reporter, anchor, and producer. Katie comes from a family of educators and is passionate about telling educators' stories and advocating for Ohio's students. She lives in Central Ohio with her husband and two young children.