Patterson endorses Fontana in Ohio House District 51 race

Dr. John Patterson, a former state representative and a key architect of the Cupp-Patterson Fair School Funding Plan, has endorsed Amanda Fontana for the Ohio House of Representatives, District 51.

Patterson, a longtime educator who helped build a bipartisan coalition to address Ohio’s school funding system, said recent legislative action has weakened the funding formula and said Fontana is needed to help restore it.

“Amanda is the real deal. She has the workhorse DNA and grit required for this fight,” Patterson said. “In the last budget cycle, we saw the Fair School Funding Plan nearly stripped away, leaving our local school districts strapped for resources. Amanda doesn’t just see this as a policy issue; she sees the unseen cracks it creates for our kids. She will bring a level of tireless dedication to Columbus that ensures our children’s needs remain the top priority.”

Fontana, a master’s-level social worker, educator and New Philadelphia School Board member, said she has seen the effects of funding reductions on student support services. She said her platform focuses on protecting public education and addressing health care and housing issues facing Ohio families.

“To have the support of a leader who fought so hard for our students is a profound honor,” Fontana said. “The dismantling of the Fair School Funding Plan is a crisis for our communities. In the Statehouse, I will fight to finish what Dr. Patterson started, securing a funding model based on the real needs of students, not the political whims of Columbus.”