COLUMBUS — Former U.S. Congressman Zack Space announced the endorsements of the Ohio Education Association and Ohio Federation of Teachers in his campaign for auditor of state March 29. OEA and OFT represent approximately 125,000 and 20,000 members across Ohio, respectively.

“Educators provide an invaluable service to our society, yet they remain undervalued by politicians in Columbus,” said Space. “Despite providing such meaningful public service, Ohio’s teachers have been victimized by austere state budgets, attacks on collective bargaining rights, and scams by for-profit charter schools such as ECOT which drain funding and erode faith in traditional public schools.”

“The current auditor and his colleagues in the general assembly are complicit in the ECOT charter school scam, which has cheated Ohio taxpayers and public schools out of over $1 billion since 2001,” he continued. “Public funds to ECOT should have been blocked as soon as questions arose about its attendance records. When I am elected auditor of state, public education will finally have an ally, not an adversary who seeks to privatize and devalue it.”

The president of the Ohio Education Association noted Space’s commitment to education.

“Zack Space understands that the priority of our public schools is to serve the needs of the students,” Becky Higgins said. “He knows that building a strong economy starts in our public schools, and he is committed to ensuring that every child has access to a quality education. We are confident that he will serve the best interests of students and educators.”