The Ohio Historical Society and the State Budget

Gov. Ted Strickland signed on July 17th the $50.5 billion state budget for Fiscal Years 2010-11, which reduces state spending by $2 billion compared to the previous two-year state budget. The state’s economic misfortunes have been well publicized. The state received a whopping $2.32 billion less in tax revenue in the fiscal year that ended June 30 in comparison to the previous year, an unprecedented 12 percent drop – the state’s worst performance in at least 50 years, according to the Ohio Department of Taxation. Coupled with state tax reductions enacted in 2005, the state’s dismal economy helped ensure this current two-year state budget would be the worst in generations.

Sure enough, the budget news is grim. The state budget signed on Friday makes an unprecedented disinvestment in history. The state reduced funding to the Ohio Historical Society from $13.5 million in Fiscal Year 2008 and $12 million in 2009 to $7.9 million in 2010 and 2011 – a whopping 42.5 percent reduction in just two years! In other words, Ohio is allocating a mere .69 cents per Ohioan to preserve its state history. That is the lowest allocation of state dollars to the Ohio Historical Society (in non-inflation adjusted dollars) since 1986. For more information about the Society’s recently announced budget cuts, click here.

Unfortunately, the bad budget news did not stop there. History supporters learned after budget passage that the OHS income tax check-off provision was removed from the state budget, despite bipartisan support from the House and Senate (House Bill 75 and Senate Bill 60). The Society had planned to use the voluntary contributions from the tax check-off for a competitive matching grants program for local history-related organizations. Additionally, standardized tests for 5^th and 8^th grade social studies were dropped (4^th and 7^th grade writing tests were also eliminated) as budget-cutting moves.

All of this begs the question: Does history in Ohio have a future?

We at the Ohio Historical Society are convinced that it does. The financial crisis has forced us to look hard at the way we do business. We have to work smarter than we ever have before. In the near future, we’ll be communicating how the Society is reconfiguring our programs and services to maximize our impact on history efforts throughout the state in an era of shrinking state support.

History in Ohio does have a future. However, whether that future will be one in which history thrives or merely survives depends largely on what you and I do in the present. “History is to the nation as memory is to the individual,” Ohio native Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. once wrote. Despite tremendous budget challenges, the importance of history and preservation will re-emerge in Ohio, but perhaps in non-budgetary ways. One of Ohio’s greatest strengths is its history – not only because of the stories and national impact – but because it is a powerful tool for facing the future and contributing enormously to the quality of life.

According to a recent survey of Ohioans by the University of Toledo’s Urban Affairs Center:

• 86% say that history and historic sites are important to them.
• More than half say history is important to their career.
• More than three-fourths say they think about the past when making important decisions.
• Generally, Ohioans perceive that Ohio invests the same or less on history than neighboring states and that they are inclined to think that Ohio’s elected leaders should invest more.

Thank you for your budget advocacy efforts and choosing to be engaged citizens. Now is not the time to stop. The Ohio Historical Society would like to encourage you to stay engaged at the local and state levels and to participate in public forums this fall to further discuss the future of history in Ohio. Stay tuned for more details. In the meantime, please feel free to send us your questions or comments to me at govrelations@ohiohistory.org.