Public Education: Wenda Sheard’s Positions

Candidate: Wenda Sheard (Democrat) Office: Ohio House of Representatives, District 94 (all of Meigs and Washington counties, plus the outskirts of Athens County, not including the city of Athens) Election: November 3, 2026 Information current as of: October 1, 2026

Quick Summary

Ohio’s public schools do not get enough money. Lawmakers have sent public tax dollars to private schools instead. Wenda Sheard wants Ohio to fund public schools fairly, so that every child gets the same chance, no matter where they live. She will also work to fund career centers and universities, end the expanded private school voucher program, and repeal a 2025 law that restricted universities. Education is one of her main campaign topics. Sheard has a PhD in political science with a focus on education policy and has taught from kindergarten through graduate school.

Sheard’s Main Positions

1. Fund public schools fairly.

Ohio needs a public school funding system that is “thorough and efficient,” which is the standard set by the Ohio Constitution. Every child should have the same educational opportunities no matter where in Ohio the child lives.
Public schools are in a funding crisis. Public schools are the center of communities, and when schools are strong, entire communities benefit. Sheard has seen the importance of this firsthand as a parent and as a teacher.
Sheard supports the 2021 bipartisan Cupp-Patterson plan, also known as the Fair School Funding Plan. It was written to meet the Ohio Constitution’s requirement and the Ohio Supreme Court’s rulings on school funding. The Cupp-Patterson plan called for an additional $3 billion for public schools this two-year budget period. The legislature funded less than ten cents on the dollar of that amount.
Schools will suffer more unless Ohio elects legislators committed to the Cupp-Patterson plan and fully funding public schools.
Fully funding the plan would also reduce how much schools must depend on local property tax levies.
Ohio has more school tax levies on the ballot than any other state.

2. Shift the tax burden off families and farmers. Over time, the legislature has moved school costs from businesses and commercial property onto families and farmers. Families are now voting on school levies they can barely afford. See the Affordability page for more.

3. End the expanded private school voucher program.

Vouchers are state money that helps pay for students to attend private schools. Ohio’s EdChoice program is one example.
Lawmakers have sent tax dollars to private schools that have little accountability for how the money is spent and, unlike public schools, do not have to accept a child.
Sheard would end the expanded EdChoice program and use the money for public schools. The program cost $492 million in 2025.
In many areas there are few private schools, and families want to see that funding helping their local public schools and reducing the tax burden on communities.
Low income families who live in cities with expensive private schools can’t even use the vouchers if they don’t have the thousands of dollars necessary to pay the tuition beyond the voucher amount. Sheard calls the expanded EdChoice vouchers “Coupons for the Rich.”
Sheard supports more accountability for charter and private schools that receive public funding.

4. Fund career centers and universities. Sheard would work to fund Ohio’s career centers and universities “thoroughly and efficiently.” Career centers are schools that teach job skills to high school students and adults.

5. Repeal Senate Bill 1 (2025).

This law limited academic freedom, weakened union rights, and created an atmosphere of fear at universities.
Universities should make their own decisions about what is taught. University workers should be able to bargain over the terms of their jobs. The legislature should stay out of the business of academia.

6. Let local schools decide what is taught. The legislature should focus on issues only it can handle. Decisions about curriculum belong with teachers and local school boards. Schools should be able to adjust what they teach to the needs of the child and the community.

7. Support teachers, school staff, and unions. The state needs to support families, teachers, other school employees, and their unions. The legislature should stop trying to weaken unions.

Support From Education Groups

Sheard is endorsed by the Ohio Federation of Teachers, the Ohio Education Association’s Fund for Children and Public Education, and the Ohio Association of Public School Employees.