About us

Northeast Ohio Friends of Public Education (NEOFPE) is a citizen driven, non-partisan organization committed to informing Northeast Ohio citizens about public education issues in Ohio and engaging them in supporting and strengthening public schools.

NEOFPE was born in response to growing frustration with unfunded mandates for local school districts required by legislators who were not educators. The increased politicization of public education and the usurping of public funds to form unregulated charters was reaching a boiling point.

A Northeast Ohio elementary school principal published an Op Ed in the Cleveland Plain Dealer that reflected the concerns of many. The Op Ed column made its way all over the state, inspiring conversations about building a new coalition to push back. A call for members resulted in the development of NEOFPE. The group began meeting monthly to develop a strategy for alerting local school boards and citizens to the dangers of privatization and unelected public officials.

Subsequently, the statewide Ohio Public Education Partners (PEP) was formed in Columbus with NEOFPE as a partner and several NEOFPE members serving on the Board. PEP’s state presence created greater impact for the dissemination of information and calls for action in support of public schooling.