DAYTON, Ohio - Supporters of the Ohio Historical Society, concerned about proposed budget cuts, staged protests Tuesday aiming to pressure lawmakers to restore funding.
Demonstrations called "flash mobs" - in which people assemble, protest and quickly disperse - were held on the streets of Cincinnati and the Toledo suburb of Perrysburg. Another is scheduled in Cleveland on Wednesday.
Some demonstrators carried signs that said, "Don't Let History Die." Society employees were among the demonstrators.
William Laidlaw Jr., the society's executive director, said the version of the two-year state spending plan that the Ohio Senate approved reduces the society's budget to around $10 million, compared with the $12 million Gov. Ted Strickland included for it in his budget proposal.
Laidlaw says if the cuts are made, access to historic sites and museums might be reduced. And he said society services for 800 local history organizations, the Ohio Historical Markers program and National History Day in Ohio could all be eliminated.
"It really decimates us," Laidlaw said. "These budget cuts really cut very deeply into the bone of this organization. We're cutting off limbs."
State Sen. John Carey, a Wellston Republican who chairs the Finance Committee, said the issue will likely be revisited when a joint conference committee takes up the $54 billion budget later this month.
"It's not a situation where we have extra money around," Carey said. "If we do restore it, it will have to come from someplace else."
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