Dr John Patterson to speak at Meeting of the Minds, Cortland, OH Sept 24, 2025

 Dr. John Patterson will be speaking to the Meeting of the Minds group on Wednesday Sept 24th at 6pm, at the OSU Trumbull County Extension. 520 W Main Street, Cortland, Ohio 44410. 

Questions about school funding, property tax dollars, the impact of this years budget bill on public education?Join us with your questions. You must RSVP. Space is limited.

Can also find the event  on FB: 

https://www.facebook.com/share/19VgnDnH67/

Meeting Of the Minds(MOM) fb group: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1Ck3RqsFJE/

Dr. John Patterson (born July 7, 1956, in Ashtabula, Ohio) served as the Democratic representative for Ohio’s 99th District from January 2013 through December 2020, completing four terms before term limits required his departure. His district encompassed most of Ashtabula County and parts of Geauga County. A lifelong resident of northeast Ohio, Patterson is an educator by profession, having taught history at Jefferson Area High School for three decades after earlier roles including coaching baseball at Kent State University and working with the Ohio Department of Transportation .

During his legislative career, Patterson played a key role in several impactful bipartisan initiatives. He co-authored the Fair School Funding Plan with former House Speaker Bob Cupp in 2017, aiming to create a formula that aligned school funding with actual district needs—this effort continues to shape Ohio’s education funding landscape . He also served two terms as ranking member of the Agricultural and Natural Resources Committee, where he championed efforts like the H2Ohio water quality initiative and was a joint sponsor of “Tyler’s Law,” enhancing regulation and oversight of amusement rides .

Patterson’s legislative service earned him recognition—including being named “Legislator of the Year” by the Ohio Farmers Union (2013) and the Ohio Association of Election Officials (2018) . In addition to his legislative career, he has remained active in his community—leading local organizations such as the Jefferson Memorial Foundation and the Henderson Memorial Library Foundation as board president, and contributing musically as a choir member at his church .

He holds a Ph.D. in Education (Curriculum and Instruction) from Kent State University, as well as earlier degrees from Marietta College (B.A.) and Ohio University (M.A.) . Married to Nancy, they live in Jefferson, Ohio, and have two sons.

John will be speaking to our group on Wednesday Sept 24th at 6pm, at the OSU Trumbull County Extension. 520 W Main Street. Cortland, Ohio 44410. Questions about school funding, property tax dollars, the impact of this years budget bill on public education? Join us with your questions. You must RSVP. Space is limited.