OHIO, (WOWO) — Ohioans were among dozens of rural leaders who gathered in Iowa this month, urging lawmakers to protect public education, small businesses, and working families.

They say policies that gut local resources are destabilizing schools and harming rural communities.

Melissa Cropper, president of the Ohio Federation of Teachers, says the effects of disinvestment hit rural communities harder, where losing just one school or hospital can have outsized consequences.