STATEHOUSE NEWS

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The Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board and Capitol Square Foundation will provide 105 school transportation grants to visit the Ohio Statehouse and its museum during the 2013-2014 academic year. The online application process will open at 9 a.m. on September 12. The grants will be made available to help schools defray bus transportation expenses to the Ohio Statehouse. Each awarded grant will be based on one-way mileage from the visiting school to Columbus. The program was created in 2009 by the Capitol Square Foundation. Since the program's inception, more than 60,000 students from nearly every Ohio county have visited the Ohio Statehouse with the help of this grant program. "We are grateful for the support from Honda of America and the Walmart Foundation," said Charles Moses, Capitol Square Foundation Chairman. "We are thrilled that so many young people will now have the opportunity to visit the Ohio Statehouse during this school year."

A total of 105 grants will be awarded; 35 grants in three mileage categories. The mileage categories are for a one-way trip from the visiting school to the Ohio Statehouse. "The transportation grant program provides thousands of Ohio school children with a learning experience here at the Ohio Statehouse," said William E. Carleton, Executive Director of the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board. "Our goal is to inspire future leaders of Ohio."

The three mileage categories include:
1 to 50 miles, $ 200.00 transportation grant;
51 to 100 miles, $ 300.00 transportation grant; and
101+ miles, $ 400.00 transportation grant.

Each category will be closed once the 35 available grants have been awarded. All grants will be awarded on a first come-first served basis.

The school transportation grants will be available to any Ohio school that receives state funding. The grants are limited to Ohio students in the fourth through 12th grades during the 2013-2014 academic year. Only one transportation grant will be awarded to each school regardless of the number of buses or students visiting the Ohio Statehouse. A field trip to the Ohio Statehouse can be combined with visits to other educational attractions in downtown Columbus, including the Santa Maria, COSI and the Ohio Judicial Center.

Once the application process opens on September 12, only online applications will be accepted. All applications must be submitted by an authorized teacher or school administrator. Detailed information about the program is available at, http://www.ohiostatehouse.org/Tours/SchoolTours/TransportationGrant.aspx.
Applications will be accepted until every grant is awarded.

To view this press release and others, visit www.ohiostatehouse.org.

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