Education News for 01-27-2012

Statewide Education News

• Charters’ treasurer owes Ohio $617,260 (Dispatch)

A New Albany man owes the state more than $600,000 because he mismanaged taxpayer dollars meant for kids at several charter schools, the state auditor said yesterday. At least two schools closed in financial ruin, including Montessori Renaissance Experience in Columbus. Carl W. Shye Jr. has been hit with 25 findings at three schools since last year, including the auditor’s announcement yesterday that he must repay $112,000 that he collected on behalf of Montessori Renaissance Experience — even after it no longer had students. Read More…

• Fiscal emergency would be ‘ugly’ for Lorain Schools (Morning Journal)

LORAIN — The Lorain school board was told going through the steps to fiscal emergency is an “ugly” process. The board heard a presentation from Roger Hardin, assistant director for finance program services with the Ohio Department of Education, regarding what fiscal emergency is and what they can do. “Lorain Schools is in fiscal caution,” Hardin told them. “I will throw this out there in the beginning, everything we do at my office is to try and avoid fiscal emergency.” Read More…

• School Choice Ohio program set to expand (Repository)

CANTON — Representatives from School Choice Ohio (SCO) hosted a news conference Thursday morning with families, teachers and students at Heritage Christian School to celebrate Ohio School Choice Week. Heritage Christian School has the most EdChoice students in Stark County with 87. The vouchers allow students in poor performing schools to attend private schools that accept the voucher. Read More…

Local Issues

• Local parents sing praises of EdChoice scholarships (Vindicator)

Youngstown - Through the EdChoice scholarship program, Cindi Hilson is able to send her three children to Youngstown Christian School. “Without [the EdChoice scholarship], even though my husband works, we wouldn’t be able to afford to send all three of them,” she said. “Maybe one of them could come here.” EdChoice allows children whose residential school is considered low-performing to attend a private school using a voucher. The Hilson family lives within the city school district. Read More…

• Garfield Heights schools reduce staff, increase pay to play (WEWS 5 ABC)

GARFIELD HEIGHTS - Already faced with shortened school days and the elimination of art, music and gym classes, students in the Garfield Heights City School District will have to pay more to participate in extra-curricular activities next school year. The Garfield Heights school board voted Thursday to go to full pay to participate during the 2012-2013 school year, and to eliminate 48 positions in an effort to balance its budget. Read More…

Editorial

• Realistic standards (Dispatch)

Charter schools that serve dropouts and students at risk of quitting school can’t fairly be judged by the same standards as other schools, but they should be judged. Families in the unhappy position of needing that sort of help for their children deserve to know which ones are most effective. To date, this has been hard to determine, because the state Department of Education had only one set of criteria for measuring charter schools’ effectiveness, and most dropout-recovery schools earned dismal marks. Read More…

EdChoice Program Designated Public Schools list

The Ohio Department of Education has just released their EdChoice Program Designated Public Schools list.

The following is a list of schools that have either:
1) been in Academic Emergency or Academic Watch for two of the past three school years (2008-2009, 2009-2010, and 2010-2011) or
2) ranked in the lowest 10% of public school buildings by performance index score for two of the past three school years and are therefore designated for the EdChoice Scholarship Program.

The following students are eligible to apply for an EdChoice scholarship:

• Students currently enrolled in and attending EdChoice-designated public school buildings in their district of residence
• Students enrolled in a community school who would otherwise be assigned to one of the EdChoice-designated public school buildings, or;
• Students currently enrolled in a regular public school in their district of residence or community school who would be assigned to attend one of the EdChoice-designated public school buildings for the upcoming school year. This provision is for students moving from one level of school to the next. For example, public school students moving from elementary to middle school would be eligible to apply if the middle school that they would be assigned to in the fall is designated for EdChoice;
• Students eligible to enter kindergarten in the next school year who would be assigned to one of the EdChoice public school buildings.

Ed Choice Eligible Public Schools

Private schools getting more public dollars

The Cleveland Plain Dealer has a great article on the expansion of vouchers in Ohio, and what that means for the public schools affected. This year Ohio has expanded eligibility to 30,000 students, with further expansion to 60,000 next year.

Fifteen states and the District of Columbia direct about $1 billion a year in public money to private schools through voucher or tax credit programs, according to ASCD. The nonprofit organization, which develops resources for educators, ranks Ohio fourth in the amount provided, after Florida, Louisiana and Wisconsin.

Current Ohio voucher programs are limited by geography, and income, but that can change

There is also support for even more growth in vouchers. Rep. Matt Huffman, a Lima Republican, is championing a bill still in the legislature that would award private-school tuition vouchers of up to $4,626 to families based on their household incomes -- with no geographic restriction and no requirement that students come from failing public schools.

The vouchers have a crippling financial effect on the public schools who lose these students, the Euclid district lost 544 students to vouchers on top of 1,067 students to independently operated charter schools. There are further pernicious effects

Another twist that hurts: Students can keep their vouchers through high school, even if their public schools improve and get off the EdChoice list. So, Euclid High School ultimately may be affected even though it's never been on the list.

As for the quality of education these students who transfer to private schools at the expense of public school students, the results are suspect

Research done so far on voucher programs across the country - including Ohio -- has failed to show that they lead to better academic achievement, according to a report released last month by the Washington-based Center on Education Policy, a group that advocates for public education.

Ohio recently started requiring that EdChoice and Cleveland voucher students take state tests to gauge their performance in private school. Early data suggests that their public school counterparts often did better.

Voucher expanding Bills

School Choice Ohio provides a decent run down of pending legislation that would expand voucher programs in Ohio

Rep. Matt Huffman’s proposal to create an income-based voucher and a special education voucher; The proposal has bipartisan support and dozens of cosponsors

(Also see related proposal: Senate Bill 128)

• Expanded Eligibility: Income-based and special education
• Incorporates the EdChoice and Cleveland Scholarships

• Voucher amount: $2,300-$4,600, depending on family income; $6,000-$26,000 for special education scholarships

• Number of vouchers: Unlimited
• Private school students eligible? Yes, incremental phase-in
• Timeline: Unknown, hearings have begun in House Education committee.

House Bill 153

State biennium budget; Proposal from Gov. John Kasich includes EdChoice expansion

• Expanded Eligibility: Additional low-rated public schools
• Voucher amount: $4,250 for K-8; $5,000 for high school
• Number of vouchers: 30,000 for 2011-12 school year, 60,000 for the 2012-13 school year
• Private school students eligible? No
• Timeline: By state law, budget must be finalized by June 30

Senate Bill 88

Proposal from Sen. Kris Jordan to create a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for individuals and businesses who donate to scholarship organizations like the Children’s Scholarship Fund

• Expanded Eligibility: Income-based
• Voucher amount: $4,250 for K-8; $7,000 for high school
• Number of vouchers: roughly 4,000-5,000
• Private school students eligible? Yes
• Timeline: Unknown, hearings have begun in the Senate Ways and Means and Economic Development committee

Senate Bill 65

Proposal to increase the number of EdChoice Scholarships by Sen. Gary Cates

(Also see related proposal House Bill 115)

• Expanded Eligibility: No
• Voucher amount: $4,250 for K-8, $5,000 for high school
• Number of vouchers: Unlimited
• Private school students eligible: No
• Timeline: Unknown, hearings have begun in the Senate Education committee

Needless to say, these bills would suck money away from the majority of students who attend a public school.