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Monday, April 18, 2011
Private school vouchers quadruple in Kasich plan
The number of tuition vouchers parents could use to move their children from chronically low-performing public schools to private schools would quadruple under Gov. John Kasich’s proposed budget.
The state is approaching the mandated 14,000 cap on vouchers, with 13,062 students already enrolled in the program this school year.
The number of publicly funded vouchers would expand to 30,000 next year and 60,000 students by 2013 under the governor’s plan.
School choice proponents say the expansion would give more parents options; opponents argue it will hurt public school districts by draining more funding and students from there. Dayton Public Schools has lost $30 million since Ohio started using vouchers in 2006. About 1,636 former Dayton Public students are now using vouchers.
Dayton residents Jeffrey and Ilisha Schwartz got involved in the program in 2008 because they were unhappy with the district. Today, their two children attend Mother Brunner Catholic School in Trotwood, which has 250 voucher-users — more than any other school in the area.
“I think we did the best thing we could do for our children,” Ilisha Schwartz said.
Bills focus on expanding school voucher program in Ohio
More than 1,700 students in the Dayton area use private school vouchers to opt out of attending public schools designated as “academic watch” or “academic emergency” for two of the past three years.
In the Dayton area, there are 27 schools in the Dayton Public, Jefferson Twp. Local and Trotwood-Madison City school districts that meet the criteria.
Students can use the vouchers to attend 23 private schools in Montgomery County that are registered to participate in the Ohio Educational Choice Scholarship Program, commonly known as EdChoice.
State lawmakers have spent recent weeks hearing testimony on two separate bills that would expand the program in Ohio, including the governor’s budget proposal that would raise the number to 60,000 available vouchers by 2013.
Under Gov. John Kasich’s proposal, the amount deducted from school districts for EdChoice scholarships would be reduced from $5,200 to the actual amount paid for the scholarship or a maximum of $4,250 for grades K-8 and $5,000 for grades 9-12. Additional eligibility criteria using Performance Index rankings would be added that will likely increase the number of eligible students, according to the Ohio Department of Education.
House Bill 136, introduced in March by state Rep. Matt Huffman, R-Lima, would create two new statewide voucher programs — one for K-12 students that would replace the EdChoice and Cleveland scholarship programs, and another for special education students. “We’re not opposed to choice but we do believe private schools should not be paid for with public money,” said Damon Asbury, director of legislative services for the Ohio School Boards Association in Columbus, which gave joint opposition testimony with seven other groups, including the Ohio Education Association and American Federation of Teachers unions. “We believe the focus of the General Assembly’s attention should be on children in the public school system of Ohio,” Asbury said. He believes the state should work on improving public education by putting the necessary resources into the system, not “outsourcing” it to private schools.
But Chad Aldis, executive director of School Choice Ohio, which supports expanding the voucher program, disagrees.
“The dollars we spend on education are to educate the kids,” he said. “Our position is the money should follow the child to where the parents believe they can get the best education.” In Montgomery County, Trotwood’s Mother Brunner Catholic School — the result of a merger last year between Precious Blood School and St. Rita, which closed in June after years of declining enrollment and financial pressures — tops the list with 250 voucher-users. That’s where Jeffrey and Ilisha Schwartz of Dayton decided to send their two children, Xavier, 12, and Sydney, 7.
“We kind of got fed up with Dayton Public Schools, to be honest with you,” she said.
A long waiting list had prevented them from enrolling their son in 2008 at a different district school they wanted him to attend so they used a voucher to make the public-to-private school leap.
They’re happy with their decision and are grateful vouchers were available to give them that choice, she said.
The vouchers cover their tuition but the family has to pay for uniforms and supplies, she noted.
The state’s current school voucher program, which began in 2006, almost reached its student enrollment cap during the 2010-11 school year. It is expected to reach the mandated 14,000 enrollment cap with the latest enrollment period for the 2011-12 school year that ended at midnight Friday. Those numbers are expected to be released next week, Aldis said.
A complete list of private schools eligible to accept EdChoice scholarship recipients and a list of the chronically underperforming public schools can be found online at www.scohio.org.
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