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School voucher requests up 20%

However, first-time applicants dropped slightly in Ohio and Dayton.

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By Anthony Gottschlich, Staff Writer 9:22 PM Tuesday, May 12, 2009

The number of applications from Dayton and across the state for Ohio’s school voucher program climbed again this year, but the number of first-time applicants dropped slightly, the Ohio Department of Education reported Tuesday, May 12.

Numbers released by the department show families of 13,064 students statewide, including 1,711 from Dayton, applied by last month’s deadline for Educational Choice Scholarships for the upcoming school year. That represents a 20 percent increase from last year’s applications across Ohio and a 12 percent hike in Dayton.

But that doesn’t mean voucher interest is necessarily climbing or that there are more low-performing schools eligible for the program, said Scott Blake, spokesman for the education department.

While applications are up overall, most of those are from existing voucher students who must reapply for the grant every year, Blake said. The number of first-time applicants, however, dropped about 10 percent this year to 4,284. (It dropped by 21 in Dayton to 494.)

Blake said the dip could be a result of fewer low-performing public schools from which eligible voucher students are drawn. Students wanting vouchers must come from public schools in academic watch or emergency, he said, and, “In general, school buildings are performing better.”

Overall, Dayton trails only Cincinnati and Columbus in voucher applications.

The grants, 14,000 in all, give children money to be spent on private school tuition — up to $4,500 for elementary school and up to $5,300 for high school.

Blake said the state will notify parents of the voucher awards after July 1.

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