Ohio is extraordinarily generous to religious schools and charter schools. It even awards bonuses to failing charters schools!
Under current state law, millions of dollars will flow to failing charters. Ohio’s charter industry is drawing money away from real public schools, and most charters perform worse than real public schools. So now the state hopes to attract out-of-state charter chains and farm their taxpayer dollars out to corporations.
The charter-school bonus program was urged by Gov. Mike DeWine’s administration to reward the state’s good charters and encourage quality charter chains elsewhere to expand to Ohio. It earmarked $30 million per fiscal year in Ohio Lottery profits – $60 million overall – for the charter school bonuses.
For Ohio charter schools that qualify, the budget allots a bonus of up to $1,750 for each pupil classified as economically disadvantaged and up to $1,000 per pupil for all others.
The money was supposed to go only to “quality” charters. Unfortunately, language intended to attract strong out-of-state charter chains to open in Ohio — by offering the same bonuses to Ohio schools run by operators with good-performing schools in other states — backfired by allowing operators of dozens of failing and poor Ohio charters to ask for millions under the same provision.
The budget was framed with the advice of the DC-based Thomas B. Fordham Institute. Who will save the children of Ohio from its failing charter schools?
Ohio GOP lawmakers are now afraid to draft a state law without the Trump Administration approving it:
“COLUMBUS, Ohio – State lawmakers have talked to U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, an advocate of school choice, as they’ve been negotiating how to change Ohio’s private school voucher program, according to sources with information on the matter.
People who favor private school scholarships in Ohio first reached out to DeVos, asking for her help. DeVos made the first call to lawmakers, and offered counsel that the Education Choice program shouldn’t be dismantled, according to one source.”
DeVos and the Trump Administration can’t find the time or interest to lift a finger on behalf of public school students in this state, but they’re drafting ed reform’s newest voucher law.
Does anyone work for public school students? Anyone at all? If not, can we find and hire some people who will?
https://www.cleveland.com/open/2020/01/us-secretary-of-education-betsy-devos-talking-to-ohio-lawmakers-as-they-negotiate-voucher-legislation.html
The ed reform lobby accomplished two things in Ohio in 2019. A massive voucher expansion and yet more special funding for charter schools.
Nothing for public schools.
Tell me again about how these folks are “improving public education”. They do nothing positive for students in public schools. Twenty years of ed reform running my state’s education policy and all public school students got out of it was less funding and more ridiculous measurement schemes.
It’s a net loss for every public school student . They return zero value and we’re paying thousands of them in government.