Bill Phillis, founder of the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Advocacy, is a retired state superintendent in the state. He has focused like a laser on the importance of funding public education equitably and adequately. He writes here about the staggering cost of privatizing public money to pay for charters, virtual charters, and vouchers. This is money deducted from the public schools, which outperform both charters and vouchers and the failing virtual charter industry.
He writes:
 The direct state subsidies to private schools and school choice programs will cost taxpayers $751,894,805 in FY 21 and FY 22; additionally, $2,352, 881,306 will be deducted from school districts for vouchers and charters The total direct state budget appropriations in HB 166 for private school subsidies, charter and voucher programs in FY 21 and FY 22 are $751,894,805. $344,027,972 of the appropriations is in the General Revenue section of the budget and the rest is in non-General Revenue sections. This $751,894,805 is in addition to $2,352,881,306 that will be deducted from school districts, assuming that about the same amount is deducted in FY 22 as in FY 21. Therefore the grand total of taxpayer revenue for private schools and school choice programs in FY 21 and FY 22 will be $3,104,776,111. The cost of transportation that is incurred by school districts for school choice programs is in addition. The FY 21 and FY 22 direct state appropriation line items in HB 166 for private school subsidies, and voucher and charter school programs are listed here. **flows through districts from a direct state subsidy |
| The direct state subsidies to private schools and school choice programs will cost taxpayers $751,894,805 in FY 21 and FY 22; additionally, $2,352, 881,306 will be deducted from school districts for vouchers and charters The total direct state budget appropriations in HB 166 for private school subsidies, charter and voucher programs in FY 21 and FY 22 are $751,894,805. $344,027,972 of the appropriations is in the General Revenue section of the budget and the rest is in non-General Revenue sections. This $751,894,805 is in addition to $2,352,881,306 that will be deducted from school districts, assuming that about the same amount is deducted in FY 22 as in FY 21. Therefore the grand total of taxpayer revenue for private schools and school choice programs in FY 21 and FY 22 will be $3,104,776,111. The cost of transportation that is incurred by school districts for school choice programs is in addition. The FY 21 and FY 22 direct state appropriation line items in HB 166 for private school subsidies, and voucher and charter school programs are listed here. **flows through districts from a direct state subsidy |
Diane Ravitch's blog 
This is the price “THEY” are willing to pay to send no voters, or stupid voters, or indoctrinated voters, or illiterate voters or fascist voters into the voting booth. This is the price “They” are willing to pay to assist the dismantling of democracy.
You’re right. Ohio voters select GOP and they get Koch’s ALEC, Fordham’s Michael Petrilli and Robert Pondiscio and, schools Superintendent Paola DeMaria.
Ohio Privatization bought and paid for in Anne Nelson’s newest book SHADOW NETWORK. YouTube Interview With Anne
Thanks for the info.
I’ll read the book but, do you know if Senator Matt Huffman and his first cousin, Sen. Steve Huffman (in the news this summer for racist comments), who ares both school choice advocates, get a mention in the book. as well as the Ohio Catholic Conference which promotes school choice ?
Here is the BIG back story on exactly how Ohio Privatization is being bought and paid for. Anne Nelson’s book entitled Shadow Network.
Ohio has followed ed reformers lockstep in completely neglecting and ignoring the 90% of students and families who use public schools in favor of an ed reform agenda on charters and vouchers.
They simply don’t serve public school students and families at all. There is no positive agenda or policy for our schools, no effort expended, and no real interest.
It isn’t going to change until Ohio voters hire some people in Columbus who support public schools. Our entire state takes orders from the national “ed reform movement” and the ed reform movement offers absolutely nothing to 90% of students and families.
Bust up the echo chamber, get some new people in there who didn’t come out of the narrow ed reform pipeline of think tanks and lobbying groups and orgs, or it stays the same- public school students and families remain the last priority.
They so take public school students and families for granted they don’t even pretend to serve us- each and every legislative session is taken up with satisfying the demands of the charter and voucher promoters. They haven’t done anything for our students in years- it’s been two decades now.
One of the reasons the cost is so high is that a hefty percentage of the money has to be kicked back to the legislators who kick the money forward to the privateers.
Follow the money
And you can bet
It flows in circles
Pocket to pocket
And down the toilet.
BURMA SHAVE
I think public school supporters are going to have to actually create their own pro-public school student agenda. The ed reform echo chamber is so calcified and entrenched in Ohio that it just produces more ed reformers.
These folks are not going to come up with any positive agenda for our schools. By the time they get to the point where they’re lobbying the statehouse everyone other than true believers has been rejected as insufficiently committed to charters and vouchers.
Ohio doesn’t have any positive plans or investments on tap for public schools because no one in Columbus focuses on public schools. They’re only hired and promoted if they recite the ed reform gospel.
Nothing on any front will ever change in this country so long as we continue to maintain the Vortex of Corruption, the system of legalized bribery, known as political campaign funding. The public cannot win this game by playing it.
great summation
The public are not even playing the game.
We are the game pieces.
The public can’t win
You can not win a game
When you are not a player
And worst of all, for shame
You’re just a piece to play there
SomeDAM Shave
Concerning education also: A post I wrote for facebook:
Religious differences can and too often do lead to war and cause horrendous pain and suffering but the great moral codes found in our great religions to the degree they are followed lead to peace, prosperity and human progress way too often nowadays overlooked and deemed pie in the sky.
Just one case in point: financial costs of incarceration vs educating and rehabilitating people;
• It costs an average of about $81,000 per year to incarcerate an inmate in prison in California. Over three-quarters of these costs are for security and inmate health care. Since 2010-11, the average annual cost has increased by about $32,000 or about 58 percent. Nationally, the incarceration rate is at an all-time high of 217 per 100,000 adults, and prisons now cost taxpayers $4.6 billion every year (including capital costs). This increase in spending on prisons creates a trade-off with other government priorities, like policing. Nationally each gun death averages about $6 million in total costs costing more than $229 billion each year, about $700 dollars per person.
Mother Jones magazine has a tremendous article on a different approach of treating crime which is not only more humane but is even financially beneficial for taxpayers.
Oakland police: “you can’t arrest your way out of a problem.” Oakland had the third highest murder rate of any midsize city in the country. They passed Measure Z’, 60% for police, the rest for violence prevention programs.
This was not an easy quick solution. Many adjustments to the program had to be made as the program progressed but the results are more than encouraging and are being looked at and emulated around our nation. A very important element included police education into how malefactors were to be treated. It was necessary to gain the confidence of people in the high crime areas.
The program, measure Z initiated in 2018 resulted in in only 10% of the men who went through the program being arrested after one year. In contrast nearly ¾ of men in their early 20s with juvenile records were rearrested within a few years of detention. When education and concern for the one who has “sinned”, addressing causes for crime rather than retribution; an eye for an eye etc ,changes lives, saves money and the biggest percentage of people become instead of recurring problems, become productive citizens, PAYING taxes instead of taxes needed to be paid for their incarceration. In other societies this has been done for some time but we are way behind in following successful programs like this.
Rather than just punishing, when one sees people as fellow humans who made serous mistakes but worthy of rehabilitation it results in all kinds of benefits. Sadly the soft on crime idea creates more problems than it solves but lately seems the primary way of addressing the problem. Tragically demagoguery has promoted this myopic way of thinking .Statistical data proves the inefficiency of that manner of procedure.
This summary does not even begin to do justice to the program. The article is scholarly, definitive and totally instructive.
Virtual learning has become the default instruction method because of the coronavirus. I am a free special education advocate. I help and teach parents to fight for their children’s rights to a Free Appropriate Public Education(FAPE). I ask and insist parents have their children learn how to touch type. I require looking up “Free Touch Typing” on the internet pick a program. Then have their child and all family members do at least 15 minutes a day for 30 days. By the end of 30 days children as young as 4 are able to copy at least 10 words per minute. I have children/adults with Autism, ADD/ADHD, Cerebral Palsy, Dyslexia, Muscular Dystrophy, Dysgraphia and persons with the use of one hand learn how to touch type. The results is within 30 days reading, writing skills, communication skills, spelling and vocabulary improve. If you have any questions call me 352-282-2539 Linda Montalbano urania32@hotmail.com
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