Vouching for success
It’s time for state lawmakers to put some skin in the game when it comes to education reform.
The Editorial Board
Thu, 23 Jan 2020 05:00:00 GMT
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A fight is coming in Columbus over Ohio’s 15-year-old school performance-based EdChoice program — one our state lawmakers should have seen coming.
There are things Columbus can and should do swiftly, but reform requires a deliberative process that includes simplifying the school rating system and making it more effective in helping schools improve.
Until the upcoming 2020-21 school year, the number of schools designated as low performing and thus on the state’s voucher-giving list was relatively small.
Last year only about 500 schools were affected by the program, which shifts $4,650 per student per year from public schools toward private-school tuition for students in kindergarten through eighth grade, and $6,000 per student for high school. For the upcoming school year, the number jumps to about 1,200 schools. Some of them had little to complain about, according to state Sen. Matt Huffman (R., Lima) because the state money they receive per pupil exceeds those amounts.
With the expansion, that is changing. Now suburban districts that get lower state support per pupil will have students within their boundaries eligible for vouchers, and some consider giving vouchers a shift of local taxpayer money.
In Lucas County, the number of schools whose student populations are eligible for performance-based vouchers for private or parochial schools rises from 37 for 2019-20 to 57 for the 2020-21 school year, and the number of districts affected doubles from three to six.
A safe haven shielding most districts from the program is expiring, so lawmakers should not be surprised by the complaints now being heard from previously unaffected suburban districts.
The safe haven stems from dissatisfaction with the A-through-F assessment system then-Gov. John Kasich switched to in 2014. Their use was put on hold; and given that they remain the target of widespread criticism, it is past time to revamp them.
Beyond the need for a better school-assessment tool, options for changing Ohio’s school-voucher program include expanding the family income-based school voucher program. That would provide options for families dissatisfied with their local public schools who can’t afford private or parochial.
Some are calling for private and parochial schools to be assessed as public schools are, so they’re accountable for the tax dollars they receive through the state’s voucher programs. A short-term fix state lawmakers should strongly consider is one they’re naturally inclined against: Put state dollars into the performance-based voucher program.
If the state had to take on 25 percent of the cost of these vouchers, state lawmakers’ interest in finding ways to help poor-performing districts improve would increase. Rather than pointing to failing schools and counting on financial incentives to move local districts, they’d have a fiscal spur to help them better serve their students.
It’s time for state lawmakers to put some skin in the game regarding education reform. Putting Columbus on the hook for performance-based school voucher funds should encourage them to improve on the school report cards now used to assess schools and develop better programs to help truly struggling schools educate their students.