There are encouraging signs that genuine reform in Ohio's educational system is possible - if not this year, then in the next biennial budget.
The Legislature has agreed that the per-pupil expenditure should increase from $4,490 to $4,800 next year, then $4,950 in the second year of the budget. There is a strong feeling, however, that merely "throwing money" at the existing school system isn't going to materially help educate students to the standards that have come to be expected, but rarely attained.
Dayton's freshman representative, John Husted, co-sponsored with Sen. Lynn Wachtmann of Napoleon the Community School Enhancement Act that would strengthen existing law by creating a state oversight board and authorize new community schools in areas where existing public schools are seriously underperforming.
The State Board of Education recently authorized 26 more charter schools, six of them for Dayton. The current cap on charter schools in Ohio is 125, which has almost been reached. Dayton leads the state in the number of charter schools with 12 in operation or to open next fall.
The Husted-Wachtmann bill would establish a State Board of Community Schools that could sponsor additional schools and monitor the performance of all of them. The state would also (as in Florida) establish Academic Watch areas where extra educational attention is needed. Community school teachers would be required to meet certain criteria, and community schools would be eligible for special and vocational education funding, plus transportation dollars.
In another development, Sen. Ron Amstutz of Wooster and Rep. Jim Trakas of Independence sponsored the State Scholarship Program Act to increase per-pupil vouchers for the Cleveland scholarship program from $2,500 to the current per-pupil expenditure of $4,400. Students would be permitted to use the full scholarship in public school districts adjacent to Cleveland or 90 percent if they enroll in a private school.
The Parental Involvement and Educational Opportunity Tax Credits Act, sponsored by Sen. Jim Jordan of Urbana and Rep. Mike Gilb of Findlay, is another move toward reform. It would encourage investment in local schools by individuals or corporations by offering tax credits Ð up to $10,000 in franchise taxes or $500 for individual tax filers. The credits would be extended to those contributing to nonprofit scholarship organizations that benefit public and private primary and secondary schools.
Ohio's legislative action comes against the backdrop of increasing union opposition across the country to this kind of school reform. The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is the prime mover in a series of lawsuits seeking to have voucher programs and charter schools dubbed unconstitutional because they "divert public money" from public schools to private and even "for-profit" ventures.
AFT and its allies, including the larger National Education Association (NEA) have turned to political action in some instances. In San Francisco. a change in school board membership has resulted in a decision to end the city's use of private Edison Schools even though they have been spectacularly successful in raising student achievement.
Some across the country have questioning whether charter schools or voucher programs have benefited students. What critics tend to overlook, however, is that charter schools are relatively easy to close if they fail to perform. They are also easy to change if their teachers do not measure up to standards.
One of the best examples is Dayton's World of Wonder (WOW) elementary school in Residence Park. The teachers are members of the union, the Ohio Education Association, and the school's charter is sponsored by the Dayton Board of Education. The school is free of many state regulations and operating with union approval, the staff works as a team with parents, and individual teachers can be replaced if they do not perform or even "fit in." The results measured by national tests show marked student success. This is in contrast to the problems public school administrators have in even moving teachers from one school to another, much less replacing them.
Ohio's pioneer voucher program in Cleveland is headed for a U.S. Supreme Court test on the grounds that it unconstitutionally funnels money to religious schools. In Milwaukee, however, that issue has been decided by the courts in favor of vouchers. Experience shows that parents pick and choose between public and private schools depending on the needs (and preferences) of their children.
It is that flexibility that Ohio's education reformers hope to accomplish eventually.