Gadfly Bites 2/7/20 – Voucher Grouchers 8: Christmas in February

1. When last we updated the voucher groucher saga, we noted that families and private schools had attempted to take the initiative by suing nearly everyone in state government due to the legislated delay in opening the EdChoice application process. Since then, the House of Representatives took the initiative right back and passed another bill with EdChoice-pertinent amendments late on Wednesday night. (Gongwer Ohio, 2/5/20) Those amendments constitute an embarrassment of riches for somebody (it certainly isn’t those families and kids); emphasis on “embarrassment”. The biggest thing is that the House proposal would eliminate the performance-based EdChoice program almost entirely and go to income-based only…with some important limitations thereon. Details matter, people. (Columbus Dispatch, 2/5/20). The bill would also end all three existing Academic Distress Commissions… (Dayton Daily News, 2/5/20) …about which certain folks in Youngstown are cautiously optimistic. (Vindy.com, 2/6/20) Oooh! And it also repeals the territory transfer law which is currently under dispute in Stark County! You know the one I mean. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 2/6/20) Wow! And it would also set up a report card joint committee in the General Assembly. Why? Because report cards are the next things the House Speaker would like to “fix”. Report cards will continue, says he, but only for the moment. “The testing is still in place, so is the grade system. We’re going to work on that next.” Chilling. Kinda like “we’re coming’ for you next”. The Republican speaker was echoed by a Democratic colleague who assured folks that the Christmas tree amendments were just “the first step.” Toward what, exactly? (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 2/6/20). Editors in Columbus seem to have an idea where those steps are leading and they opined strongly against it today in an editorial titled “Mend, don’t end accountability via state school report cards”. (Columbus Dispatch, 2/7/20)
    
2. What’s next? Since the “vehicle” for these amendments is another poor bill (career tech education this time) that the Senate had previously passed, that body must concur in the amendments for the changes to become law. (WTOL-TV, Toledo, 2/6/20) Unfortunately, one of the “steps” not yet taken by the House as of this writing is the series of steps required to transfer the bill from House to Senate. Weird. Gongwer says this is emblematic of the “divide” between the two chambers on this issue. (Gongwer Ohio, 2/6/20)
   
   

3. What are voucher supporters saying during this trying time? Well, families are simply in limbo  until something is decided one way or the other. (And that is the proper usage of the term in this situation.) This piece also says that school district leaders are fretting over the budgetary “uncertainty” also, but I’m not sure I’ve got the proper reserve of rat patooties on hand so as to give one regarding a fractional ding to some district’s multi-million dollar budget. Your millage may vary. Get it?! (Akron Beacon-Journal, 2/6/20) Some private schools—also properly in “limbo” over this—are trying to drum up support from alumni and current families to try and mount some sort of protest. Wonder if they’ll be able to muster 1/1000th of the effort being easily financed and put forth in lock step by the educational establishment to argue the other way? You know what I mean. (Elyria Chronicle, 2/7/20) Yitz Frank, one of my favorite people in Ohio’s school choice movement, offers families some spiritual advice as they wait for resolution to this fakakta situation (did I use that right, Rabbi?) “Daven!” he says. Praying is great, but he also suggests getting ready for some action if it comes down to that too. (Cleveland Jewish News, 2/6/20) The editors of the Lima News fall back on some less-divine rhetoric in their editorial on vouchers. They bluntly call BS on efforts to limit school choice and they do not accept the idea that the current House proposal is aimed at expanding choices for families who clearly need and want them. “We don’t buy it, and neither should you.” (Lima News, 2/6/20)
    
4. In tangentially-related news, St. Matthew Parish Elementary in Akron is closing at the end of this school year after 70 years of service. The Diocese of Cleveland could no longer afford to continue large subsidies to the school and its small student population—roughly two-thirds of the “ideal” number, according to the boss. But his discussion of vouchers in this piece is striking. St. Matthew has never accepted EdChoice, said Pastor Michael Williamson, because the district schools in the surrounding area were doing well enough that students didn’t qualify for EdChoice. Whether that is true or not (I get you’re on the “good side” of Akron, but there seems to be a lot of charter schools on the map near you and who really knows how far a family will travel for a better school?), it does not explain why St. Matthew never accepted students on any of the other voucher programs. Guess maybe there are no poor families or students with special needs around there either. Or maybe there’s some other reason. Whatever. It doesn’t matter anymore. (Akron Beacon Journal, 2/5/20)
   
   

5. Speaking of decisions coming home to roost (were we?), more dismantling is underway in Lorain. This time in regard to curriculum put in place by the departed CEO…who raised the district’s overall achievement from an F to a D. And something about a new staff member whose job is somehow related to the 2020 census. Who even knows anymore? (Elyria Chronicle, 2/7/20) Speaking of things I can’t understand, a rock on the campus of Youngstown State University was painted with an anti-HB 70 (anti-ADC, that is) sentiment. Story says students did the painting, but it sounds to me that if they did, they were incited to do so by someone who was not a student…and who called around to get someone to interview her stuck around to be interviewed afterward. The story is, oddly, unclear on who this spokestagger is, but Google search is your friend. (WKBN-TV, Youngstown, 2/6/20)
    
6. Meanwhile, editors in Salem had some thoughts on school report cards. Specifically in support of continued A to F grading on them. (Salem News, 2/5/20)
   
   

7. Now for some good news—in the vein of our Wednesday discussion of improving neighborhoods and the opportunities in them—here’s an update on I Promise Village. That’s the supportive housing component being added to the litany of services (and high rigor educational opportunities) being provided for students in Akron through the work of the LeBron James Family Foundation. The housing component is on track for opening in the fall, looks fantastic, and stands to be a game changer for I Promise families. (Cleveland.com, 2/5/20)
    
8. If I were a cheeky monkey, I perhaps would try to reframe this piece without changing the facts within it. New headline, maybe? “Dayton City Schools to Discontinue Traditional Academic Offerings, Potentially Displacing Hundreds of Students”. Yep. That’s actually true, because one of the district’s traditional high schools will be converted to a second career tech high school next year. Don’t want to go that route? Guess you’ll have to be assigned to another building. Good luck with transportation! (Oops, that’ll probably be in the follow up story.) Or how about a different framing? “Ohio’s new emphasis on career tech education has shown Dayton City Schools is behind the times and must make radical changes to properly serve its students.” This, also, is true, according to the district supe as quoted in the actual article. But maybe that’s a little too liberal with the facts. How about this one, then? “Faced with increasing competition from charter schools, Dayton City Schools will be making radical changes to its academic offerings next year.” Yep. That’s in there too. Supe tells us that the current CTE school reportedly has 200 “former charter school” students among its roster, and it was decided that a second school was needed to open up enough seats to get more of their money them back. I can only imagine that there are not a lot of charter schools that have the wherewithal to afford big CTE programs; luckily, we know that Dayton has lots and lots of scratch with which to play the old “it takes money to make money” game. “New CTE High School in Dayton: Opportunity or Opportunism? You Decide!” (Dayton Daily News, 2/5/20)

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