Gadfly Bites 3/27/23—Zoned out

1. In a surprise to no one, the Westerville Planning Commission rejected a conditional use permit for a charter school proposed to take over empty office space in the Columbus suburb, citing traffic concerns. Not sure what, if any, next steps the school’s operators might pursue. But at least the visionaries at WPC can rest assured that that empty building will continue to generate zero traffic…or tax revenue. (Columbus Dispatch, 3/24/23)
   
   

2. Meanwhile, in a city that knows a thing or two about weaponizing zoning boards (all 10 of my long time Bites subscribers know exactly what I mean), editors in Toledo took a somewhat different—and somewhat surprising tack—in regard to school choice this weekend. “Our perception is that the schools in Toledo are doing everything they can to engage young people and give them hope and pathways to success,” they write, responding to a city official’s prescription for ending violence in their city. “Indeed, families in Toledo have many schools to choose from. If your local public school isn’t to your taste, Ohio is a state with a robust charter school system and the EdChoice scholarship that is awarded based on family income or the academic performance of the home-school building.” The connection to youth violence is not made entirely clear here, but the support for high quality schools—and for parents’ ability to choose them—is welcomed. (Toledo Blade, 3/26/23)
   
   

3. You know who doesn’t seem to have a lot of trust in the quality of school options—or indeed in parents’ ability to choose from among them? Former state supe Susan Tave Zelman’s, that’s who, judging by this book sales pitch op-ed published over the weekend. (Cleveland.com, 3/26/23)
   
   

4. Back to Toledo City Schools for a second: Kudos for being first out of the gate to speak on the record about how scary and awful you think state testing is for kids. And kudos to reporter Michael Sandlin for penning the lines, “[T]he students have gone over the practice test portal again and again like their education depended on it. And to a certain degree, it does.” Petty, predictable, and entirely bogus. (WTOL-TV, 3/24/23)
   
   

5. And just to attempt to end on a decently positive note, here’s some new research on interdistrict open enrollment conducted by the Indiana organization EdChoice which includes lots of information on Ohio’s longstanding and very popular program. Fordham’s research on this topic is well represented here. Thanks guys! (EdChoice, 3/22/23)

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