Fordham Ohio stayed busy in July with lots of special edition Gadflies, but the good ole regular edition is back in full swing this week. At the top of the lineup: charter schools in Ohio are facing cuts of up to 15 percent or more as the Buckeye State heads into the next budget cycle. But the budget debate also presents an opportunity to discuss blatant funding disparities ? such as the fact that charters can't tap into local property or income taxes, or other funds that districts have at their fingertips. Some charters are joining forces to deal with these challenges ? like four high-flyers in Cleveland that formed a new CMO recently ? but charter advocates should fight against funding inequities that could do serious damage to mom-and-pop charters as the recession continues.
Next, check out findings from a Fordham-commissioned study of student mobility in Dayton. Conducted by an economist at the University of Dayton, the analysis shows several surprising trends. For starters, lots of parents of Dayton's most mobile students are sending their kids to equal or worse-performing schools. Choice hasn't spurred better decision-making, unfortunately. Second, the argument that charters siphon resources and kids from public schools seems out of left field when looking at this data ? in fact, mobile students are moving out of greater Dayton altogether, not from public district to charter schools.
And where would you be without Ohio Gadfly's thoughts on cost savings in K-12 education? The first analysis takes a look at potential savings of increasing average student-teacher ratios by just one or a few students ? the results may shock you. Districts that are going to the ballot to ask voters for more operating funds should rethink student-teacher ratios, especially if they're currently low. And there's been a lot of talk about down-sizing and consolidating. Turns out that most of Ohio's districts aren't just small, they're top-heavy when it comes to student-administrator ratios and amount spent on administrators ? and this has a lot to do with district size.
Be sure to keep reading for reviews of CRPE's report on ?strategic communications? in portfolio districts, a policy paper by AEI that lifts up Broad-winning districts, and Annie E. Casey's Kids Count Data Book.? Editor's Extras brings you a delightful mix of random news about adolescent reading, college students' study habits, name-brand preferences over school supplies like you wouldn't believe, and NCTQ's take on Race to the Top round two.