15% of eligible Cleveland public school children apply for vouchers
School vouchers are popular with families, based on initial demand for the scholarships in Cleveland.
A total of 6,277 children initially applied to participate in the pilot school voucher program, [1] scheduled to begin in Cleveland this Fall for students in grades K-3.
About two-thirds of the voucher applications (4,204) came from public school students currently enrolled in 1st or 2nd grade or planning to enter Kindergarten this Fall. [2] The rest of the applications (2,073) came from students already enrolled in private schools.
Public School Applicants
About 27,500 public school students in Cleveland were eligible to apply for the voucher program. This figure is based on the 20,591 students enrolled in grades K-2 last year, [3] plus an estimated 7,000 incoming kindergarten students. [4]
Thus, 4,204 of the 27,500 eligible public school children in Cleveland applied for the pilot voucher
program. This is equal to 15.2 percent of the eligible population.
The demand for the program is seen as especially significant, since it is the first time that vouchers have ever been offered in Ohio. Also, the sign-up period was limited to only 8 1/2 weeks, with limited publicity. [5]
Of the 6,277 voucher applicants, 1,500 children were selected to receive a voucher thought a lottery held in January. [6] As of June 1, 1996, 4,777 children were on a waiting list for vouchers. [7]
The voucher recipients will receive up to $2,250 to attend any school of their choice, public or private.
Vouchers go to Low Income Families
Low income families were given first priority in the lottery for the Cleveland voucher program.
Since 3,423 applications were received from low -income children and only 1,500 vouchers were available, [8] all of the vouchers were awarded to low income families. [9]
Even if additional scholarships become available, [10] the new grants will go first to low-income families on the waiting list. Thus, the beneficiaries of the scholarship program are all low-income students and families in Cleveland.
Notes
[1] Ohio Department of Education (ODE), Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program, Cleveland, Ohio, March, 1996. This analysis is based on self-reported data from the initial applications unless otherwise noted. The Ohio Department of Education is in the process of verifying applicant background and information.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Enrollment data taken from ODE, Education Information Management System.
[4] This is an extrapolation based on enrollments in Kindergarten through third grade. Data is not recorded on student populations in pre-school years.
[5] ODE, Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid., June, 1996. The status of all 1,500 voucher recipients has been verified. ODE is in the process of verifying the backgrounds and qualifications of the remaining applicants, including those on the waiting list. Applicants may drop out of the scholarship portion of the program because they 1) do not qualify on the basis of residency or grade level, 2) choose the tutorial option, or 3) leave the program voluntarily.
[8] Low-income is defined as a family at or below the federal poverty threshold for February, 1995. This means, to qualify, a family of four would have to earn $15,150 or less. Data for low-income applicants are from an analysis of applicants by the Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program, May 31, 1996.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Five million dollars were allocated by the State Legislature to fund the program. If the scholarship and tutoring awards are lower than expected (e.g., tuition is lower than anticipated), money will be available to provide additional scholarships and tutoring grants. While ODE expects additional grants to be awarded, a reliable estimate was not available when this article went to press.
