BuckeyeBlog

The fight continues between public charter schools and public district schools, and it always seems to start with the unions throwing the first punch.  Yesterday’s Gongwer Report provided some detailed information about the state report cards, and the teachers’ union acted as though they had body slammed their charter “opponents”.  Let’s consider some facts the district schools and union cronies don’t want you to think about:

1. While unions tout the fact that they have fewer failing schools, they fail to mention that charter school laws are working exactly as planned – the 16 failing charter schools will close at the end of this year.  Will Youngstown City Schools close as well?
2. Are academics the only reason parents takes their children out of district schools?  No – a big reason is safety.  The district schools can’t touch the charters on safety.  Body slam for the charters.
3. Former State Board of Education member Colleen Grady believes the new Value Added measurement is skewed to make district schools look better.  Many charter schools use a better method – scan tron.  Why don’t district schools use it?  Because it measures teacher quality, and unions will have none of that. 
4. Contrary to the myths being perpetrated by teacher unions, charter schools do not get the best students – they get the students who are failing in district schools or are being bullied, many of them special needs students.  So those whose parents don’t care or who are succeeding stay in the districts.  In spite of that, the overwhelming majority of charter students, new and old, are making substantive learning gains.

Who is really benefitting from public charter schools?  Parents and students!  Students have safer environments with schools that are more accountable because parents can take their students out and charter schools can be closed.  Who’s keeping the district schools accountable – surely not the teachers’ unions.  I’d give the win to parents, students, charters and taxpayers.

Maurice Thompson, director of the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law, was a guest on the Matt Patrick show on August 5. Thompson and Patrick discussed the 1851 Center’s amicus brief in LetOhioVote.org v. Brunner. The brief argues that the general assembly acted hastily in adapting video slots gaming at Ohio race tracks as a way to balance the budget and also deprived citizens of their constitutional right to keep the state government in check via a referendum vote.

The Legislature has been trying to pass a Special Education scholarship plan for years.  While public charter schools and the EdChoice scholarship are saving taxpayers money, could a Special Education voucher do the same?

It has helped in Florida.  McKay Scholarship students cost less to educate on average than traditional students in public schools.  And now new research from Jay Green and Marcus Winters for the Manhattan Institute indicates that in Florida, even more money is saved because districts who have lost kids to the McKay Scholarship are now diagnosing 15% fewer special needs students! 

While diagnosing fewer students with learning disabilities sounds like a horrible way to save money, the truth is since the Federal Government passed IDEA-Individuals with Disabilities Education Act-in 1975, the number of special needs students has ballooned from 8.3 percent in 1976 to 13.6 percent in 2007.  That’s a 64% increase!  And many experts believe that number has been artificially inflated by schools who gain financially by increasing their diagnoses of lower category special needs students and thus obtaining more money from the state.

The bottom line is, if schools only diagnosed those students with real learning disabilities and if special needs students could obtain vouchers to attend the schools of their choice, Ohio would likely save millions at a time when every dime counts.  Fewer kids stigmatized with a label, more choice, less cost — it all adds up to a winning combination for Ohio.

The latest “falsehood” promoted by the Obama administration is about the “Cash for Clunkers” program.  After initially refusing to provide the details about what Americans were buying – a clear lack of transparency from the man who promised increased transparency - the Obama government finally released their list of the top 10 vehicles purchased.  No doubt the “lack of transparency” was necessary to buy time for the government to figure out how to cook the numbers.

What’s the truth?  Edmunds.com did the research.  And CNN Money wrote an article about it.  Let’s compare the governments’ claims with Edmunds:

The government’s top ten vehicles purchased in the Cash for Clunkers program, starting with number ten:  Chevy Cobalt, Honda Fit, Hyundai Elantra, Dodge Caliber, Toyota Camry, Ford Escape, Toyota Prius, Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic and the Ford Focus.  The actual top ten, same order:  Ford Fusion, Toyota Corolla, Chevy Cobalt, Chevy Silverado, Honda Civic, Ford F-150, Dodge Caliber, Jeep Patriot, Ford Focus and the Ford Escape.

While it’s true that trucks and SUVs were the vehicles most often traded-in as clunkers, it is also true that they were the vehicles most often traded-in BEFORE the Cash for Clunkers program started.  And they remain in the top 10 vehicles purchased!  The only ‘new’ truth is that the government’s lying to the American people.  Actually, that’s not new either.

The City of Columbus is not the only big overtime spender. The State of Ohio spent more than $124 million in overtime last year. The Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections racked up an overtime bill of more than $58.2 million.

The State of Ohio defines overtime and breaks overtime pay into 11 pay componenets, inlcuding “On Duty Hours,” which pays $60 an hour.

Other big overtime spenders in Ohio include the Department of Public Safety, $10.2 million, the Department of Transportation, $15.9 million, and the Department of Youth Services, $9.6 million.

Click here for a complete break-down of overtime pay for agnecies in the State of Ohio.

More evidence was revealed today that school choices is working.  The Friedman Foundation found parents participating in the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program had “dramatically higher levels of satisfaction with academic progress, individual attention, teacher quality, school responsiveness, and student behavior when compared to the public schools their children previously attended…”

Among the findings of the report:

• 80 percent of the parents are “very satisfied” with the academic progress their children are making in their current private schools, compared to 4 percent in their previous public schools.
• 80 percent are “very satisfied” with the individual attention their children now receive, compared to 4 percent in public schools.
• 76 percent are “very satisfied” with the teacher quality in their current schools, compared to 7 percent in public schools.
• 76 percent are “very satisfied” with their schools’ responsiveness to their needs, compared to 4 percent in public schools.
• 62 percent are “very satisfied” with the student behavior in their current schools, compared to 3 percent in public schools.

Why do political leaders, union bosses and bureaucrats in Ohio continue to believe they know better than parents what is best for Ohio children?  Stop shoving the one-size-doesn’t-fit-all public system down the throats of Ohio families and give Ohio kids the tools they need to make Ohio successful again – give our children school choice!

With the final decision on Issue One just a day away and as the battle between both sides heats up, I decided it was time to be front and center with a Columbus Police Officer. On Saturday, August 2, 2009, I accompanied a police officer who’s job may be on the line. I rode side-by-side with him during the second shift at the 19th Precinct on the west side of Columbus. This is a first-hand account of a night in the 19th Precinct.

It began like any other ride-a-long, (I have been on two others before, one in Athens, Ohio and the other in Baltimore, Maryland), strange looks, some smiles but mostly the officers just pretending like I am not there. After passing the warrant check and scanning my license I was cleared to go.

The officer I was riding with has been with the Columbus Police Department for four years, an average length it seemed compared to the other officers working that night. The officer explained what was in the car, mentioning his car is short on supplies because, “the city won’t pay for them.” Then it was time to head on the road. (more…)

In a recent article mentioning the research and numbers behind the Buckeye Institute’s series on the City of Columbus Employee Salary Database some of the numbers provided in the article, “More Money, More Problems,” were challenged. 

The median household income in the City of Columbus according to the Economic Research Service was $37,897 in 2000.  The $48,076 referred to in the article is based on numbers from 2007 for Franklin County and not just Columbus, Ohio.  Median household income numbers from 2007 were not used because a variety of sources referenced figures ranging from $42,253 to $48,076. 

Either way, household income by definition can include more than one “bread-winner.”  The median income for ONE city employee is still more than that.  An individual working for the City of Columbus can potentially makes more money than an entire household living in the city. 

The article continues by configuring the median income for City of Columbus employees without including overtime pay.  By doing this calculation the author points out an alarming fact: the median income with overtime is $4,934 more than the median income without it included.  This reiterates the vast amount of overtime employees working for the city make. 

The City of Columbus paid out more than $28 million in overtime last year alone.  That is more than 30% of the amount of money the city hopes to raise with the proposed income tax increase on August 4, 2009. 

All of these calculations, both on the Buckeye Blog and in the other article do not include pension, benefits, or retirement.  The Division of Police alone expects to pay out close to $9 million; that is for only two union organizations and includes only the City’s share of pension payments. 

Individuals living in Columbus make less than city employees and do not have the same pension plans or health and retirement benefits.

The City of Columbus Police Department is the recipient of a $12.7 million federal grant to hire or retain police officers.

The grant is supposed to pay the salary and benefits for 50 entry level officers for three years.  $12.7 million averages out to $4.23 million every year for three years.

The combined base salary of the 247 most recently hired officers working for the Columbus Police Department totals $11.5 million.  That averages out to an individual base salary of $46,559 each year.

If the federal grant covers just the base salary of a new officer the City of Columbus could afford to employee 90 officers for a three year period.  The proposal says it will cover salary and benefits for just 50 entry level officers.  If salary and benefits are paid for with $4.23 million dollars, each of those officers will take home on average $84,600 in salary and benefits pay each year.

In this scenario, the average officer is earning about $38,000 a year in benefits.  That is equivalent to 81.7% of their annual income and just $8,500 less than their yearly base salary.

Police equipment costs are adding to the City of Columbus’ budget hole again this year.

According to a report provided to City Council in 2007, the Columbus Division of Police’s helicopter fleet is the third largest of any police helicopter fleet in the country. The City even seems to be in disagreement about just how many choppers make up the fleet. One report links the city to owning eight helicopters, six of which are operational and another two that are held in storage.

A 2008 report from the City Auditor cites seven fully operational helicopters. City Council approved the purchase of a new helicopter in 2007, which cost tax payers $1,356,545. If each helicopter cost around $1.3 million, the city has spent between $9.1 and $10.4 million on purchasing helicopters. In addition, the city has $1.7 million worth of insurance on each helicopter.

However, those figures do not include the cost of operating every helicopter. In a report to City Council, the division claims to fly a helicopter in the air 16 hours a day, 365 days a year. That is more than 5,800 hours a year. According to a manual on the manufacturer’s website, it costs $375/hour to operate a McDonnell Douglass MD500E. Therefore, the cost of operating one helicopter at that rate is $2.19 million a year.

However, the claim that helicopters are used 16 hours per day is inconsistent with the numbers in the department’s budget this year. Only $248,000 has been appropriated for fuel costs this year, but as of June 23, 2009, not a single penny of that money has been spent. So far this year, the department has spent $100,000 on maintaining and servicing its fleet.

Does the City own “hybrid” helicopters that don’t require fuel, or is the fleet not being used as regularly as the Division claims?