The Next Step for Ohio's High School Graduates
Unfortunately, the number of institutions for higher learning expressly devoted to the cause of pursuing, defending, and advancing truth and freedom, as well as to preserving the rich heritage of the Western tradition, is slight. To help guide Ohio’s critically thinking young adults in their college searches, The Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions lists a handful of the region’s best liberal arts colleges.
Update on Education Policy from the Buckeye Institute, Summer 2005
By David Hansen, posted August 30, 2005
Over the past ten years the Buckeye Institute has offered to Ohio's policymakers and the public a compelling vision of how children, parents and all Ohioans would benefit from school choice. Our vision continues to win wider acceptance and important gains in choice-based reforms are being made. Legislation significantly expanding the state's voucher scholarship program was signed last month by Governor Taft. Beginning with the 2006 school year, over 19,000 families in Ohio will have a real chance to escape their failing government-run schools using voucher scholarships.
Rope-a-Dope: How the Ohio Education Association Bargains When Money Is Scarce
By Mike Antonucci, posted August 2, 2005
To hear the Ohio Education Association (OEA) tell it, these are the worst of times for public education in the state. Ohio may be 18th in the nation in per-pupil spending, with an estimated 4.67 percent increase in spending for 2004-05 despite a decrease in enrollment from the previous year,...
By David Hansen, posted July 21, 2005
Policymakers are right to worry about holding schools accountable. One of the biggest advantages of school choice is that it increases accountability in education. Our Issues in Brief document shows how voucher programs are held accountable in selected states in the U.S.
Public school teachers send kids to private schools more than the general public
Public-school teachers are more likely to use private schools than the average Ohio family. [1] 15.2 percent of Ohio's public-school teachers sent at least one child to private schools according to census data. [2] In contrast, 14.7 percent of Ohio's general population sent...
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...
Testimony of Buckeye Institute Scholar Samuel R. Staley on School Choice
By Samuel R. Staley, Ph.D., posted March 15, 2005
Written testimony provided to the Ohio House Education Committee, Alternative Education Subcommittee by Samuel R. Staley. The subject of the testimony is the importance of school choice and educational alternatives for furthering school reform in Ohio.
Why Don't Teachers Get Paid Like Doctors?
By David W. Kirkpatrick, posted July 21, 2004
That was a question Chris Matthews once posed to William Bennett on Matthews' program "Hardball." It's a question often posed by teachers themselves, and their unions. Bennett replied that teachers don't reach that level because their unions object to merit pay, or to some teachers earning more than others with equivalent experience and credits. That is part of the story. But teachers didn't receive equivalent pay with doctors before there were effective teacher unions nor will they should unions disappear.
By David W. Kirkpatrick, posted July 21, 2004
In early 1998, Pennsylvania's Southeast Delco School District adopted a local student grant program to begin with the next school year. It would have provided $250 for each kindergarten student, $500 for students in grades 1-8, and $1,000 for each 9-12 high school student to attend a school of his or her choice, public or private. A coalition of opponents promptly asked the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas to stop the program. Six months later Judge Joseph Battle ruled against the program saying, "A common sense reading of the public school code results in a finding that there is not any express authority granted. for the board's action.
Teacher Unions Continue Attack on Charter Schools
By David W. Kirkpatrick, posted July 4, 2004
Washington State recently became the 41st state to establish a charter school law. It provides for 45 charter schools over a six year period, with the majority to serve disadvantaged students. Despite this emphasis on students most in need, the 78,000-member Washington Education Association has announced it will launch a drive to attempt obtaining the necessary 98.867 signatures of registered voters by June 9 to place an initiative on the fall ballot to overturn the law before it even gets a fair trial.
School Violence. Why? And What to Do?
By David W. Kirkpatrick, posted July 4, 2004
School violence, while declining, is still a too-common occurrence. Further, the highly publicized incidents are but the tip of the proverbial iceberg. The obvious question that continues to arise is why does it happen?
Why Don't Teachers Get Paid Like Doctors?
By David W. Kirkpatrick, posted June 21, 2004
That was a question Chris Matthews once posed to William Bennett on Matthews' program "Hardball." It's a question often posed by teachers themselves, and their unions. Bennett replied that teachers don't reach that level because their unions object to merit pay, or to some teachers earning more...
Teacher Unions Continue Attack on Charter Schools
By David W. Kirkpatrick, posted June 4, 2004
Washington State recently became the 41st state to establish a charter school law. It provides for 45 charter schools over a six year period, with the majority to serve disadvantaged students. Despite this emphasis on students most in need, the 78,000-member Washington Education Association has...
School Violence. Why? And What to Do?
By David W. Kirkpatrick, posted June 4, 2004
School violence, while declining, is still a too-common occurrence. Further, the highly publicized incidents are but the tip of the proverbial iceberg. The obvious question that continues to arise is why does it happen? One standard response is that violent students come from dysfunctional...
Community Schools - Trying to Fix What's Not Broken
By Nathan Dolezal and Matthew Hisrich, posted May 21, 2004
Legislators often feel compelled to address a perceived public crisis, regardless of whether there is a need for political intervention. With all of the recent media attention surrounding community schools in Ohio, it is not surprising that legislators are attempting to tackle the issue. Unfortunately, in an effort to “do something,” legislators may actually undermine their own cause — namely, improving education and assuring that tax dollars are well spent.
Community Schools -- Trying to Fix What's Not Broken
By Nathan Dolezal and Matthew Hisrich, posted May 21, 2004
Legislators often feel compelled to address a perceived public crisis, regardless of whether there is a need for political intervention. With all of the recent media attention surrounding community schools in Ohio, it is not surprising that legislators are attempting to tackle the issue....
Many Teachers Favor Charter Schools Although Their Unions Don't
By David W. Kirkpatrick, posted May 20, 2004
Charter schools commonly have waiting lists of student applicants. Generally overlooked is the often larger supply of potential teachers. Teachers have started many such schools, including the first one, City Academy in St. Paul, Minnesota. Established in 1992 by two of St. Paul's union member teachers, it is still operating. Teachers also flock to those started by others. This is true from Arizona, where a school had 200 qualified applicants for ten teaching jobs, to Massachusetts where 500 applied for 7 positions. A school with more than 70 applicants for each position has a distinct advantage in selecting superior teachers.
Tuition Vouchers. An Old Story
By David W. Kirkpatrick, posted May 7, 2004
What do Adam Smith, Tom Paine, Thomas Jefferson, John Stuart Mill, Margaret Mead, Milton Friedman, the 1976 California Supreme Court, former U.S. Secretaries of Education Lamar Alexander and William Bennett, U.S. Sen. Diane Feinstein, Washington, D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams, Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush, former U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a majority of the American public (according to many public opinion polls) and numerous other nations have in common?
Googling the 'Net for School Information
By David W. Kirkpatrick, posted April 29, 2004
Google searches some five billion websites. Results are frequently so voluminous that one can hardly avoid coming across references on almost any topic. This includes schooling or education (contrary to common usage the two terms are not synonymous or interchangeable) and individual topics such homeschooling, public schools or educational alternatives such as vouchers or charter schools.
By David W. Kirkpatrick, posted April 14, 2004
One of the more recent, and successful, options to implement school choice is the use of universal Tuition Tax Credits. The idea of direct tuition tax credits, whereby parents receive a tax credit for tuition they pay, has been around for years but proved difficult to implement because of inherent...
Small Schools Achieve Better Results
By David W. Kirkpatrick, posted March 25, 2004
Few aspects of schooling have been more thoroughly studied than the impact of school size. Studies are virtually unanimous in concluding smaller schools are better than large ones. Among other things, attendance, achievement, participation in extracurricular activities and graduation rates...
Education Rhetoric: The Intemperate Pot, and the Hypocritical Kettle
By David W. Kirkpatrick, posted March 5, 2004
U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige, while recently addressing some of the nation's governors, referred to the National Education Association (NEA) as "a terrorist organization." Even Democratic governors present said he was attempting a joke and he promptly apologized. Nonetheless...
Double Standards in School Practices
By David W. Kirkpatrick, posted February 27, 2004
What is termed a level playing field in education is, like beauty, in the eyes of the beholder. Consider a few examples. Public educators regularly complain about regulations, for which they the usually the source. Yet rather than reduce or eliminate them their idea of a level playing field is to...
Does Government Funding Equal Government Control?
By David W. Kirkpatrick, posted February 20, 2004
One argument against public funding of school choice is that "who pays the piper calls the tune." Admittedly this is theoretically possible, as is the argument that all students might want to attend the same school. A possibility, however, is not necessarily reality, as higher education...
Charter Schools: Missed Opportunity for School Boards?
By David W. Kirkpatrick, posted February 13, 2004
A dozen years ago there wasn't a charter school in the United States. Today there are more than 2,700, enrolling over 700,000 students. Only ten states do not have a charter school law. Clearly an unstoppable movement is underway. Despite this, most school boards oppose such schools. With some...
By David W. Kirkpatrick, posted January 30, 2004
No complaint is voiced more often by the public school establishment than the need for more money. No matter how much is available it is never enough. Yet they never say how much is enough, or which of the 14,000+ school districts in the nation have enough. In the three budget years under the...
School Choice Is A Right, No Bashing Necessary
By David W. Kirkpatrick, posted January 30, 2004
Few institutions are as sensitive to criticism, however soundly based, as the media and the public schools. Criticize the former and they cite the First Amendment's protection of a free press, as if that protects them from analysis, while public school defenders complain about "bashing" at any...
Ohio's Economic Freedom Lags Neighboring States
By Nathan Dolezal, posted January 30, 2004
According to the Economic Freedom of North America: 2004 Annual Report, Ohio’s economic freedom ranks near the bottom. In fact, Ohio ranks 40th out of all 50 U.S. states in terms of the impact of restrictions on freedom by state and local governments. Economic Freedom Index The Economic...
School Size - Bigger Is Not Better
By David W. Kirkpatrick, posted January 14, 2004
Few aspects of education have been more thoroughly researched than school size. Few findings have been more consistent; and few have been more consistently ignored. As far back as 1964, Roger Barker and Paul Gump, in their book, Big School, Small School, summarized hundreds of studies...
Book Review - Voucher Wars: Waging the Legal Battle over School Choice
By Danielle Mendola, posted December 1, 2003
Voucher Wars: Waging the Legal Battle over School ChoiceBy Clint BolickCato Institute, 2003, 277 pages. $12.00 paperback Whether one supports or combats educational vouchers, there can be no denying that Clint Bolick stood at the forefront of the controversy. As a legal advocate for the Institute...
Through grants and volunteers, OhioReads is meant to improve the reading skills of Ohio’s youngest readers as preparation for the fourth grade proficiency test. [1] In report after report, however, little of measurable value is found to arise from the $139 million program. The latest analysis...
Part Time Faculty Need An Education on Unions
By Timothy Terrell, posted November 10, 2003
Two Ohio lawmakers are backing the Ohio Federation of Teachers’ call for the unionization of adjunct faculty and graduate students at Ohio’s public colleges and universities. Senator Eric Fingerhut (D-Cleveland) and Rep. Frederick Strahorn (D-Dayton) are sponsoring bills that would allow a way...
Fiscal and Accountability Impacts of School Finance Reform in Ohio
By Samuel R. Staley, Ph.D., posted November 7, 2003
Thank you for the opportunity to address school finance issues before the House Finance and Appropriations Committee. As the research director for The Buckeye Institute, I have been following the debate over school funding for several years. I hope the perspective I bring to this issue will...
By Paige Kohn, posted October 27, 2003
Statistics on the civic education of young Ohioans are sobering. For example, only 60.9 percent of Ohio’s fourth graders and 69.9 percent of sixth graders were proficient in citizenship. While Ohio’s ninth and tenth graders met the citizenship standard, the failure of the fourth and sixth graders...
Consolidation Is Not The Answer To More Efficient School Spending
By Paige Kohn, posted October 23, 2003
School consolidation advocates argue that combining several small districts into one larger district provides a simple way to reduce administrative costs and free up dollars for the classroom. For example, during the recent Ohio budget debate one Ohio legislator suggested that “[c]utting...
A Viable Choice for the High School "Dropout"
By Charles Byrne, posted October 2, 2003
In the 1980’s, a Cleveland State University study concluded that the existence of the Catholic Diocesan schools served as a stabilizing factor for ‘brain drain’ in Cleveland. I am sure that truism was responsible for countless other metropolitan areas where these schools and like dedicated...
Schools-within-school: Shortcut with shortfalls?
By Danielle Mendola and Joshua C. Hall, posted September 19, 2003
Six large, urban high schools were recently awarded grants to implement a schools-within-school (SWS) program. [1] In a matter of years, Ohio has become one of the prime test markets for this rapidly expanding movement. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has already financed $20 million toward...
Creating a Dayton Scholarship Program
By Joshua C. Hall, posted September 3, 2003
The Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program (CSTP) has been in existence for several years. Over that period, legal concerns limited program enrollment and prevented its expansion to other Ohio urban school districts. With the U.S. Supreme Court having affirmed the CSTP in Zelman v....
Marketing Ohio Cities Through School Choice
By Danielle Mendola, posted August 27, 2003
The mayors and council members of Ohio’s largest cities all appear focused on convincing people of the quality of urban life. From Cleveland Mayor Jane Campbell’s “Cleveland 500,000+ Partnership” to Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman’s recent property tax abatements, undertaking major initiatives...
Creating an Akron Scholarship Program
By Joshua C. Hall, posted August 26, 2003
The Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program (CSTP) has been in existence for several years. Over that period, legal concerns limited program enrollment and prevented its expansion to other Ohio urban school districts. With the U.S. Supreme Court having affirmed the CSTP in Zelman v....
Expanding the Cleveland Voucher Program
By Joshua C. Hall, posted August 12, 2003
The Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program (CSTP) has been in existence for several years. Over that period, legal concerns limited program enrollment and prevented its expansion to other Ohio urban school districts. With the U.S. Supreme Court having affirmed the CSTP in Zelman v....
A New Model for Special Education
By Jay P. Greene and Greg Forster, posted June 16, 2003
As Ohio’s special education enrollments rise, the state’s schools labor under both the high cost of special education services and the burden of lawsuits brought by dissatisfied parents. No one is happy with the current system and it is time to consider alternatives to how we ensure services for...
Choice and Competition Spur Educational Improvement
By Aengus Barry and Danielle Mendola, posted June 10, 2003
The success or failure of school choice programs is often debated only in terms of the gains made by those receiving vouchers. This should not be the only measure, however, as increasing school choice can increase the academic performance of those who remain in the public system. Economic...
The Hidden Demand for Private Schooling
By Danielle Mendola and Joshua C. Hall, posted June 5, 2003
One area of concern for policymakers when deciding to create or expand voucher programs is how big is the latent demand for private education. After all, policymakers know that parents who use private schools truly want their children enrolled there. Not only do these parents decline free...
By David J. Owsiany, posted June 1, 2003
Ohio’s school-funding system has been tied up in litigation for more than six years, having been reviewed by the Ohio Supreme Court on five different occasions. The school-funding case, known as DeRolph vs. State, is finally over, and appropriately, it went out with a whimper. A majority on the...
School Size: Is Bigger Really Better?
By Danielle Mendola and Joshua C. Hall, posted May 30, 2003
Since the Progressive Era, education reformers have contended that big schools offer the best use of efficiency, specialization, and standardization.[1] This idea has dramatically transformed American education and resulted in several significant trends, including the virtual elimination of the one...
By Danielle Mendola and Joshua C. Hall, posted May 27, 2003
Do school vouchers help poor black children? This question has recently sparked an academic controversy over the results of a 2000 study suggesting that it did. Based on research on a private voucher program in New York City, Harvard professor Paul Peterson reported that black voucher students...
Average Daily Membership Versus Average Daily Attendance: More Information Is Needed
By Joshua C. Hall, posted May 13, 2003
Good evening Chairman Gardner and members of the Senate Education Committee. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you about the education portion of Substitute House Bill 95. My name is Joshua Hall and I am Director of Research at the Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions....
National Education Freedom Day
By David W. Kirkpatrick, posted May 4, 2003
June 1 is the anniversary of one of the most important decisions ever rendered by the U.S. Supreme Court. That was Pierce vs. Society of Sisters wherein the Court declared that, in educating a child, parents "have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional...
Revitalizing Columbus Through School Choice
By Joshua C. Hall, posted May 1, 2003
Introduction Generally, families choose to live by quality schools. Recent decades have seen an exodus of hundreds of thousands of residents away from Ohio city centers. The poor quality of traditional public schools in these...
Revitalizing Dayton Through School Choice
By Joshua C. Hall, posted April 25, 2003
Introduction Generally, families choose to live by quality schools. Recent decades have seen an exodus of hundreds of thousands of residents away from Ohio city centers. The poor quality of traditional public schools in these cities hinders attempts at revitalization. Working and middle class...
Revitalizing Cincinnati Through School Choice
By Joshua C. Hall, posted April 16, 2003
Introduction Generally, families choose to live by quality schools. Recent decades have seen an exodus of hundreds of thousands of residents away from Ohio city centers. The poor quality of traditional public schools in these cities hinders attempts at revitalization. Working and middle class...
More School Districts Equal Better Education
By Joshua C. Hall, posted April 4, 2003
Residents of some metropolitan areas have great choice among public school districts while others do not. Boston, for example, has 70 school districts within a 30-minute commute. Miami, on the other hand, is almost entirely covered by the Dade County school district. A recent study...
Florida's Scholarship Tax Credit
By Aengus Barry, posted April 3, 2003
Florida has recently introduced an innovative school voucher program, one that lets children attend private schools with the help of corporate funding.[1] The way the program works is that corporations receive a credit against their state taxes for donations made to organizations that provide...
Revitalizing Akron Through School Choice
By Joshua C. Hall, posted March 28, 2003
Introduction Generally, families choose to live by quality schools. Recent decades have seen an exodus of hundreds of thousands of residents away from Ohio city centers. The poor quality of traditional public schools in these cities hinders attempts at revitalization. Working and middle class...
The Push for School Vouchers Has Begun
By Aengus Barry, posted March 21, 2003
With the federal constitutionality of school voucher programs secure following Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, state legislatures in Colorado and Texas appear likely to enact school voucher programs. The current push for voucher programs at the state level confirms what many school choice advocates...
Critical Look Spurs Improvement
By Joshua C. Hall, posted February 27, 2003
Some critics of the Ohio’s education system are "Chicken Littles," proclaiming that the sky is falling when the children of many middle-class Ohio families continue to graduate from high school, attend good colleges, and have successful careers. From this perspective, it is understandable that many...
Potential Ohio Department of Education Budget Reductions
By Joshua C. Hall and Matthew S. Hisrich, posted February 12, 2003
Ohio’s state policymakers are working to eliminate large budget deficits for the current fiscal year and the next biennial budget. Difficult choices will have to be made to balance the budget without increasing taxes on working Ohioans. State funding will be frozen for some programs,...
Improving Parental Involvement Through Choice
By Joshua C. Hall, posted August 1, 2002
The most effective strategy to increase parental involvement in education is to allow parents to be consumers of education. Getting parents involved is important because numerous academic studies have shown that children of involved parents perform better in school. Children of concerned parents...
Vouchers Are Good Public Policy for Ohio
By Joshua C. Hall, posted July 5, 2002
On January 8, 1996, the Cleveland school voucher program held a lottery to determine which of the initial 6,244 applicants would receive one of the 2,000 available vouchers. Unlike a similar voucher program in Milwaukee, these recipients would be allowed to use their vouchers at religious...
By David W. Kirkpatrick, posted June 4, 2002
It is often claimed that our public schools have made our nation successful. In fact, the nation was a democracy prior to the establishment of the public school system. The beginnings of the latter date from 1834 when Pennsylvania's Common School Act was passed. By 1900 about 6 percent of the...
By David W. Kirkpatrick, posted June 4, 2002
A largely overlooked advantage of school choice is the opportunity it presents public school teachers who, despite their constant assertion that they are professionals, at present are basically public employees. Unfortunately, not many teachers have thought of the benefits to them if parents could...
Supreme Court Should Uphold School Voucher Program
By David J. Owsiany, posted May 25, 2002
This week (May 25) marks the 215th anniversary of the day our country’s founding fathers met in Philadelphia to commence drafting of the U.S. Constitution. James Madison, the central figure of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, successfully advocated for creating a system that...
Would Privatizing Dorms Save Money?
By Joshua C. Hall, posted May 15, 2002
A proposal is currently making the rounds at the Ohio General Assembly that would require Ohio’s public universities to privatize their dormitories to help offset the state’s impending budget deficit. Those in favor of the plan estimate that the selling of dormitories to private operators...
A Better Way To Raise Money For School Programs
By Joshua C. Hall, posted May 11, 2002
This spring, between the time practice wrapped up and they went home to study, student-athletes at Northwest Ohio’s Defiance High School did something unusual – chores at strangers’ homes. Their reason for cleaning gutters, sweeping driveways and raking leaves for their neighbors was not an obvious...
Cleveland's School Voucher Program Worth Maintaining
By David J. Owsiany, posted January 28, 2002
Since 1996, the Cleveland school voucher program has given children from low-income families the opportunity to opt out of the city’s failing public schools to attend private schools. Teachers’ unions and the education establishment have challenged the program in state and federal courts,...
Private Vouchers Improve Parental Satisfaction
A recent study by Harvard researchers shows that PACE scholarships, by allowing low-income students to attend private schools, have greatly improved parents’ satisfaction with various aspects of their children’s education
Court Chooses Political Expediency Over Principle
By David J. Owsiany, posted September 1, 2001
In its most recent school funding decision, a four-justice majority of the Ohio Supreme Court, by mandating additional spending on Ohio’s schools, chose a politically expedient route in an attempt to end this decade-long case. They did so at the expense of bedrock constitutional principles, which...
School Funding Lessons from New Jersey
By Joshua C. Hall, posted August 25, 2001
The Ohio Supreme Court has placed itself squarely in the middle of the public policy debate over education in Ohio through the on-going school funding case. A majority of the court has attempted to force the General Assembly and Governor to raise taxes and create a “Robin Hood” school funding...
Bargaining Away Teachers' Rights
By Ryan Walters, posted August 1, 2001
Imagine that you are a public school teacher in Ohio who is generally satisfied with the representation that your union provides. The union has, in the course of collective bargaining, increased your health benefits to include optical coverage and tuition reimbursement – items for which you are...
Let’s Try That Again: Remedial Education in Ohio’s Public Universities
Post-secondary remedial education is slowly on the rise in Ohio. During the 1998-99 school year, 26 percent of Ohio’s recent high school graduates enrolled in math courses classified as "remedial" at Ohio’s public universities. This represents a three percentage point increase over the 1978-79 school year, the first for which historical data is available.
Don't Let Accountability Kill Local Control of Schools
By Joshua C. Hall, posted July 23, 2001
On March 28th the Ohio Senate approved Senate Bill 1 by a vote of 29-3 sending the proposed legislation before the Ohio House. The bill, based upon recommendations of the Governor’s Commission for Student Success, would create a new system of instruction and assessment based around new...
By Joshua C. Hall, posted July 1, 2001
The next state budget will be about twelve percent larger than the current one.[1] Much of the growth in the state budget is due to a massive increase in spending on primary and secondary education. Ohio will pay around $1.4 billion more on schools its attempt to satisfy an overreaching...
Schools Don't Have to be Public to Serve the Public Good
By Joshua C. Hall and Charles Byrne, posted June 28, 2001
There’s an old saying that goes, “You can’t keep a good man down.” The same can be said of the school choice movement. Try though they may, teachers unions, policy makers, and state supreme courts can’t seem to slow it down. Every time opponents claim a tactical victory, it merely...
Education in Ohio is Top Heavy with Administration
In 1998, Ohio had nearly 21 classroom teachers for every district level administrator. The state ranked next to last among the fifty states and the District of Columbia in this measure of educational bureaucracy.
Legislature Should Oust Four Justices
By David N. Mayer, posted June 1, 2001
Now that the state budget providing $1.4 billion more for schools has passed, some political observers are predicting that the Ohio Supreme Court, for a third time, will decide by a 4-3 vote that Ohio’s method of funding its public schools is unconstitutional. The appropriate response by the...
Proficiency tests and the blame game
By C. Bradley Thompson, posted February 1, 2001
Among the many education issues debated around the country, none is more explosive than the question of proficiency tests. National and state surveys clearly demonstrate that parents want the tests. They support testing because it lets every parent know how their children, their schools and their...
If you can't beat them - join them
By Deborah Owens-Fink and Joshua Hall, posted February 1, 2001
In a surprising turn-about the Akron Education Association recently announced plans to start its own, publicly funded, privately run high school targeted at potential risk high school drop-outs.[1] According to AEA Vice President Neil Quirk, "We’re stuck. Our hand is forced. We have to do...
Research, not politics, should drive school funding reform
By Joshua C. Hall, posted January 1, 2001
With his proposal for pooling commercial property taxes and a statewide 20 mil property tax dead upon arrival at the General Assembly, it is reported that Governor Bob Taft may be turning his attention to a school funding idea developed last year by the Ohio Department of Education (ODE).[1] If...
Are Some Ohio School Districts Too Large?
Research shows that areas with greater local school district competition (more school districts per student) have lower spending and higher student achievement.
Who really pays for Ohio public schools?
Contrary to the popular conception of school financing in Ohio, most school funding is not provided at the local level. During fiscal year 1999 only 49 percent of total revenue per student was provided through local means, with the remainder coming from state and federal sources.
Private education vouchers show academic improvement for African Americans
African-American students gained the most from privately-funded education vouchers, according to a report issued by Harvard University researchers. The research, which was prepared for the September 2000 meeting of the American Political Science Association, was conducted over three years in Washington, D.C., New York City, and Dayton, Ohio.
By Andrew J. Coulson, posted August 1, 2000
The school choice movement has a lot to be proud of. Its mission to bring educational excellence within reach of all families is undeniably noble, its supporters are sincere and energetic, and it has major programs pending or already implemented all over the country. Yet it could, quite easily,...
Contracting-out school transportation may save taxpayers money
Contracting-out school transportation may be cheaper than providing it in-house. Estimates of the cost of privatization frequently neglect to include a number of expenditures, such as capital and financing costs, depreciation, and overhead costs, which economists and accountants say are necessary to make accurate comparisons. When these costs are included, the cost of providing school transportation in-house increases substantially.
Some legislators, Supreme Court justices, and school activists argue that Ohio’s public school funding needs more equality. However, research from other states shows that such moves toward funding equality—called school finance equalization (SFE)—may result in more private school enrollment and privatization, and lower per-pupil spending and home values.
Prevailing Wage exemption provides schools with lower costs, higher quality construction
A recent Ohio Legislative Budget Office report investigates the effect of exempting school districts from prevailing wage laws. The study confirms previous research that suggests the benefits of such exemptions overshadow any claims of negative effects.
Private vouchers increase satisfaction, lower "black white test score gap"
Researchers call the tendency of African American students to fall behind others across an array of achievement tests the "black-white test gap." A study in Dayton suggests the test gap has shifted to become a public-private one. Reading and math scores were significantly higher for African-Americans in private schools than those in the control group, reducing the gap by nearly a third in one year.
Community schools offer vital alternative to traditional public education
By Matthew Hisrich and Samuel R. Staley, posted March 1, 2000
Ohio’s first online charter school — eCOT — is set to open its virtual doors on July 1, 2000.[1] This school represents the latest in a stream of innovations from Ohio’s charter school program and places the state at the threshold of a new era in public education. Charter schools, or community...
Classroom computer use may lower student test scores
The Ohio legislature has committed more than $500 million to computer technology in public schools since 1994 with the expectation that it will improve student achievement. A recent study of computers in the classroom, however, suggests that this is unlikely.
7,000 Ohio students receive college credit at school district expense
Nearly 7,000 Ohio high school students receive college credit and their school districts pay for it. The students are enrolled in the Post Secondary Enrollment Options Program (PSEOP). Under this program, high school students may take courses at local community colleges or four-year colleges and universities. In 1998, $8.4 million of funding for 6,361 public high school students from 535 school districts went to various Ohio colleges.
Education Funding News Feed Continued
School choice program promotes integration, economic and religious diversity in Cleveland
According to a new report the Cleveland school choice program (CSP) contributes to racial integration by providing families with access to private schools that, on average, are better racially integrated than are the public schools in the Cleveland metropolitan area.
Study finds school resources unrelated to student performance
Spending more money, raising teachers’ salaries, and reducing the number of students per teacher are unlikely to improve student performance in the current public school system. The only variable with any significant, positive, and consistent impact on student achievement was attendance.
Financial markets value for-profit education
Financial markets expect the for-profit education industry to grow and profit substantially in the coming years, according to data from stock market analysts. For-profit firms have access to capital markets and use the price system to allocate their services based on demand from consumers. Moreover, unlike government-run educational institutions, they are subject to market-driven benchmarks for performance and costs.
Two new studies cast doubt on benefits of class-size reduction
Reducing class size may not improve student achievement, two new studies conclude. Conducted separately by economists Eric A. Hanushek of the University of Rochester and Caroline M. Hoxby of Harvard University, the studies question the wisdom of proposals for reducing class size.
History shows the value of a private education marketplace
By Brandon S. Lynaugh, posted April 1, 1999
If you think the current arguments on school funding are anything new, think again. How to fund education and decide the government’s role in it has been debated for thousands of years. What is remarkable is how often in the span of history the same questions arrise. With this in mind, a new book...
Private school competition raises salaries of public school teachers
A new study shows that increased competition between public and private schools leads to higher salaries for public school teachers.
Charter schools in Ohio: the rush to mend them should not end them
By Richard C. Leonardi, posted November 1, 1998
As the General Assembly makes plans to reconvene next year, school reform will likely return to center stage. Throughout 1998, two court cases, one focusing on school funding "equalization," the other on the Cleveland scholarship program, have dominated media coverage. But as the debate takes...
Top OEA staff pay outpaces teachers’ 9-to-1
Compensation for top Ohio Education Association (OEA) union leaders grew more than 9 times faster than the average Ohio teacher’s pay between 1996 and 1997, according to the most recent data available from the U.S. Department of Labor.
Who Makes Education Policy, The Legislature or the Courts?
By David N. Mayer, posted September 1, 1998
Suppose the U.S. Supreme Court, citing the constitutional provision empowering Congress to “provide for the Common Defence,” rules that Congress is violating the Constitution by failing to fund a satellite-based missile defense system. The Court then orders Congress to allocate money for that...
Growth of non-teaching staff costs money and teachers
Growing public school budgets have led to both more teachers and more non-teachers being hired. For every 100 students, the public schools employ about one more non-teacher now than in 1978: a 23 percent increase in the number of non-teachers relative to students.
Ohio school spending 38% higher than reported operating costs
Each year, the operating costs for Ohio school districts are reported by the Ohio Department of Education. These data are used by policymakers and the public to compare spending across districts. These costs, however, under-report total spending in Ohio...
"A harbinger of hope:" The Cleveland school voucher program should pass constitutional muster
By David N. Mayer, posted January 1, 1998
In what has been called a "total, unconditional victory for school choice," the Wisconsin Supreme Court recently upheld the constitutionality of Milwaukee's school voucher program. The court's sweeping decision bodes well for the Cleveland voucher pilot, the constitutionality of...
Smaller isn't better: why reduced class size doesn't improve public education
By Richard C. Leonardi, posted January 1, 1998
President Clinton called for it in his State of the Union message. The Ohio General Assembly mandated it in last year’s school budget. And Ohioans, like most Americans, give it high marks in public opinion polls. It’s class size reduction, and it may be coming to a school near you. Conventional...
Earmarking tax revenues for education: Now you see them, now you don't
By Thomas Garrett and Robert Lawson, posted January 1, 1998
Last year's ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court mandated that the state assume more financial responsibility for public schools. On May 5, voters will have the chance to pass judgment on the Supreme Courts wisdom when they go to the polls to vote on a 20 percent increase in the sales tax. Half of the...
Voters consider $1.1 billion tax increase despite $800 million in waste
By James A. Damask, posted January 1, 1998
Ohio voters will soon be asked to consider a $1.1 billion increase in the state sales tax to remedy perceived inequality in school district funding. However, current research indicates that as much as $800 million in public school expenditures may already be consumed by waste and inefficiency...
By Richard C. Leonardi, posted January 1, 1998
If you blinked, you might have missed it. As part of his response to the State Supreme Court’s mandate to overhaul Ohio’s school finance system, Governor Voinovich asked the General Assembly to allow parents to deduct $1,000 from their taxable income to help offset the cost of sending a child to...
Could DeRolph lead to an Ohio tax revolt?
By Robert A. Lawson, Ph.D., posted December 1, 1997
True tax revolts are rare events in America. The Boston Tea Party notwithstanding, most Americans are content to pay their taxes and go on with the more important things in life like family, church and football. But every now and then, taxpayers do rise up in disgust at the continuing...
Cleveland schools profit from scholarship program
A common misunderstanding among the general public is that the Cleveland public schools suffer financially from the state-funded Cleveland Voucher Program. In fact, the tuition assistance program generates money for the Cleveland public schools because the state subsidizes the district for...
Supreme Court Ruling Ignores Real School Reform
By Deborah Owens, posted May 1, 1997
In March, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that Ohio's system of financing public education was unconstitutional.[1] That ruling will have far reaching implications for Ohio citizens. Overhauling school funding in Ohio could cost more than $2 billion per year.[2] But will more money improve Ohio's...
Evidence shows voucher program doesn’t “cream” best students
Evidence from the Milwaukee voucher experiment suggests that voucher programs do not necessarily “cream” motivated and successful students from the public schools. Rather, the voucher program largely attracts students who perform poorly in the public school system. Researchers at the...
Milwaukee voucher program improves student achievement
One of the more important criticisms of school choice programs is that they fail to boost student achievement. A recent study of students in the Milwaukee choice program seriously questions these criticisms. The study, performed by researchers at Harvard University and the University of Houston,...
Kentucky reforms no panacea for education reform
By Samuel R. Staley, Ph.D., posted January 1, 1997
In 1990, Kentucky launched what may be the nation's most ambitious education reforms. These reforms were the direct result of a state supreme court decision much like Ohio's DeRolph vs. State. As a result, many look south to Kentucky for an education reform model. Years of experience with...
Paying the piper: School funding solution should not include higher taxes
By Samuel Staley and Robert Lawson, posted January 1, 1997
So, the General Assembly tried to one-up the supreme court, attempting to do in four months what the court told it to do in twelve. The proposed "solution"? Increase the state sales tax rate by 20% to raise $1.1 billion in new tax revenues. Fortunately for Ohio citizens and...
Repeal Prevailing Wage law to increase school funds
By Jeff Williams, posted January 1, 1997
Ohio law requires public schools and universities to pay more than necessary for building construction and repair. Union-negotiated "prevailing wage" rates inflate labor costs on those projects by 20% or more. Repealing the State's prevailing wage law could result in statewide savings...
Cleveland Catholic Schools Subsidize Voucher Students
A common objection to publicly funded vouchers for low-income children is that private schools will experience a windfall in revenues. The experience of Cleveland's inner-city Catholic schools suggests otherwise. The Buckeye Institute analyzed tuition and costs for eight inner-city Catholic...
$700 Million School Funding Increase Isn't the Answer
By Samuel R. Staley, Ph.D., posted November 1, 1996
An education funding time bomb is about to go off in Ohio. State policymakers are working on proposals to significantly boost funding levels among Ohio’s public school districts. The price tag for these proposals will be hefty. Just bringing current school spending up to the state...
School Vouchers Serve Low-income Families
By Deborah Owens-Fink, posted June 1, 1996
Many of the opponents of school vouchers claim that they are designed to serve the rich and middle-class. However, judging from the experiment in Cleveland and Milwaukee, nothing could be further from the truth. Ohio is slated to join Wisconsin this Fall as only the second state with a full...
Contracting Can Save Ohio Public Schools Millions
By Samuel R. Staley, Ph.D., posted May 1, 1996
Ohio’s financially strapped school districts could learn an important lesson from several innovative districts in the Northeastern part of the state. During the 1980s and early 1990s, Springfield Local School District near Akron faced severe financial difficulties. From 1980 to...
Ohio Finance Laws Hamstring Public Schools
By David Zimov, posted March 1, 1996
If any Ohio homeowner is faced with a small problem, such as a broken window frame and several broken panes, the fix is simple: call a contractor and have it repaired. If this happens in an Ohio public school, however, this small problem could turn into a bureaucratic nightmare. Ohio’s...
Charter schools could help revitalize Ohio's public schools
By Jeanne Allen, posted January 1, 1996
Real education reform may be on the Statehouse doorstep. The Ohio House has already passed legislation allowing for the creation of new community schools. Passage by the Senate, plus the Governor's signature, would put Ohio on the cutting edge of nation-wide public school reform...
Why Is Ohio Subsidizing Expensive Private Tuition -- Regardless of Need?
By Betsy Clarke, posted November 1, 1995
All Ohioans – including those without the means to send their own kids to college – currently subsidize the tuition of Ohio students attending the most expensive private colleges and universities in the state. Ohio will spend $62.5 million over the next two years subsidizing in-state students...
State Leaders Should Jump Off the Education Spending Bandwagon
By Samuel R. Staley, Ph.D., posted June 1, 1995
Citizens are frustrated with Ohio’s public-school system. Only half of the state’s citizens, 50.9 percent, think they’re “getting their money’s worth” out of their local schools, according to a statewide survey conducted last year by the University of Akron’s Center for Urban Studies....
Nationwide Growth of Private Vouchers Provides Guidance for Ohio
By Andrew Little, posted May 8, 1995
Is Ohio really breaking new ground on vouchers? The answer is “no.” Thousands of school kids nationwide already receive vouchers to attend any school of their choice, religious or otherwise, through highly successful private voucher programs.
The Folly of Education Based on Building Location
By Deborah Owens-Fink, posted August 1, 1994
“I find it ironic that in a nation that prides itself on freedom,” says Debbie Fausnaught, a parent of three young children in Norton, Ohio, “I am free to select the dentist that I send my children to, but the choice of what school they attend is decided for me by the government.” Mrs. Fausnaught...
More Money Won't Help Ohio's Public Schools
By Samuel R. Staley, Ph.D., posted July 1, 1994
Education-reform efforts kicked into high gear July 1 when a judge in Perry County ruled that Ohio’s system of public-school finance is unconstitutional. This decision, unfortunately, threatens to undermine real reform efforts by focusing on spending as the key to opening the doors to...
Ohio's Higher Education Reforms Misguided
By Robert A. Lawson, Ph.D., posted May 1, 1994
Ohio’s taxpayers, parents and students deserve a better system of higher education. People hear stories about graduates who cannot place Mexico on a map, faculty who appear not to teach, and politically correct administrators who patrol the campuses. As is often the case, politicians respond to...
