Superintendents Lodermeier, Nardini and Diglia...... you hit the voucher nail squarely on the head!

From John Curry, June 14, 2011

Now...if we can get other Supers to become vocal like you we could send Huffman and his vouchers packing! Thank you for having the courage to speak out about a bill that will destroy public schools and the lives of those who work in them. If Huffman wants his kid to continue attending Lima Central Catholic then he (in conjunction with the church) should pay the full tab. Why should his income be subsidized by the taxpayers to send his kid to a private school? According to his voucher bill (HB 136), even those with six-digit incomes will still be eligible for a state subsidy (voucher) to send their kids to private schools.

John

Bath schools Superintendent Bill Lodermeier thinks Huffman’s vouchers are a way to lessen costs for parents paying for private school. Given the influx of students with state-paid EdChoice vouchers, Huffman’s bill is just a way to pacify those now paying for the same education, Lodermeier said.

“You’re going to end up having the best of the best because, all of the rotten ones they don’t want for one reason or another, they’re going to come back to the public schools,” Lodermeier said. “How are you going to raise taxes, levies, when all the good parents or the parents who can afford to send their kids someplace or collect the vouchers are going to vote no? They’re not going to vote for you. It’s going to destroy the system.”

“You’re going to end up having the best of the best because, all of the rotten ones they don’t want for one reason or another, they’re going to come back to the public schools,” Lodermeier said. “How are you going to raise taxes, levies, when all the good parents or the parents who can afford to send their kids someplace or collect the vouchers are going to vote no? They’re not going to vote for you. It’s going to destroy the system.”

http://lederman.freedomblogging.com/2011/06/11/column-huffman-vouchers-public-school-killers/3413/

Will vouchers hurt public schools?

June 11, 2011
by rlederman

School choice advocates see state Rep. Matt Huffman’s voucher plan as needed reform. Public educators say it could spell the demise of their schools — and communities.

Huffman calls his Parental Choice and Taxpayer Savings Scholarship school choice for the middle class. His bill, currently in committee, would award vouchers for private education to any family that meets somewhat expansive financial guidelines. A family of four making up to $61,189 could take a voucher for the maximum yearly $4,626 to pay for religious or other private schooling.

Huffman says the bill would deliver choice to families that otherwise don’t have it. Some families can afford to send their children to private schools; other families are able to use state vouchers under the existing EdChoice program to escape failing schools. In between, Huffman believes, are parents who would opt out of public education for their children if they could.

Bath schools Superintendent Bill Lodermeier thinks Huffman’s vouchers are a way to lessen costs for parents paying for private school. Given the influx of students with state-paid EdChoice vouchers, Huffman’s bill is just a way to pacify those now paying for the same education, Lodermeier said.

The Ohio Constitution provides for free education. It doesn’t specify any particular type of school to deliver that education, Huffman said. Nor does the constitution prohibit the state from spending money on religious education, he said.

No matter what Huffman sees in the Ohio Constitution, federal courts have been clear about the separation of church and state, Lodermeier said. He believes that Huffman’s bill violates that separation.

Whatever the philosophical differences, could Huffman’s bill open the door to eliminating — or at least greatly reducing the need for — public schools?

Absolutely not, said Chad Aldis, executive director of School Choice Ohio. On average, only about 5 percent of eligible new students opt for the EdChoice vouchers each year. Huffman’s bill isn’t likely to draw even that number, Aldis said. Many income-eligible families live in high-performing districts, removing the primary motivation to move.

“Families have already paid a premium to get into a suburb, and they pay higher property taxes and a higher real estate price to buy the house,” Aldis said. “They often do that with education being part of that equation. They’re already paying that additional, sort-of-hidden cost. The chance of them leaving to pursue that (Huffman voucher) is relatively small.”

Bath’s Lodermeier, Elida Superintendent Don Diglia and Shawnee Superintendent Paul Nardini — all from high-performing suburban Lima districts — see a greater risk: Huffman’s bill would transfer the best students to private schools that have the ability to refuse admittance, something public schools cannot do.

“You’re going to end up having the best of the best because, all of the rotten ones they don’t want for one reason or another, they’re going to come back to the public schools,” Lodermeier said. “How are you going to raise taxes, levies, when all the good parents or the parents who can afford to send their kids someplace or collect the vouchers are going to vote no? They’re not going to vote for you. It’s going to destroy the system.”

Aldis counters with a report from the Foundation for Educational Choice — founded by Nobel Laureate economist Milton Friedman — showing that 18 of 19 public districts nationwide facing competition improved. The exception was Washington, D.C., which didn’t lose money when it lost students to vouchers. But even there, graduation rates went up dramatically.

Unintended or not, though, the public superintendents worry what Huffman’s bill would mean to the future of an education system that has relied on public schools. Weakening the local public schools will harm the larger communities, where quality public schools boost property values, Diglia said.

Huffman’s bill wouldn’t destroy public schools. But it open does the door for future changes. The superintendents worry that could further weaken public schools.

“Ultimately that seems to be their goal,” Nardini said. “A public system is one of the reasons that our country is so great. … I really believe this country was founded on public education and educating the masses and keeping its public informed and as educated as possible. That’s what makes us a great country, and (Huffman’s bill) kind of flies in the face of all that.”

Ronald Lederman Jr. is editorial page editor of The Lima News. Email him at rlederman@limanews.com.