COLUMBIANA — Expanding Ohio’s school voucher system is not good for public schools or the students they serve, local school administrators said recently.

Columbiana School District Superintendent Dr. Don Mook and the board of education are concerned that the public may not understand just how problematic the voucher system can be.

“As a longtime school board member and current president, I am deeply concerned that the public is unaware of the underlying issues that the voucher program poses to the education for our children,” Kelly Williamson said.

The voucher system expansion is included in Senate Bill 11 and would allow more K-12 students to be eligible for vouchers to attend private schools.

Opponents of the voucher system–also known as the EdChoice Scholarship program through the Ohio Department of Education–say it is taking taxpayer dollars away from public school districts.

Specifically, Senate Bill 11 allows for more than $1 billion in new tax payer money to be put toward the voucher program expansion.

The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) offers vouchers through the traditional EdChoice Scholarship and EdChoice Scholarship Expansion program.

According to the ODE, the EdChoice Expansion Program is an income-based program that provides students in grades K – 12 the opportunity to attend a private school for little or no cost whose families meet the Federal Poverty Guidelines and is only open to students who do not qualify for the Educational Choice Scholarship.

The EdChoice scholarship amount is $5,500 for grades K-8 and $7,500 for grades 9-12.

Under Gov. Mike DeWine’s proposal, the expansion would move income eligibility for EdChoice vouchers to those living 400 percent above the federal poverty rate — up from the current 250 percent.

Mook said that Ohio currently has three programs based on income and/or failing districts and two programs based on special education.

“The Cleveland Scholarship program, Income-Based Scholarship Program and the Educational Choice Scholarship Program, all currently have been expanded in the state of Ohio under the umbrella of failing districts or parental low-income status. The Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Program and the Autism Scholarship Program are vouchers for students with disabilities. The disability programs can be utilized regardless of the success or failure of the school district of residence. These programs have steadily increased over the years leaving Ohio’s taxpayers to currently fund $361 million in the 2021-2022 school year alone (an increase of 31 percent from the year prior),” he said.

Those who are in favor of the voucher system and it’s expansion feel the system provides parents and/or guardians with more control over where their children can attend school, regardless of the district in which they live.

But not everyone is convinced that opting to attend private schools is the best answer.

Columbiana school board members said that private schools are not held to the same standards as public schools.

They agree with sentiments expressed by longtime Ohio football coach and teacher Vince Marsala, whose opinion on the matter was recently published in other educational and media outlets, including the Ohio Coalition of Equity and Advocacy of School Funding (Ohio E&A).

Marsala was quoted as saying that the “double standard by the legislature in building this separate and unequal system is ridiculous” and even called the voucher system a “scheme.”

Marsala said that with the state pushing an “almost universal voucher program” public and private schools are no longer “playing the same game.”

He said that fair competition is defined as a free market in which all the players operate on a level playing field, and believes the voucher system is removing that level field.

For example, Marsala and the Columbiana administration noted that public schools must meet regulations put into place by Gov. DeWine and the state legislature like the mandatory state testing and state graduation requirements, the third-grade reading guarantee, high quality student data, resident educator summative assessments, state curriculum, and the Ohio Teacher and Principal Evaluation Systems — which are not required of private voucher schools.

Columbiana School Board member Michael Clark said that with the “universal voucher program” taxpayer money will be going to private institutions that are still not being held to the same standard as public schools.

“If this passes, much needed funds will be taken away from public education. How can the legislation see that defunding our public education is right?” Clark said.

Mook also referenced an article available through the Ohio E&A that was written by Matt Zalaznick that stated that the Ohio EdChoice Scholarship Program launched in 2005 has shown that students who used vouchers to attend private schools over the last decade have “fared worse on state exams compare to their closely matched peers remaining in public schools.”

Zalaznick’s comment regarding Ohio referenced results from a study conducted by the Fordham Institute.

Other studies were also conducted by news media outlets, such as the Cleveland Plain Dealer in 2011 and the Cincinnati Enquirer in 2020 with results showing that students that attended public schools outperformed voucher students on state proficiency tests.

The Plain Dealer study cited data from the Ohio Department of Education for state tests taken during the 2009-10 school year, according to reports.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that most students who used EdChoice scholarships performed worse on standardized tests than those in public schools.

Mook said that according to the fiscal note through the Ohio Legislative Service Commission the state expenditure increase required by SB 11 will result in $527.6 million in fiscal year 2024 and $527.9 million in fiscal year 2025 and following years.

Mook noted that the figures could change based on increases the legislature assigns to vouchers in the future, and homeschooling benefits.

He said that, currently, homeschoolers receive $250 in tax credits and that SB 11 proposes to increase that amount to $2,000.

“There are currently very little standards established for homeschooling. Yet, the legislature supporting SB 11 is interested in moving more public funds to unaccountable education entities. And, it would just be a matter of time until homeschoolers would receive a voucher,” he believes.

He added that the Ohio Legislative Service Commission estimates that 90,500 students currently attending private schools without vouchers would become eligible for vouchers.

“I just want to reiterate that we the school board support Dr. Mook in his concern and frankly do not understand why all superintendents and public school boards in Ohio are not gravely concerned about what this may do to educating ALL children,” Kelly Williamson said.