Taking sides

Educators, lawmakers see voucher plan differently

As EdChoice expansion is being considered by the state's Republican lawmakers, opponents say critical funding would be taken from public schools -- tilting the scale in favor of small groups of private schools that, they argue, don't yield better academic results.

If approved, House Bill 11 would open the door for more Ohio parents to use vouchers to bow out of the public education system in favor of private or home-schooling.

To make that leap, the bill, dubbed the "Backpack Scholarship," would allocate $5,500 to elementary and middle school students. That figure jumps to $7,500 for high school students.

According to the Ohio Legislative Service Commission, the bill could come with a $1 billion annual price tag.

Parents and students from academically failing schools have the opportunity to seek vouchers. Schools that would be eligible, according to the EdChoice designated list, are:

• Trumbull County: Warren G. Harding High School, McGuffey PK-8, Lincoln PK-8, Jefferson PK-8; Willard Avenue PK-8; Liberty High School.

• Mahoning County:

Youngstown: Rayen Early College High School, Wilson Alternative School, Chaney High, Chaney Middle at McGuffey, East High, East Middle at P. Ross Berry, M.L. King Elementary, Paul C. Bunn Elementary, Harding Elementary, Taft Elementary, Kirmere, Rayen Early College Middle School and Volney Rogers; Campbell: Memorial High School and Campbell Elementary

PRIVATE SCHOOL

Joseph Kenneally, president of Warren John F. Kennedy Catholic School (K-12), sent two of his children to private school, St. Rose in Girard, instead of to their local school district. For him, the discussion over expanding vouchers comes down to parents having the power to determine their child's future by seeking a better alternative.

"Educationally, I felt my kids were going to be more equipped for college or coming through a rigorous private school versus a public school. Those were my opinions on why I chose it for my child. Every parent chooses private school or private education based on their own wants and needs," Kenneally said.

When discussing the role performance plays in admission, Kenneally said JFK evaluates students who apply with vouchers by having them fill out forms, complete essays and show transcripts from previous schools. The admissions team makes the final determination.

For students whose transcripts show a poor performance, the Catholic school asks the student to come in to shadow for a day with an academic member to understand the underlying circumstances behind previous performance. A meeting with the parents is held eventually.

"Even though they are struggling, we're willing to open the doors and say, 'You know, you have a year. Let's see what we can do for you,'" Kenneally said.

At least 46 kindergarteners were pulled away from local public schools during a recent school year, he said. The notion that students migrating to private schools causes an imbalance is wrong to Kenneally. He said he sees the expansion as "leveling the playing field."

"Most private schools are private funded by parents," Kenneally said. "It gives those parents an opportunity so you're not paying property taxes for the public school system while going to private school and still paying tuition."

He continued, "So there's your imbalance that you know, someone is paying $4,000 a year in property taxes and $9,000 a year in tuition. I think it just levels that a little bit."

Kenneally acknowledges public schools would be affected.

"More than likely, it will affect public schools in a way," Kenneally said. "However, it opens up more opportunities for kids that can't function well in larger school settings and would benefit from being in a smaller school setting."

Kimberly Clinkscale, principal of Shepherds of All God's Children in Youngstown, a private school for disabled children, agrees with the notion of parents having the choice to change schools.

"Open enrollment is the new phenomena of the day. It's between the parent and the student. If they say to the parent they're not happy at the school, then the parent is going to look for an alternative," Clinkscale said.

She argues parents simply care about maintaining their child's education standards.

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

LaBrae Local School District Superintendent Anthony J. Calderone argues the funds public schools lose could be going toward keeping critical personnel on staff.

"Whether public or private, personnel is the most important -- that's a common practice. So being adequately funded with dollars for resources helps you make decisions knowingly," Calderone said.

To keep kindergarten classes smaller, he said the LaBrae district utilized two teachers to a classroom. The effort was meant to help kids to have educators who could focus more on them.

"We were heavy on our kindergarten stuff and our board thought that was important to keep kindergarten classes smaller to help kids get a great start early," he said.

The school district also added a behavioral support specialist and a literacy coach position to work collaboratively with teachers to improve student test scores.

Calderone said that, without proper funding, these initiatives could not be sustained.

"When you're not fully funding public schools and letting funds flow to private schools under the guise that public education isn't successful, but you're not fully funding the public (schools) to where they have adequate resources to bridge that gap, then that creates an imbalance," Calderone said.

If the money is going to flow, Calderone said he believes in "making it equal" in the name of fairness between the two types of institutions.

"When you have public and private competing for the same dollars and line item, it's hard to hit those objectives," Calderone said.

He called the issue "complex" with many variables.

One of these is parental choice.

"Some would claim we are against parent choice -- usually that means we recognize that the parents are naturally in control of their kids' future. The big thing with EdChoice is, 'Who pays?"Calderone said.

For students in private schools, Calderone said the parents choose to pay -- believing that in return, taxpayer dollars also shouldn't be diverted.

PROBLEMS

State Rep. Lauren McNally, D-Youngstown, recently told the newspaper that House Bill 11 is available to students in Youngstown because it is classified by the state as a failing school district.

"So if you are in the city of Youngstown school district, the state will pay for you to go to any school you want without tuition. This bill will take that program and make it statewide. Now you don't have to be in a failing school district. You can be anywhere you want and go to any school you want and the state will pick up the tab," she explained.

McNally said there are "a couple problems with that. The (proponents) are selling it as a pro-parent choice bill (and) parents should get the choice to send their kids anywhere they want. The problem with it is, it's going to cost $1.4 billion per year. Where are we going to get the money? Nobody has said."

Justin Jennings, superintendent of Youngstown City School District, said he respects a family's right to choose an educational environment that "meets the best needs of their child." Jennings also believes charter schools should be held to the same level of transparency as one of the 16 schools he oversees.

One of the purposes of public schools, the superintendent said, is to provide "free universal access to education."

"Urban school districts especially face a multitude of challenges, and as an advocate for public education, we do not want that to be forgotten. State-level funding is essential to sustain, and students only suffer when monies are not invested in them," Jennings said.