Ohio House Bill 136 a costly gamble for public schools
By
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To the editor:
If anyone thought our governor was finished in his attempt to break the back of the Ohio public schools with SB5, think again. As we speak, HB 136 is moving through the Ohio House.
If passed into law, the current version of this bill allows any student in any public school to take their funding to the private school of their choice if the family income is less than $95,000 per year. The money for the voucher is deducted from the funding for public school of residence.
The new system is not limited to poorly performing schools, nor are there any limits on the number of vouchers available. It’s about one thing only - redirecting tax dollars to pay for private school education. I don't know about you, but want my tax dollars to pay for for public schools that I have at least some control over, not private schools that I have absolutely no input to.
Consider this too. The taxpayers of Ohio pay $4,480 for each of the 2,582 students attending public school in the Hillsboro district, however each and every voucher is worth $5,893. Yep, Hillsboro schools not only lose the full funding, but an additional $1,413 for each voucher. Another way to look at this is for every three students getting vouchers, four students' worth of funding is removed from the Hillsboro school system and given to the private school.
If this is going to save taxpayers money by privatizing education, shouldn’t we be paying less, not more? The math I learned says this won’t save money, but I have to admit I learned that math in public school.
One last point. This new legislation has no restrictions on who can access this funding. All you have to do is register your school with the state, which is pretty good news for Catholic and other Christian schools. While I’m sure there are many that see nothing wrong with their tax dollars being used to teach creationism instead of evolution, I wonder how those same people feel about their tax dollars being used to spread the word of Islam? Under this legislation, high schools like Dayton Islamic School, Inc., Islamic Academy School of Arts and Sciences, Islamic School of Greater Toledo, etc. are also eligible for vouchers.
Maybe it’s just me, but I kinda liked the system I grew up with.
Sincerely,
John Tallieu
Fairfax[[In-content Ad]]
If anyone thought our governor was finished in his attempt to break the back of the Ohio public schools with SB5, think again. As we speak, HB 136 is moving through the Ohio House.
If passed into law, the current version of this bill allows any student in any public school to take their funding to the private school of their choice if the family income is less than $95,000 per year. The money for the voucher is deducted from the funding for public school of residence.
The new system is not limited to poorly performing schools, nor are there any limits on the number of vouchers available. It’s about one thing only - redirecting tax dollars to pay for private school education. I don't know about you, but want my tax dollars to pay for for public schools that I have at least some control over, not private schools that I have absolutely no input to.
Consider this too. The taxpayers of Ohio pay $4,480 for each of the 2,582 students attending public school in the Hillsboro district, however each and every voucher is worth $5,893. Yep, Hillsboro schools not only lose the full funding, but an additional $1,413 for each voucher. Another way to look at this is for every three students getting vouchers, four students' worth of funding is removed from the Hillsboro school system and given to the private school.
If this is going to save taxpayers money by privatizing education, shouldn’t we be paying less, not more? The math I learned says this won’t save money, but I have to admit I learned that math in public school.
One last point. This new legislation has no restrictions on who can access this funding. All you have to do is register your school with the state, which is pretty good news for Catholic and other Christian schools. While I’m sure there are many that see nothing wrong with their tax dollars being used to teach creationism instead of evolution, I wonder how those same people feel about their tax dollars being used to spread the word of Islam? Under this legislation, high schools like Dayton Islamic School, Inc., Islamic Academy School of Arts and Sciences, Islamic School of Greater Toledo, etc. are also eligible for vouchers.
Maybe it’s just me, but I kinda liked the system I grew up with.
Sincerely,
John Tallieu
Fairfax[[In-content Ad]]