pnmadmin

Good Tuesday morning,

Last week, William L. Phillis, who heads the Ohio Coalition for Equity & Adequacy of School Funding, and Vouchers Hurt Ohio, traveled to Salt Fork State Park in Guernsey County to meet with superintendents from Appalachian counties.

Phillis talked about our lawsuit and how public schools are being harmed by the private school voucher program known as EdChoice.

Appalachian schools were at the heart of the historic and successful DeRolph lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the state’s funding system for public schools in the 1990s.

In this new century and millennium, we are embarking on a new historic lawsuit and we need the public schools in Appalachia to join our effort.

Many have already. Here is a list of the schools on our website.

We have more than 300 public school districts that have joined our lawsuit for one or more years since the 20-21 school year representing Appalachia, rural, urban and suburban areas of the state.

This year alone, we have grown by more than 10 percent, adding 30 new school districts. The fastest growth has been in wealthy, suburban districts that have been hard hit by the loss of public funds to private schools.

But all schools are losing because the legislature has decided to get rid of their plans to fully fund public education at a constitutional level by throwing out the Cupp-Patterson Fair School Funding Plan.

While universal vouchers have hit suburban districts in the gut, Appalachian schools are the big losers with the abandonment of Cupp-Patterson.

A recent report found Appalachian schools would lose $565.8 million in state funding in the next two-year budget relative to what they would have received if Cupp-Patterson were funded instead of being folded.

You can read about it here.

Many Appalachian districts are standing up for their public schools and their local taxpayers by joining the lawsuit, but many are not.

Is your district part of our lawsuit? Check here.

If not, why not? Join here.

Sincerely,

Vouchers Hurt Ohio

Good Tuesday morning,

In late April, Franklin County Judge Jaiza Page set aside three days in her courtroom to entertain motions from attorneys representing the defendants in our lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the EdChoice private school voucher program.

The pro-voucher crowd has deep pockets, including the state of Ohio that is willing to spend countless tax dollars to defend what we believe is the indefensible.

Also, outside groups funded by anti-public school billionaires like Koch Industries and Betsy DeVos, had well-heeled, expensive lawyers on hand to try to convince Judge Page that Vouchers Hurt Ohio didn’t have a case worth trying.

But our attorneys made great points and answered all questions posed and we are confident that Judge Page will rule that a trial is merited and set a court date soon.

We are suing EdChoice on five counts.

Count 1 is the Ohio Constitution is clear that the legislature shall create a single system of common schools for the common good, and private school vouchers create a separate system of unequal and uncommon schools that benefit the wealthy with zero financial or academic accountability for the private school operators. That’s unconstitutional.

Count 2 relates to the unconstitutional school funding formula in Ohio. The Cupp Patterson Fair School Funding plan would have fully funded public schools, but that plan has been scrapped and deemed “unsustainable,” and a “fantasy.”

Here’s the deal. The funding for private school vouchers comes from the exact same line item in the state budget that pays for public schools so a dollar more for EdChoice is a dollar less available, literally, for public schools.

When the state shortchanges public schools, local school boards must go to voters to make up the difference with levies, and the Ohio Supreme Court ruled four times that a funding system over-reliant on local property taxes is unconstitutional.

Count 3 puts a spotlight on the sad fact that vouchers increase segregation in our public schools. Private schools pick and choose who gets in and who is left behind, and family income is becoming a critical component in the private school voucher scheme.

With the introduction of universal vouchers where everyone, regardless of income, is eligible, private school operators have raised tuition to capture the full voucher and also charge families tuition. Poor families cannot afford the extra tuition and are being left behind ironically in a system that was initially sold as a way to give them a choice.

Private school operators have the real power of choice. They choose their students based on income, race, religion, athletic or academic ability, disabilities, etc. We believe this is unconstitutional.

Count 4 quotes the Ohio Constitution because it is plain as day that our framers did not want public tax dollars going to private, religious schools. “No religious or other sect, or sects, shall ever have any exclusive right to, or control of, any part of the school funds of this state.”

Could it be any clearer? Yet, more than 90 percent of the private schools taking in hundreds of millions of tax dollars are religious.

Count 5 speaks to the idea that we are all equal under the Ohio Constitution, and private school vouchers grant special privileges to a special class of people in our state. We believe that’s unconstitutional.

Is your district part of our historic lawsuit? Check here.

If not, why not? Join here.

Sincerely,

Vouchers Hurt Ohio

The historic DeRolph case originated in the poor, underfunded public schools of Appalachian, Ohio.

Four times, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled a funding formula that is over-reliant on local property taxes is unconstitutional.

Nick Messenger, a senior researcher for the Ohio River Valley Institute, put out a new report that shows the state budget, as passed by the Ohio House, will “slash” funding by $565.8 million in the next two years for public schools in Appalachia.

“Portions of Appalachia in Ohio are not places where property values themselves are going to be able to completely support that shortfall,” Messenger told the Statehouse News Bureau. “In Ohio, we see school districts request levies and put bond initiatives and operating levies on the ballot to raise property taxes but at some point, your voters are tapped out.”

Count 2 of our lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the harmful private school voucher program known as EdChoice points to the state’s policy decision to not fully fund the Cupp Patterson Fair School Funding Plan.

Remember, vouchers are paid for from the same line item in the two-year state budget that pays for public schools so a dollar more for EdChoice is literally a dollar less available for public schools. The House budget increases spending on vouchers to $1.25 billion in the next two years.

Messenger, in the study, also points out that the House budget requires school districts to return part of their cash reserves to taxpayers, and that this is going to create a great deal of financial chaos and force public schools to put even more levies on the ballot.

Messenger told the Statehouse News Bureau most Appalachian districts struggle to get enough cash to pay the bills. And he said Appalachian schools are experiencing rising inflation costs and can’t pass local levies to keep up.

Read the story here.

Read the report here.

Is your district part of our historic lawsuit? Check here.

If not, why not? Learn more here.

Sincerely,

Vouchers Hurt Ohio

Good Tuesday morning,

Last week, a judge in Utah ruled that the state’s private school voucher program “Utah Fits All,” was unconstitutional.

You can read about it here.

The judge found that the private school voucher program violated two sections of the Utah Constitution.

Article X states that the Utah legislature shall establish and maintain a public education system and a higher education system both free from “sectarian control.”

This is very similar to the fourth count in our lawsuit that cites Article VI, section 2, of the Ohio Constitution: The General Assembly shall make such provisions, by taxation, or otherwise, as, with the income arising from the school trust fund, will secure a thorough and efficient system of common schools throughout the State; but, no religious or other sect, or sects, shall have any exclusive right to, or control of, any part of the school funds of this state.

The Utah judge also said the private school voucher program in the Beehive State violated Article XIII of the Utah Constitution governing how the legislature spends income tax dollars.

In Utah, families are using the vouchers to pay for homeschooling costs, private school tuition, and even violin and swim lessons.

The judge ruled while participating in Utah Fits All is free, it is not “open.”

“As required by the Utah Constitution, public schools must allow all resident students to enroll and may not discriminate against them,” the ruling states. “In stark contrast, every school participating in the Program has some form of an application process, which may include assessments, interviews, or tests to determine if the student is the right ‘fit.’”

The judge points out private schools aren’t required to serve students with disabilities and can deny admission based on factors like gender, religion or income.

This is our third count in our lawsuit. We believe EdChoice private school vouchers are unconstitutional because the private school operators, mostly religious schools, can and do use litmus tests to accept or deny admission to students and families, including race, religion, family income and disabilities to name just a few.

In Utah, the state argued the voucher program was outside the public education system and not subject to Article X, but the judge said the Legislature there does not have the authority to create an education system funded with tax dollars that “sidesteps” constitutional protections.

This is our first count. The Ohio Constitution is clear. The Ohio Legislature shall create a single system of common schools for the common good open to all students. The EdChoice private school voucher scheme creates a separate and unequal system of uncommon schools for the few and the privileged.

To make matters worse, the state is spending more than $1 billion a year using taxpayer dollars with zero financial or academic accountability.

We are not alone in our effort to stand up for public schools and public school children and families.

In state after state, citizen-driven coalitions like Vouchers Hurt Ohio have organized, and we are winning in the courts of law, the court of public opinion, and sometimes even with state legislatures and governors.

Is your district part of the lawsuit? Check here.

If not, why not? Learn how to join here.

Sincerely,

Vouchers Hurt Ohio

Good Tuesday morning,

The Columbus Dispatch had a front page story on Sunday addressing the harmful universal voucher program that gives readers a keen insight into the thinking of the pro-voucher crowd, and also underlines why we are suing to challenge the constitutionality of EdChoice vouchers.

Here are quotes from Troy McIntosh, who works for the pro-voucher Center for Christian Virtue and the Ohio Christian Education Network that is funded, in part, by money from private religious schools that receive taxpayer-paid voucher dollars.

“We firmly believe that if the government is going to compel education, then parents ought to be permitted to determine which type of education is best for their kids and their family.”

We are not sure how to even begin to respond to that, but there’s more.

The Dispatch reporters point out EdChoice recipients grew by more than 240 percent in the 2023-2024 school year, yet private school enrollment in Ohio increased by just more than 2 percent so the vast majority of students taking vouchers were already enrolled in private schools.

“The first year is obviously going to be stilted more heavily towards kids who are already in private schools but every year following the opposite is going to be true,” McIntosh told the Dispatch. Yes, the Dispatch quoted McIntosh saying stilted.

The Dispatch also proves McIntosh’s “opposite is going to be true,” is actually false. In the 2024-25 school year, the explosive private school voucher program grew by 17.5 percent while enrollment in private schools grew by 10.5 percent, according to the Ohio Department of Education and Welfare (ODEW).

Oh, but there is more.

The Dispatch writes about how two Republican lawmakers introduced legislation to create accountability measures for the voucher program that went nowhere in the Ohio General Assembly last year.

One of the sponsors, former state Rep. Bill Seitz, described passing accountability as Sisyphean and noted, “I don’t think the contours of the General Assembly this time are any more favorable to those ideas than they proved to be last time.”

Then, McIntosh chimes in again, telling the Dispatch…private schools should “absolutely not” be subject to audits, comparing vouchers to SNAP benefits for groceries.

Oh, yes he did, going on to say:

“When a family uses SNAP or WIC money right to buy food at Kroger or Meijer, nobody’s calling for Kroger or Meijer to be held up to a public audit. That’s a private entity. These all have financial controls in place,” McIntosh told the Dispatch.

There are so many things wrong with this argument.

SNAP is the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program that provides food benefits for low-income families. WIC is the Women, Infants and Children program designed to improve pregnancies, provide nutritional counseling and food assistance for low-income families.

SNAP and WIC are audited.

Vouchers are not audited. There is zero financial or academic accountability for a program that is spending more than $1 billion a year.

Oh, and SNAP and WIC have income caps for eligibility unlike private school vouchers where everyone including millionaires, even billionaires like Les Wexner, are eligible for a voucher.

Vouchers are a refund and rebate program for wealthy families, and according to the Dispatch, that is just hunky-dory with Gov. Mike DeWine.

“Everyone, all these people, are paying some taxes. Certainly, some are paying more than others. I don’t have a problem with it being used by middle-class families or even upper-middle-class families,” DeWine told the Dispatch in a quote that oddly channels Squealer from George Orwell’s Animal Farm.

Read the entire article here.

The Dispatch gives plenty of ink and space to the arguments against vouchers, but the quotes from the pro-voucher crowd are particularly insightful.

Vouchers go on trial this year before Franklin County Common Pleas Jaiza Page.

Is your district part of our historic lawsuit? Check here.

If not, why not. Learn how to join here.

Sincerely,

Vouchers Hurt Ohio