What We Learned at the Ohio State Fair

August 5, 2025

For the third year in a row, Vouchers Hurt Ohio operated an information booth at the Ohio State Fair.

We learned a lot during the 12 days our volunteers worked the booth as we talked to hundreds and hundreds of people.

Students and adults alike took time to write the name of their favorite teacher on a sticky note to place on our wall of heroes. We had so many that we needed a second poster board and we took hundreds of photos of these Ohioans from districts all across the state in front of the heroes’ wall.

We were cool inside the Bricker Building, but outside was hot and humid so more than 1,000 fairgoers took one of our “I’m A Fan of Public Schools” hand signs to help them keep cool in the intense heat.

Many of the Ohioans visiting our booth already knew that private school vouchers were taking hundreds of millions of dollars from our underfunded public schools and giving them to private schools with zero financial or academic accountability.

They were excited to learn we won round one of our lawsuit when Franklin County Judge Jaiza Page ruled on June 24 that the EdChoice voucher program is unconstitutional on three counts.

They also saw our poster board, quoting the Ohio Constitution, Article VI, section 2: School Funds that states “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.”

There it is in black and white.

We gave them information about what public school districts in Ohio had joined our coalition suing the state, and let them check to see if their district was a member or not by simply scanning a QR Code.

We had hundreds of Ohio citizens sign letters to their local education leaders – superintendents, treasurers and board members – either thanking them for standing up for public schools and taxpayers by joining our lawsuit or asking them to join for the same reasons.

It was not an official poll, but it was crystal clear that Ohioans don’t like an EdChoice program that is primarily a refund and rebate boondoggle for wealthy families and a taxpayer-paid cash cow for private, primarily, religious schools.

And they are angry. They have good reason to be.

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

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

Sincerely,

Vouchers Hurt Ohio