The Ohio State Fair was a means of educating the public on the controversial issue of private school vouchers • Ohio Capital Journal

Several years ago, as I was planning my upcoming retirement, I asked a colleague in school administration what it was like for him to be physically and emotionally separated from his job and career.

“Every day is Saturday morning,” he replied without hesitation.

In my case, to resist the “every day is Saturday morning” syndrome, I have volunteered at several organizations, including a local arts group and a hospital. But the volunteer work I enjoy doing most in retirement comes several times a year when I Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy in School Funding and his allied group Vouchers hurt Ohio by having an exhibit at the Ohio School Boards Association Capital Conference and the Ohio State Fair.

When you staff a booth at the State Fair, you have a unique opportunity to observe a cross-section of the state’s citizens and assess with them attitudes and perceptions on a variety of public issues. In addition, an attentive ear at the fair can also identify the needs of individuals and families.

This year, a colleague and I welcomed nearly two hundred Ohioans who stopped by our booth one day to learn more about the EdChoice voucher expansion program that was smuggled through the legislature at the end of a session and hidden in the budget documents like a Russian matryoshka doll.

We shared these facts:

• • The universal voucher system is illegal because it clearly violates the provision of Article VI, Section 2 of the Ohio Constitution, which states that “no religious or other sect or sects shall ever have an exclusive right to … any part of the school funds of this State.”
  • Vouchers involve using public funds for private purposes, and these funds come from the same source in the government budget that funds public schools.
  • Not only are vouchers illegal, they also increase dependence on local property taxes to fund public schools, which will lead to more referendums in the future.
  • The number of participants in the Ed Choice Expansion voucher program has increased by more than 274% compared to the last fiscal year. As a result, almost one billion US dollars could have been used to adequately fund public schools.
  • The vast majority of public funds for education vouchers are used by religious schools; the largest tax revenues come from Catholic schools.
  • The idea of ​​“school choice,” whose proponents claimed for years that poor families could “escape failing public schools,” has been proven wrong. Instead, the Institute for Economic Policy found that “vVouchers benefit the wealthy and burden low-income and rural communities.” In addition, the EPI study found that “…because vouchers typically do not cover the full cost of private school, low-income families still cannot afford a private school education—even with vouchers—and few rural students have access to private schools.”

As we shared this information with citizens who passed by our booth, we quickly realized that they were largely unaware of the basic facts laid out in these bullet points. The contacts we made at the State Fair and subsequent events allowed us to not only share information, but also use the experience as the product of a focus group in which our message is refined and shared with colleagues, the media, and neighbors and friends.

Our volunteer team in Ohio Coalition And Vouchers hurt Ohio will continue to educate our fellow citizens that public money is a public good. This discussion focuses on what is at stake when lawmakers illegally and recklessly fund private and religious school tuition for high-income families in what looks like a blatant attempt to destroy the public education system.

Almost a third of the state’s school districts have joined the lawsuit to end the voucher program, arguing that its constitutionality is questionable because it supports private and religious schools and evidently funds multiple educational systems. In addition to the language in Article VI, Section 2 prohibiting the use of state funds for “religious or other sects,” the first part of that section calls on the General Assembly to “ensure a comprehensive and efficient system of public schools throughout the State…” Note the use of the singular form system in the language of the Ohio Constitution.

The lawsuit challenging the voucher program, backed by the state’s public school districts, is scheduled to begin in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas on Nov. 4. Regardless of the outcome, the case is expected to go to the Ohio Supreme Court on appeal.

Those who have chosen to protect public education from this blatant attack on societal norms are asking the public to also volunteer to help spread this information so that an informed citizenry can be a true arsenal of democracy. Click here Here to see if your school district has joined the lawsuit to ensure that public funds are used for our public schools, which are open to all and do not otherwise discriminate, as is the case with most private and religious schools.