- I guess every day of news clips can’t focus on Fordham. *Sigh* The folks at StateImpact took a look at Innovation Ohio’s latest report on charter school funding, which was released the same day as our Bellwether report. In fact, that report is mentioned obliquely here, along with the CREDO report on Ohio charter school performance released last week. (And not in a nice way, but what’s new?) The usual “us vs. them” rhetoric is trotted out in this brief story, but it ends on a positive note: charter opponents “want state lawmakers to take up the school funding issue during the next session.” We’re with you. Let’s do it. (StateImpact Ohio)
- The 130th Ohio General Assembly has pretty much ridden off into the sunset, but not before a final flurry of lame duck legislation as the night was falling yesterday. And it’s fascinating what can find its way into bills in the twilight hours. To wit: a provision added to HB178 allows, for the first time, certain students eligible for the Cleveland Scholarship Program to use their vouchers in a private school just outside the city limits of Cleveland. We applaud this small but significant move and are glad that these few Cleveland families are truly able to choose the school they want for their children, regardless of geographic boundaries. How about we blow that up big and allow it for everyone? (Gongwer Ohio)
- During the debate around possible elimination Ohio’s so-called “5 of 8” rule in the past few weeks, there were two things clearly lacking: discussion of the real outcomes desired by the move and discussion of the lack of trust between teachers and administrations that was evident in much of the rhetoric. Now that things are quieter (the rule change jumped two hurdles toward adoption, although there are at least three more to go in the next few months), the superintendent of the Madison-Champaign County ESC tries to make up of for the lack of discussion on both topics, writing in his commentary today about district leaders’ thoughts on the subject of Education Support Personnel. Nice. (Springfield News Sun)
- How close is the Ledgemont School District running to defaulting on its payroll? Very, and options are limited. It is a sad situation for everyone involved, but I can only hope that this may be a wakeup call to those board members who have scuttled a district merger plan championed by many in the district and who seem determined to scuttle a mooted four-district high school merger by willful apathy. This is not how you give kids an education for the future. (Willoughby News Herald)
