Gadfly Bites 12/3/25—The usual noise

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Here is some fantastic coverage of our recent research report, looking at the academic trajectories of low-income Ohio students who perform well academically at third grade. The theme of the report is “leaky pipeline”, which tells you a lot about how those young people generally fare in later grades as compared to their higher-income peers. Not only are report author Stéphane Lavertu and Fordham research guru Aaron Churchill quoted extensively, reporter Eileen McClory also highlights some Dayton-area schools who do a better job at supporting their high-achieving low-income students to greater academic outcomes—including Hamilton and Mason school districts and the very awesome charter school Dayton Early College Academy. Kudos! (Dayton Daily News, 12/2/25) Full report is here if you haven’t already taken a look; but shame on you if you haven’t.
Speaking of school choice (were we…?), some folks in Pennsylvania are peering across the border jealously at Ohio’s school choice ecosystem. Two staffers from the American Federation for Children opine that “If Pennsylvania truly wants to attract population from neighboring states while strengthening the overall education ecosystem, it should…offer a panoply of educational choices.” They’re talking mainly about the options for parents looking at private schools, but also about the charter school sector. Good luck, chaps! (Penn Live, 12/2/25)
Meanwhile, staying on the topic of school choice (yes we were), the elected board of Columbus City Schools voted last night to approve a package of cuts in order to fill an estimated $50 million budget hole. These include a minimal amount of school building closures (only one of which could even occur before 2028) and a whole lot of staff cuts. And while busing for high school students was spared from the chopping block, waaaaaay down at the bottom of this story is the fact that busing for K-8 students “who lottery into a non-100 percent lottery school” will be eliminated. This measure passed unanimously, including the lame duck board members who were attending what is likely their last voting meeting. I don’t know the timeline of this particular cut and can’t say whether the new board will ever see any of these decisions through, but I reckon a cut like that to intradistrict choice will face some stiff opposition should it ever threaten to come true. (Columbus Dispatch, 12/2/25)
Finally today, speaking of districts needing to make big cuts to remain financially solvent, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb hit on what I think is a great idea for gathering public input on CMSD’s consolidation and closure plan: Visiting local barber shops on Saturday mornings. And while the shop owner interviewed might have been disappointed with the level of turnout, I personally think that’s a good thing, because it means that ~~union member~~ district staff member attendance was also at a minimum and bossman could hear what his actual constituents really think without the usual noise drowning them out. (The Land, 12/2/25)