Gadfly Bites 2/3/20 – Voucher Grouchers 6: The Fermata

1. So, as you probably know, the General Assembly voted to hose families interested in getting a voucher kowtow to the voucher grouchers rather than enacting some kind of quick fix to something that wasn’t broken or indeed rather than standing pat and letting the voucher program go forward as per existing state law. The governor signed off on the deal on Friday.  (Gongwer Ohio, 1/31/20) The Senate was said to have been “reluctant” to agree to what I think is properly termed a delay of the start of the EdChoice application window from February 1 to the ever-more-appropriate April 1, in the hopes that legislators can come to terms on some kind of action in the interim. (Dayton Daily News, 1/31/20) Jeremy Kelley calls it a “delay” in his piece, but Karen Kasler calls it an “extension” in her piece. Cheeky? Clueless? I guess if you look at it from a certain angle, that might be an appropriate word. No angle that I condone, mind you, but I can see it. (WKSU-FM, Kent, 1/31/20) The PD’s Patrick O’Donnell has an even more interesting choice of words. He says “vouchers are mired in confusion,” which, like others’ “limbo” claims from last week, is entirely false. It is state legislators who are mired in something, and it ain’t confusion. Additionally, Patrick suggests that “clarity is to come” during our politically-expedient fermata. To that I would say, “Don’t bet on it.” (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 2/1/20)
    
2. So fast was everything moving at the end of last week that Patrick has only today had time to make note of the fact that Lorain was nearly released from state oversight by an Academic Distress Commission as part one iteration of the voucher “fix”. It probably took him that long to try and craft a story which managed to make Lorain’s ADC even vaguely germane to the voucher situation. Might take even longer for it to actually be possible to do so. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 2/3/20) But speaking of Lorain, here’s an update on the dismantling of previous CEO David Hardy’s administration. You know, the administration that moved the district from an F to a D against enormous odds and almost allowed its operations to be given back to the folks who gave us those previous F grades? That administration. (Morning Journal, 1/31/20)
   
   

3. But back to the topic of vouchers for a moment. A former member of 98 Degrees had an op-ed in the Enquirer this weekend grouching about vouchers. No, not that former member of 98 Degrees… No, not that one either. (Cincinnati Enquirer, 2/1/20) I think this editorial from the Wheeling paper attempting to take Ohio’s legislators to task is about EdChoice, but sadly it appears that the editors do not know the difference between charters and private schools. Ouch. (Wheeling Intelligencer, 2/1/20)
    
4. Actually speaking of charter schools, here’s a random editorial from the PD published this weekend. Editors are opining against the “loophole” that almost—but didn’t actually—allow certain charter schools to get quality school funding the other week. (You know which ones I mean.) But seriously, given everything that has transpired in education policy over the last two weeks, does anyone even remember that situation? (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 2/2/20)
   
   

5. Here are some timely survey results of Ohio parents’ attitudes toward school report cards. Most pointedly, whether they prefer letter grades or some other form of reporting on school quality. (Columbus Dispatch, 2/3/20)
    
6. I surmised nearly a year ago that weed entrepreneur Pete Kadens was in danger of not being taken entirely seriously by the powers-that-be in Toledo when he wanted to use his green (pun intended) to help boost education in the Glass City. Turns out that that I was right on the money (that pun was also intended) back then. Snoop Pete says so in this story covering his visit to the editorial offices of the Blade in the wake of his surprise offer to pay for the college expenses—in full—of every graduate of Scott High School. And he wasn’t too pleased with that non-response either, he says. In the intervening year, however, the Weed Warrior has managed to get his foundation up on its feet (including some interesting names on his board) but still needed to build his “brand”. Hence the grand gesture. Money talks, I guess. Eventually. Although sometimes it just mumbles about going to White Castle. (Toledo Blade, 1/31/20)

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