- As we have been following here, several central Ohio school districts were found to have violated the state’s rules regarding proper transportation of school choice students – resident students who attended charter, private, or STEM schools. The fines were big and the action was contested in court. The Ohio Department of Education was preparing to withhold transportation funding from Columbus City Schools in order to start getting some payment on their $11 million fine until a Franklin County judge stopped them late on Friday. Why? Well, the ruling was that the district had a “substantial likelihood of success on the merits of its claims”—meaning that they might get any fines paid returned to them when all was said and done—and that the funds were “critical to [the district’s] ability to continue to provide transportation services to children.” If the money were withheld to pay the fine, the district said, it might have to cut bus routes or programming for its public school students. That sounds like some grade A fear mongering to me: turning on district families after already having failed choice families they were supposed to serve. And given the giant piles of cash being shoveled into our schools over the last two years, I reckon that even the full $11 million would be akin to change in the couch cushions for Columbus City Schools, let alone some tiny fraction of that total, which is also likely less than the legal bills being paid without question to fight the fine. (Columbus Dispatch, 3/25/22)
- Meanwhile, here is a nonprofit organization that aims to solve chronic absenteeism across the state, one kid at a time. What’s the biggest driver of absenteeism, according to the good folks at ENGAGE Ohio? You guessed it: lack of transportation to school. And while the organization’s work is laudable, it sure sucks that the hundreds of millions of dollars the state spends on student transportation still appears to require millions MORE philanthropic dollars to even come close to basic proper operation. (Not to mention all those families who’ve just given up all together and spend their own money every day.) I think that the case for taking ALL student transportation away from district control has never been clearer. (Fox 19 News, Cincinnati, 3/25/22)
- Speaking of millions of dollars available to schools, the substitute teacher shortage in Butler County districts appears to be easing, thanks to—you guessed it again—increased pay. Apparently the substantially-lowered qualification bar helped a bunch also. yay. (The Journal-News, 3/28/22)
- The Lima News leaves no stone unturned in its efforts to document the sudden closure of Leo Academy back in December. And I mean not one. It all sounds very sad to me. Godspeed to the parents and students who moved to other private schools or returned to the districts they previously left. (Lima News, 3/26/22)
- Finally today, while the previous clips were not exactly crystal clear, here’s a story that makes no sense at all. The headline says that it’s about college reps partnering with Union Local High School in Belmont, Ohio, to teach students to curb the time they spend on their smartphones. The reps themselves say that it’s about keeping students from “being the product of big data” and instead using data to “to help themselves, help their community, and tell a story that can help people?” (Say what now?) From the text, it appears mainly to be an effort to demonize social media. And one student interview says it’s more about learning about “all the different colleges and what other places to offer that you're looking at, and to get out there and know more options than what you're just looking at yourself.” See what I mean? Nonsense. (WTOV-TV, Steubenville, 3/24/22)
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