Gadfly Bites 4/4/25—Miswritten

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1. We have talked in these clips before about Senate Bill 127, which aims to change the way in which low-performing public schools are identified (charter and district alike) and how the state intervenes when any school falls into that category. In legislative testimony earlier this week, nobody seems particularly happy with the bill as it stands, but our Chad Aldis helpfully offered some specific fixes that would, he says, improve the plan. (Gongwer Ohio, 4/1/25) Chad’s testimony is also noted in this coverage, but only a tiny bit at the end. Because the testimony of folks who want to torpedo the bill takes up most of the available real estate. (Ohio Capital Journal, 4/2/25) You can find Chad’s full testimony here.
   
   

2. But the big story from the Statehouse this week is the House’s substitute version of the state budget bill, which arrived with a clatter on April 1. (Nice, right?) This is subscription-only coverage from Gongwer, including our own Chad Aldis, but trust me when I tell you that behind this paywall, no one sounds happy about the education provisions in the new version. budget testimony is here. (Gongwer Ohio, 4/2/25) As a bit of publicly-available evidence for you, here is Chad’s written budget testimony submitted before the House version dropped, and here is what he actually said on the podium after reading the substitute version.
   
   

3. Also from behind the paywall: It is noted that House Speaker Matt Huffman really did not appreciate some folks’ assertion that the sub bill’s provisions constitute a funding cut for education. “We are increasing spending to K-12 public schools $550 million from the previous General Assembly,” he responded. “So whoever is misunderstanding that, or miswriting that, or however it is, those are the facts. Look at the numbers on the piece of paper and that’s what it is.” As you all might have guessed from reading these clips over the last couple of months, there is at least one crusading reporter in Cleveland who falls squarely into the Speaker’s category… (News5 Cleveland, 4/2/25)
   
   

4. …and she’s not alone either. Chad Aldis was a guest on the All Sides radio show this week, talking about lots of education issues. But when the topic of funding came up, the side that the Speaker calls “miswriting” was the main one on display. Chad’s segment begins at 18:57 on the recording so you can check it out for yourself. (WOSU-FM, Columbus, 4/2/25)
   
   

5. On Wednesday, we first covered the story of special needs students open enrolled into South Range Local Schools near Youngstown. You remember? The whole “if you relinquish your kids’ IEP, you can stay, otherwise you have to leave” thing? On Thursday, the story ended when district leaders announced the hiring of another Intervention Specialist to serve “the increasing number of students needing IEPs, both resident and open-enrolled.” This is a positive outcome and, I might say, unexpected given the previous comments coming from district leadership. But even though the earlier rhetoric of “supporting the district as a whole” (and an exclusionary decision) has been replaced by “supporting all our learners” (and an inclusionary decision), I reckon I’d still keep my head on a swivel next year if I was a parent up there. (WFMJ-TV, Youngstown, 4/4/25)

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