Gadfly Bites 6/1/26—Actually? It IS a big whoop.

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1. Just last week, the Ohio Supreme Court dismissed the state’s student transportation lawsuit against Columbus City Schools. Officially, they cited a “lack of standing”, but commentary within the written ruling suggested that they believed the true number of charter and private school students who were deemed “impractical to transport”—and thus left without a bus route—in 2024 was much smaller than the state was suggesting; i.e. – no big whoop. Over the weekend, however, Cleveland.com reported on the preliminary findings of Ohio’s Pupil Transportation Workgroup and it very much supports the state’s case. To wit: 22,000 students statewide were deemed “impractical to transport” in whatever recent year(s) they were examining; 21,000 of these were private school students, in clear violation of the state’s 1965 Fair Bus Law; and that the paltry payments offered to those families in lieu of required transportation ranged from $600 to $1,200 per year. Sorry, Supremes, you’re wrong on this one across the board. So here’s hoping the legislature and the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce will step in and implement every single one of the fixes previewed in this piece, including focusing on all kids regardless of school attended; using smaller, less-cumbersome vehicles to make it possible to recruit non-CDL drivers; and taking transportation responsibility away from districts forever. Seems from this like there’s broad support for these recommendations. Time to get ‘em done! (Cleveland.com, 5/31/26)
   
   

2. The Dispatch tells us that 120 school districts around the state are projecting negative cash balances between now and 2029 (if nothing changes). OSU prof and Fordham Senior Research Fellow Vlad Kogan lays out the case that the state is not to blame for their financial woes, takes pains to point out that each district’s situation is different, and advises that solutions (some combination of budget cuts and new levy asks) should not be one-size-fits all. But then, all the usual suspects talk over him and point fingers everywhere but at themselves. As Senate Education Committee Chair Andy Brenner says: “It’s easier to blame someone else instead of managing your own district.” (Columbus Dispatch, 5/30/26)
   
   

3. One of the districts facing a looming budget deficit is Cincinnati City Schools. Kudos to parent and community activist Terana Boyd (founder and executive director of the group We Excel Cincinnati, organizing parents and caregivers to drive positive change in the district) for her op-ed urging leaders to put student achievement first when they consider how to address their district-specific budget challenges. “We can continue making decisions that protect existing structures without demanding better outcomes. Or, we can align our spending with the urgency of this moment and build a district where literacy is truly treated as foundational,” she writes. “Years from now, our city will not remember every line item. But our children will remember whether the adults in this moment chose to invest in their future or continue investing in failure.” Powerful words indeed. (Cincinnati Enquirer, 5/31/26)

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