- In case you missed it, Governor DeWine signed the new state budget into law on Monday. Not too much coverage of education issues in the press as yet, although our own Aaron Churchill talked to the Dayton Daily News about the implications of near-universal eligibility for EdChoice vouchers which is now the law of the land. He also reminded folks that the budget increases oversight of private schools that take voucher students, but I fear that the audience who needed to hear that detail may have missed it over their own wailing lamentations. (Dayton Daily News, 7/3/23) This piece is almost entirely lamentations, especially regarding another big deal that became law with the signing of the budget bill: A change in K-12 education governance that will curtail the responsibilities of the state board of education, get rid of the Ohio Department of Education in favor of the Department of Education and Workforce (DEW), and move the state director of education (and workforce) into the executive branch. (Ohio Capital Journal, 7/4/23)
- Please don’t think I am slighting our news reporters for not being fully au fait with all the budget-related DEW-ings (see what I did there?). There is simply a lot going on these days for reporters and others to get a grip on. Case in point: The elected board that runs Youngstown City Schools (yes they do) acted very quickly indeed to elevate interim superintendent Jeremy Batchelor to the permanent gig this week without seeming to consider any other options or paths. All good, really, and par for the course. But I had to shake my head when one of his primary tasks was listed as “getting the district removed from state control.” Fine, I guess, but I hope they will at the same time think about some other tasks to give the new supe that might actually help students. (WKBN-TV, Youngstown, 7/3/23)
- Back here in the real world, the Catholic Diocese of Cincinnati announced last week that St. Joseph School will not reopen for the 2023-24 school year, ending 176 years of continuous service in the Queen City. The issue is at least $2.5 million of foundation and mechanicals work needed to make their 125-year-old building safe for use by students following the findings of an engineering assessment…although slow but steady enrollment declines are also part of the issue. We know that these sorts of issues play out very differently in school districts, but no state construction bonds or tax levy largesse are coming to support St. Joe’s. Instead, the staff are working hard this summer to make sure students find a new school for the fall. (Cincinnati Enquirer, 6/30/23)
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