Gadfly Bites 9/11/26—The favorite side-gig of cowpokes and weavers

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1. Lots to talk about today; so let’s get right to it. Aaron Churchill is on hand to discuss Ohio’s $105 million grant funding from the federal Charter Schools Program grant program, the recipients of which will be announced by the state soon. Twenty-two applicants were vying for funds in two categories—existing high-quality schools looking to expand, and schools looking to open new high-quality models in the state. Or, as Aaron puts it: “Underpinning the charter school model is new schools, new options for communities, new options for parents. And the federal government under both Republican and Democratic administrations has said, ‘OK, we’re going to put some money behind trying to start quality new schools in American communities.’” We’ll be talking about the winners in these clips as soon as they are announced. (Cleveland.com, 9/9/26)
   
   

2. Part of the criteria for charters to compete for CSP funding is strong state report cards. Of course, the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce has detected some state testing “anomalies” at a number of charter and district schools from last school year that will—at a minimum—put asterisks on those schools’ upcoming report cards. Further investigation is underway with everyone waiting breathlessly for more details. Aaron Churchill, king of report card data analytics in Ohio, is among them. “The integrity of state assessments, they matter to the public, they matter to parents,” he tells the Dispatch in this coverage. “We cannot be giving dishonest information to the public.” Yep. What he said. (Columbus Dispatch 9/9/26)
   
   

3. Honestly, though, even when anomaly-free, state report cards face serious annual backlash—usually from schools and districts whose ratings are low. Chad Aldis is interviewed extensively in Cincinnati Enquirer’s coverage of the topic. He explains the various components of current report card ratings and defends against the charge that those ratings are unfair to large urban school district like Cincinnati City Schools. Their graduates, Chad says, “are going to be going out and trying to find jobs and going to colleges with students from all these other districts… Parents deserve an honest appraisal of where their kids are.” Nice. (Cincinnati Enquirer, 9/9/26)
   
   

4. The key point of this Dispatch story—looking at the latest research report on the Columbus Promise scholarship program—is most clear in its final line: “If you have this program that is working and doing what you need it to do, why wouldn’t you figure out some way to fund it?” The sentiment comes from the lead author of the report and is apropos because the adults who benefit from the free-tuition-to-Columbus-State-Community-College-for-Columbus-City-Schools-grads program only want to make sure funding does not stop, which it is in danger of doing right now. However, the “working and doing what you need it to do” part is simply not true. OSU professor and Fordham senior research fellow Vlad Kogan has already dismantled previous positive versions of Columbus Promise research (you can read about that here and here), and his previous critiques are referenced briefly in the latest coverage. But you can only get his full take down of the new report on social media so far. (Columbus Dispatch, 9/9/26)
   
   

5. There are a whole lot of words in this piece on school busing woes widespread in districts across Ohio this school year, most of which blame state funding and/or school choice for those woes. But I am drawn to the comments of Larry Fravel, a third-generation bus driver in rural Licking Heights Local Schools. (His grandfather drove in the 1920s, his father in the 1950s, and his mother in the 1970s.) According to Mr. Fravel, being a school bus driver was, historically, an ideal side gig for farmers (like his family elders), ministers, and stay-at-home mothers. It gave them the flexibility to have a job in the mornings and evenings but freedom during the day. And guess what? The job is exactly the same today as it was in those bygone decades. No wonder there aren’t enough drivers. The fake blame game needs to stop, and a modern transportation infrastructure that doesn’t rely on the availability of farriers, seamstresses, and arkwrights must be built. Right freakin’ now. (Columbus Dispatch, 9/10/26)
   
   

6. Finally this week (whew!): In case you were wondering where some of Ohio’s gubernatorial candidates stand on issues such as teacher pay, math and literacy instruction, and school choice, the OCJ has some answers from three of them. (Ohio Capital Journal, 9/11/26)

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