Ohio charters get the cold shoulder from lawmakers
Hearings began this week on HB 305 in the Ohio House of Representatives. This is the bold new school funding plan sponsored by Representatives Cupp and Patterson. Unfortunately, the plan as it stands now is not only unfriendly toward most forms of school choice, Fordham’s analysis suggests that current funding inequities between charter and district schools could actually worsen.
Post-debate charter bashing
Although there was no discussion of charter schools during the most recent debate among the myriad Democratic presidential candidates, Senator Elizabeth Warren came out swinging this week. Her education plan, which included a healthy dose of union talking points against charters and choice, was released this week. You can read the plan here. Fordham’s Checker Finn and Education Post’s Chris Stewart (among others) were quick to respond.
The view from Mahoning County
A new web-only news outlet in Northeast Ohio, Mahoning Matters, waded into the murky waters of a proposal to establish a charter boarding school in the Youngstown area. The concerns expressed are not new and are not confined to the fact that this would be a charter school.
“We’re unapologetic about our desire to dominate choice.”
The quote above comes from the firebrand superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools Alberto Carvalho. He has headed the district for ten years now and has a lot to show for his work, according to this Education Next profile. “Carvalho’s popularity,” they write, “stems from his district’s ability to direct its own vision for change, and to document sustained progress. Its programming is dynamic. Its achievement is rising. Its stakeholders are remarkably unified. Success has led to more buy-in and more resources, which in turn has ramped up potential for more success.” And that success includes parental choice.
