Latifah Coleman, 17 and an 11th grader at Mound Street Academies in Dayton, Ohio, shouts at a school choice rally in front of the Statehouse in Columbus on Wednesday morning. "I was going to a public school but it wasn't really helping me," she said. At Mound Street "more teachers sit down and talk with me. They're helping me to graduate."
The biennial budget passed by the Ohio House of Representatives last month would mean major funding cuts to all charter schools and funding reductions of nearly 75 percent to the state's virtual schools????????all but guaranteeing those schools, which serve 24,000 students in the Buckeye State, go out of business next year. Today, in protest to the funding cuts, approximately 4,000 people held a rally at the capitol.???? Chanting ???????My School, My Choice! ??????? the group marched four blocks to the Statehouse lawn and heard remarks from parents, teachers, and lawmakers????????including Senate President Bill Harris, whose chamber is now deliberating the budget bill and who has personally vowed to protect school choice in the Buckeye State.
About 4,000 people showed up for Wednesday's rally at the Statehouse in Columbus.
Sharnae Woodland, 8 and a 3rd grader at Phoenix Village Academy in Cleveland, said the rally was "exciting."
