Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 6/9/25—A very special episode
News stories featured in Gadfly Bites may require a paid subscription to read in full. Just sayin’.
Topics
Commentary
School Finance
What the Ohio Senate got right (and wrong) in its school funding plan
Going into this year’s state budget debates, the biggest question in K–12 education was how lawmakers would handle school funding. Ohio has been implementing the Cupp-Patterson school funding formula since FY22.
Commentary
Charter Schools
Ohio Charter News Weekly – 6.6.25
Stories featured in Ohio Charter News Weekly may require a paid subscription to read in full. Be careful what you wish for (again)
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 6/6/25—Be careful what you opine for
News stories featured in Gadfly Bites may require a paid subscription to read in full. Just sayin’.
Commentary
Governance
Interested party testimony provided on House Bill 96—6/5/25
Note: Today, the Ohio Senate Finance Committee heard testimony on its version of House Bill 96, the state’s biennial operating budget.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 6/4/25—Meanwhile, in Traditional School District Land…
News stories featured in Gadfly Bites may require a paid subscription to read in full. Just sayin’.
Commentary
School Finance
Ohio teachers’ inflation-adjusted salaries are declining due to bad district management
Research demonstrates that teachers are the single most important input in public schooling.
Commentary
Teachers & School Leaders
Ohio’s elementary teacher prep programs need a stronger focus on math
With students’ math scores still mired in a post-Covid slump—and not so impressive prior to it—Ohio policymakers have begun exploring ways to impr
Commentary
Teachers & School Leaders
A closer look at the research on teacher merit pay
A few months back, Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy caused waves by proposing to pay teachers and school administrators based on merit.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 6/2/25—Little (school)house on the prairie
News stories featured in Gadfly Bites may require a paid subscription to read in full. Just sayin’.
Commentary
Charter Schools
Ohio Charter News Weekly – 5.30.25
Stories featured in Ohio Charter News Weekly may require a paid subscription to read in full. Post-mortem
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 5/30/25—The data don’t lie
News stories featured in Gadfly Bites may require a paid subscription to read in full. Just sayin’.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 5/28/25—Winning it all from fifth place
News stories featured in Gadfly Bites may require a paid subscription to read in full. Just sayin’.
Commentary
Private School Choice
Debunking the false narrative that Ohio’s school choice programs only help the rich
In another attempt to smear educational choice, hostile advocacy groups have begun to portray private school scholarship programs as
Commentary
Curriculum & Instruction
Is a virtual intervention the roadmap for algebra mastery?
Research shows that students who pass Algebra I by ninth grade are more likely to graduate high school, attend college, and earn higher salaries when they enter the
Commentary
School Finance
Interested party testimony presented before the Ohio Senate Finance Committee—5/27/25
NOTES: Today, the Ohio Senate Finance Committee continued hearing testimony on House
Commentary
Charter Schools
Ohio Charter News Weekly – 5.23.25
Stories featured in Ohio Charter News Weekly may require a paid subscription to read in full. Big national news – pt 1
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 5/23/25—“I think they get it”
News stories featured in Gadfly Bites may require a paid subscription to read in full. Just sayin’.
Commentary
School Finance
State lawmakers should not micromanage school district finances
A proposal to limit school districts’ carry-over funding would actually incentivize more wasteful spending and impede districts’ ability to manage their finances responsibly. There are better ways to ensure that Ohio taxpayers get their money’s worth.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 5/21/25—Steamed
News stories featured in Gadfly Bites may require a paid subscription to read in full. Just sayin’.
Commentary
Charter Schools
Ohio lawmakers: Don’t go soft on charter accountability
The last several months have seen some behind-the-scenes efforts that, if enacted, would roll back charter school accountability in Ohio by weakening sponsor evaluation, sponsor hopping limitations, and automatic closure provisions. Lawmakers should stop these anti-accountability efforts dead in their tracks. Here’s why:
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 5/19/25—“We really have a mess, genuinely, on our hands”
News stories featured in Gadfly Bites may require a paid subscription to read in full. Just sayin’.
Commentary
Charter Schools
Ohio Charter News Weekly – 5.16.25
Stories featured in Ohio Charter News Weekly may require a paid subscription to read in full. Teaching the trades
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 5/16/25—Changes of heart
News stories featured in Gadfly Bites may require a paid subscription to read in full. Just sayin’.
Commentary
Career & Technical Education
Three policy levers Ohio can pull to ensure students are ready for the future
Over the last few years, Ohioans have grown accustomed to headlines declaring that the Buckeye State is poised for massive economic growth. Intel announced plans to spend $28 billion on two chip factories in New Albany.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 5/14/25—A tremendous trio of news stories and a “toothless” tech ban
News stories featured in Gadfly Bites may require a paid subscription to read in full. Just sayin’.
Commentary
Accountability & Testing
A timely reminder of previous kindergarten readiness research
In 2014, Ohio implemented a new screening tool for all incoming kindergartners.
Commentary
School Finance
Invited testimony on Ohio House Bill 96
NOTE: Today, the Ohio Senate Education Committee held its fifth hearing on the education provisions of House Bill 96, Ohio’s biennial operating budget.
Commentary
School Finance
School funding guarantees: What they are, and why they should go away
Ohio has long struggled to create a student-centered plan for school district funding. The culprit? Guarantees which stop districts from receiving less money even when their enrollment shrinks by hundreds of students. No more excuses; it’s time for them to end.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 5/12/25—Talking—and not talking—about vouchers
News stories featured in Gadfly Bites may require a paid subscription to read in full. Just sayin’.
