Superintendents Message

Patrick Dubbs

Superintendent
Wayne Local Schools
Superintendent’s Message
December 15th, 2011

During our December 12, 2011 Board of Education Meeting the Wayne Local Board of Education passed a resolution to join over 300 other public school districts across Ohio to voice opposition to House Bill 136.  Rep. Matt Huffman (R-Lima) is the sponsor of this legislation.  The proposed legislation would dramatically change Ohio’s public policy on school vouchers, which use public tax dollars to subsidize private and parochial school tuition.  The state’s present “scholarship” or “voucher” system, called Ed Choice, was developed to assist lower-income families whose local neighborhood schools in places like Dayton, Cincinnati, Columbus, and Toledo consistently show poor performance.  Families can choose a private school chartered by the state and receive money toward tuition.  The local public school loses the per-student support from the state.  HB 136, titled The Parent Choice and Tax Savings Scholarship (PACT) expands the voucher system regardless of the local public school’s performance record.  Even those achieving “Excellent” status like Wayne Local would be impacted and expected to deduct from their budgets $5,700 per student under the version of HB 136 that was reported out of committee. The only stipulation is that the family income must be $95,000 or less.  In many cases throughout Ohio, state aide per student totals less than the $5,700, especially after this fiscal year’s budgetary cuts.  Locally Wayne Local receives $3,224 per pupil from the state and would lose that funding for a student in the voucher system plus be responsible for the balance of the $5,700 from other sources.

A recent poll conducted by Fallon Research indicated 60 percent of Ohioans surveyed said tax dollars should not be used for private education.  HB136 is still in the House and will have to pass before proceeding to the Senate.  Three statewide education management associations, The Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA), The Ohio Association of School Business Officials (OASBO) and The Buckeye Association of School Administrators (BASA) have all reacted to the proposed legislation.  Damon Asbury, OSBA Director of Legislative Services, said “It is bad public policy and amending the bill will not lead to our support.”  He went on to cite the use of scarce tax payer dollars to fund subsidies for students to attend private institutions as a major concern.  Tom Ash, BASA Director of Governmental Relations states, “Once the state takes this step, expansion will be just a matter of time.  HB 136 is the foot in the door.”  All three organizations declare this is an attack on public schools and an attempt to privatize education and should not be a part of the new school-funding formula that was promised yet delayed by Gov. John Kasich. 

 I acknowledge that private schools are an important option for many families and they traditionally serve a purpose, but not at the expense of the public school system. Currently no standards for accountability exist for the private schools that would benefit from HB 136, and no plans have been introduced with the bill to measure performance.  Six years after Ohio taxpayers began paying private-school tuition for what is now more than 15,000 students, the state is not reporting academic results for about half of them.  Without complete state test results, the program suffers a lack of accountability and is not on a level playing field when compared with the increased level of expectations for Ohio’s public schools.  The governor’s spokesperson Rob Nichols, “The governor believes in school choice, but he also believes in transparency and accountability.”  Ohio’s Department of Education collects test results each year on math, reading, and other select academic areas for public-school students.  It reports those scores on state report cards that rate public schools and districts.  The law calls for the state to gather and report test data for Ed Choice students, but Ohio does not link student test data to individual private schools or rate the schools. 

Currently Ed Choice students can get tax-funded scholarships of up to $4,200 a year for private elementary tuition or up to $5,000 a year for private high school tuition.  Once a student gets an Ed Choice Scholarship, it can be renewed each year until they graduate from high school.  In Ohio, about 29 percent of the 15,219 students using Ed Choice Scholarships this year are incoming first-graders or younger and potentially will never attend a public school but will have their education paid for by tax-payers. Those numbers will only grow if House Bill 136 becomes law.

Monday’s board meeting was the last for Mr. Tim Patton, who is completing a four-year term on the board.  The board and administration publically thanked Mr. Patton for his hard work, dedication and sacrifice to the school district.  Mrs. Sue Blair, elected in November, will join the board at its annual organizational meeting at 6 p.m. on January 9, 2012 in the Middle School’s Spartan Room.